If you’ve been asking ‘What is a B Corporation’, this guide will walk you through the essentials: what B Corps are, how B Corp certification works  and why so many organisations are choosing to join the movement.

For a long time, business has been framed as a choice between two opposing goals: either you make money, or you make a difference. But that idea is increasingly being challenged by organisations that believe profit and purpose can, and should, work together.

A B Corporation is one of the clearest examples of that shift. Rather than treating social and environmental responsibility as an optional extra, B Corps build it into the way they operate. They are businesses that want to succeed financially while also creating positive outcomes for their employees, customers, communities and the planet.

 

That is what makes the B Corp movement so compelling. It offers a practical, credible way for businesses to prove that they are not just talking about values, but embedding them into everyday decision-making.

What Is a Certified B Corporation?

A Certified B Corporation is a company that has voluntarily met high standards for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

 

These standards are developed and maintained by B Lab, the nonprofit organisation behind the certification. They are designed to assess the full impact of a business, not just its financial performance. That means looking at how a company treats its workers, how it engages with communities, how it manages environmental impacts, how it governs itself and how it serves its customers.

 

To become certified, a business must complete the B Impact Assessment, provide supporting evidence, undergo verification and disclose any potentially controversial practices to B Lab. The process is intentionally rigorous because the certification is meant to recognise businesses that are genuinely committed to using business as a force for good.

 

This is one of the reasons B Corps stand out. They’re not simply claiming to be ethical or sustainable, they are willing to have their performance independently assessed and publicly shared. In many ways, that transparency is central to the appeal of the B Corp model as it gives customers, employees and stakeholders confidence that the business is serious about its commitments.

The B Corp Definition

Because the movement is still relatively young, there is often confusion around what a B Corporation actually is. The first companies were certified in 2007, and since then the movement has grown rapidly across sectors and geographies.

B Lab defines Certified B Corporations as:

Businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

That definition captures the heart of the movement. B Corps are not businesses that simply donate to charity or run the occasional sustainability campaign. They are organisations that aim to embed responsibility into the structure of the business itself.

 

A useful comparison is to think of B Corp certification in the same way you might think of Fair Trade certification for coffee. It is a recognised standard that signals a business has met a defined set of criteria and has been independently assessed against them. The difference is that B Corp certification applies to the whole business. It’s not just about one product, one campaign or one department, it’s how the organisation operates as a whole.

 

That’s why the certification has become such a powerful signal in the market. It tells people that the business is committed to more than profit alone and is willing to be held accountable for that commitment.

What Is B Corp Certification?

B Corp certification is a third-party standard that evaluates a company’s impact on all stakeholders. Businesses that pursue certification complete the B Impact Assessment and go through a detailed review process before they can be certified.

 

The B Corp certification process has changed significantly under the new 2025 standards, and it’s worth understanding what’s involved before you begin. 

 

The starting point is the Foundation Requirements. These include confirming eligibility, adopting the B Corp legal requirement and completing a risk assessment so that any additional due-diligence requirements are identified before the business moves into the Impact Topic Requirements. 

 

From there, businesses work through the B Impact platform, which is now built around the Foundation Requirements and seven Impact Topic Requirements.

 

  • Purpose and stakeholder governance
  • Climate action
  • Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI)
  • Fair work
  • Human rights
  • Environmental stewardship and circularity
  •  Government affairs and collective action.

Critically, it’s no longer enough to achieve a strong overall score. Businesses must now meet applicable mandatory, evidence-based requirements across these areas, with requirements tailored to their size, sector, geography and risk profile. 

 

There’s also a legal requirement involved. Businesses need to make a formal commitment to considering the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders, which typically means amending the company’s governing documents. 

 

One of the most important shifts in the new standards is the emphasis on evidence. Policies alone won’t get you through. Businesses need to demonstrate proof of implementation, show measurable progress over time and be able to evidence ongoing accountability.  

 

Once the assessment is complete, businesses go through a verification stage, where evidence is reviewed. After certification, the work does not stop – the new standards are designed around continuous improvement, with companies expected to meet initial requirements and then progress towards additional requirements at future Year 3 and Year 5 milestones. 

 

Shareholder vs Stakeholder: Why the Difference Matters

One of the most important ideas in the B Corp model is the distinction between a shareholder and a stakeholder.

 

A shareholder is someone who owns shares in a company. A stakeholder, by contrast, is anyone who is affected by the company’s actions or has an interest in its outcomes. That can include employees, customers, suppliers, local communities and even the environment, depending on the nature of the business.

 

This distinction matters because it changes the question a business asks itself. Instead of asking only, “How do we maximise returns for owners?”, a stakeholder-led business also asks, “How do our decisions affect the people and places connected to our work?”

 

That broader perspective is one of the reasons B Corps are so influential. They recognise that businesses do not operate in isolation. Every decision has ripple effects, and responsible businesses should take those effects seriously.

 

In practice, this means B Corps are expected to consider the wellbeing of the people they employ, the communities they operate in, the resources they use and the customers they serve. It’s a more holistic and, arguably, more realistic view of what business is for.

Benefit Corporation vs B Corp: What’s the Difference?

This is one of the most common areas of confusion, and understandably so. The terms sound similar, but they are not the same thing.

 

A B Corp is a company that has been certified by B Lab after meeting the requirements of the B Impact Assessment and verification process.

A Benefit Corporation is a legal corporate structure that exists in some jurisdictions. It is similar to a C Corporation or S Corporation, but with one important difference: it requires the company to consider the impact of its decisions on all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

 

So how do they relate to each other?

A company can be a Benefit Corporation but not a Certified B Corp if it has adopted the legal structure but has not gone through the certification process.

A company can be a Certified B Corp but not a Benefit Corporation if it has completed the certification process but does not operate in a jurisdiction where the Benefit Corporation structure is available, or if it is not incorporated in a way that allows it to adopt that legal form.

A company can also be both a Benefit Corporation and a Certified B Corp if it has completed the certification process and changed its legal structure accordingly.

 

This distinction is important because it shows that B Corp certification and Benefit Corporation status are related, but separate. One is a certification, the other is a legal form. Together, they reflect the same underlying principle, that businesses can be designed to serve more than one purpose.

How Many B Corps Are There?

B Lab maintains a live count of Certified B Corporations on its website, and the number continues to grow across industries and regions. That growth matters because it shows the movement is no longer niche. B Corps now include businesses of all sizes, from small purpose-led organisations to well-known global brands. What they share is a commitment to balancing profit with purpose and being accountable for the impact they create.

 

As the community expands, so does its influence. The more businesses that adopt this model, the more normal it becomes to think about success in broader terms than financial return alone.

Where Can I Find a List of B Corporations?

If you want to explore the movement further, you can search the B Corp Directory on the B Lab website. The directory allows you to look up certified businesses by name, keyword, location or industry. It is a useful resource if you want to see how different organisations are approaching impact, or if you are looking for examples of businesses that have already gone through the certification process.

Ways to Work With Us

 

As an experienced B Corp consultancy and a certified B Corp ourselves, we understand both the opportunities and the challenges involved in B Corp certification.

We combine practical experience with strategic insight, helping organisations not only achieve certification but also embed the values of responsible business throughout their organisation.

 

There are lots of ways to work with us;