New B Corp standards raise the bar for businesses
On 8 April 2025, B Lab unveiled the long awaited new standards for B Corp certification. It described the changes as a ‘significant evolution’ which provide a clear path for sustained commitment. Meeting the current standards is already a demanding process. From 2026, the bar is being raised even higher.
We absolutely support the new, more rigorous standards. They are all about making sure B Corp certification is relevant for the social and environmental challenges facing businesses now and in the future. They will help companies focus on what really matters. And that can only be a good thing for people, communities and the planet.
In May, we are hosting a webinar to explain more about the new standards. We’ll cover what they mean for your business and how the implementation timetable will affect your B Corp journey. In the meantime, we have pulled together a brief summary of the changes.
B Corps will need to meet core ‘Foundation Requirements’
Businesses must meet the following ‘Foundation Requirements’:
Be legally incorporated, have been operating for at least 12 months and comply with local and national laws.
Adopt the B Corp Legal Requirement. This means a business must set out a commitment to act as force for good in its articles of association and embed stakeholder governance principles.
Sign the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence.
Carry out a risk assessment using B lab’s profiling tool to identify additional requirements specific to sector or geography.
A company will not be able to certify if it generates 1% or more of its annual revenue from activities that harm its stakeholders. These include fossil fuel production, gambling, pornography and tobacco.
B Corps will be required to measure performance across seven Impact Topics
The current standards require a business to achieve an 80-point score across five impact areas, measured in the B Impact Assessment (Workers, Customers, Community, Environment and Governance). From 2026, B Corps will have to meet requirements across seven critical Impact Topics.
We like this approach because it moves away from cumulative point scoring, requiring a business to achieve a minimum threshold in each of the Impact Topics. This will address the criticism that B Corps may not always be acting on the most pressing social and environmental issues. For example, as it stands, a company can become a B Corp without a robust Net Zero strategy if they perform highly enough in other key areas.
It’s also great to see that each company’s individual context will be considered. A new Equity Mechanism and methodologies for categorising businesses in terms of size and sector have been released. We work with lots of businesses and no two companies are the same. This change recognises that they each face different challenges and can have a positive impact in different ways.
Businesses will need to demonstrate clear, concrete performance improvement at recertification
A continuous improvement mindset is at the heart of the B Corp community. However, as it stands businesses can remain certified by maintaining, rather than improving, their 80-point score. Under the new standards, companies recertifying must provide evidence of continuous improvement, demonstrate ongoing compliance and share their progress on specific plans and goals.
We like that this will strengthen the credibility of B Corp accreditation and keep businesses focused on always doing better for people and the planet. This change recognises businesses that go above and beyond, and challenges those who have slipped into a culture of complacency. It may be more demanding for B Corps, but there’s no doubt this is a ‘win-win’ for everyone.
What does this mean for your business?
If you’re on, or about to embark on, your B Corp journey, don’t worry. We’re here to help and B Corp’s enabling tools and processes will also evolve along with the standards. Any work you’ve completed on the existing impact areas will remain relevant. But there will be some extra effort and investment needed to meet the performance requirements for the new Impact Topics.
There are also some key dates you should be aware of when planning. If you want to certify as a B Corp for the first time using the existing Version 6 B Impact Assessment, you should submit before 31 December 2025. Submissions from 1 January 2026 will have to meet the new standards.
If you’re a B Corp with a recertification date during 2026, you will be transitioned to the new standards and receive a 12-month extension to your recertification due date. A self-assessment in B Impact (now available) will need to be completed so you can begin preparing for certification on the new standards.
Remember, whether you’re thinking about becoming a B Corp for the first time or recertifying, talk to us for expert guidance and support. You can set up a one-to-one call, sign up for our free webinar or apply for our next B Corp Accelerator programme which starts in May.