EN / IT / PT
BACK TO HOME TORNA ALLA PAGINA INIZIALE VOLTAR PARA A PÁGINA INICIAL

New B Corp standards: what changes and how to prepare

2025
Topic
Regenerative Purpose Foundation (governance) Impact Business Models Take a Stand Measurement Ecosystem
Applications Finance Climate & Energy Transition Sports & Events Reporting Humans Architecture Science
Nativa DNA NATIVA voice Legacy

Introduction to the new B Corp standards

After working for years to create standards, policies, tools and programs with the goal of transforming the global economic system, B Lab recently unveiled the new standards to become B Corp, marking a significant evolution in the nonprofit organization’s 19-year history.

Indeed, B Lab operates with the goal of contributing to the realization of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy and, through the B Corp model, since 2006 has mobilized thousands of companies around the world to evolve to generate a positive impact on people and the planet. Today there are nearly 10,000 B Corps worldwide in 105 different countries and employ nearly 1 million workers in 160 sectors.

With this the new standards, B Lab wants to raise the bar even higher, giving companies the tools to generate meaningful and sustainable change. As Clay Brown, Head of Standards, Certification & Product Delivery at B Lab Global said: “This is not simply an update of our standards: it is a complete reworking of the concept of business impact, designed to meet the challenges of our time. B Lab’s new standards will be a guide for leadership on social and environmental issues at a time when it is needed most.”

The new B Corp standards were defined through four years of work, including two public consultations and the receipt of 26,000 pieces of feedback from stakeholders from 67 countries, including experts in the field, companies and the broader public. These standards will have to be gradually fulfilled by all current B Corp’s and companies that want to become one in the future.

But why were they introduced and what are the main changes for the B Corp world? Let’s find out together.

Why B Lab updated B Corp standards.

Since its establishment in 2006, B Lab has continuously evolved the B Corp standards so that they could remain relevant in a changing market environment, with gradually more mature companies and the publication of new scientific studies and regulations. Those just published represent the seventh update of the standards and, as stated by B Lab, ” offer greater clarity and consistency, ensuring that companies focus on the most impactful actions. These new standards establish a more solid and transparent foundation for all companies committed to building an inclusive, equitable and regenerative global economy “.

New B Corp standards: highlights

The new B Corp standards have some new features that revolutionize the requirements for becoming and remaining a B Corp over time:

1) The new basic requirements for becoming a B Corp.

The first change is that in order to become a B Corp, companies will have to comply with all the requirements (and their sub-requirements), which fall into two categories:

      • Foundation requirements. Companies will have to meet basic eligibility requirements before they can move on to the next requirements. These include the legal integration of a stakeholder governance model (which in Italy corresponds to the transformation into a Benefit Company) and that the conduct of a risk assessment with B Lab’s tools, which could later lead to the addition of new sub-requirements to be met.
      • Impact Topic Requirements . Companies will then have to demonstrate that they meet all sub-requirements in 7 key areas of social, environmental and governance impact, which we will elaborate on in a moment.

Importantly, the specific sub-requirements that a company will need to meet will also depend on its size, sector, industry and geographical area.

2) The 7 key themes of the new B Corp standards.

Another change is the discontinuation of the cumulative score that allowed companies to become B Corp only if they scored at least 80 out of 200 points within the B Impact Assessment, reviewed by B Lab.
Under the new standards, each company, in order to become a B Corp, will have to meet, as mentioned above, all the sub-requirements contained in seven Key Impact Topics, which are:

      • Purpose & Stakeholder Governance: That is, acting on a defined purpose and integrating stakeholder governance into the decision-making process, creating governance structures to monitor purpose, social and environmental performance.
      • Climate Action: That is, develop an action plan to support limiting global warming to 1.5°C and, for larger companies, include greenhouse gas emissions and science-based targets (science-based).
      • Human Right (Human Rights): That is, to understand how its operations and value chain may result in negative human rights impacts and take steps to prevent and mitigate them.
      • Fair Work: That is, providing good quality jobs and having positive company cultures, implementing fair wage practices, and integrating worker feedback into decision making.
      • Environmental Stewardship & Circularity: That is, assessing its environmental impacts and taking meaningful actions to minimize them in its operations and value chain.
      • Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: That is, promoting inclusive and diverse work environments and contributing meaningfully to just and equitable communities.
      • Government Affairs & Collective Action: That is, engage in collective efforts to promote systemic change, support policies that create positive social and environmental outcomes, and, for larger companies, publicly share each country’s fiscal reporting.

The fulfillment of each requirement will be verified during the verification process to become a B Corp.

3) A focus on continuous improvement

To remain B Corp over time, companies will need to demonstrate that they have undertaken continuous improvement in their impacts.
Therefore, while to become a B Corp under the new standards companies will have to meet all the sub-requirements that B Lab has set for year 0, in subsequent years they will also have to improve and demonstrate compliance with the year 3 and year 5 goals, which will be more challenging than the previous ones.

So for example, in the third year of certification, the company will have to comply with both the sub-requirements of year 0 and the new sub-requirements of year 3; in the fifth year, it will have to comply with the sub-requirements of year 0 and 3 and be compliant with the sub-requirements of year 5.

Timelines and how to prepare for the new B Corp standards

Both new companies and current B Corps will have to deal with the new standards. Details on timelines can be found in the FAQ section further down.

To prepare for this important change, it is critical that all companies begin to learn about the new standards and conduct an analysis to understand which sub-requirements will apply to their company based on industry and size; it is also important to make sure they understand with certainty whether or not all of the requirements in Year 0 are met. The new standards represent a significant evolution from their predecessors, with goals that can be challenging for companies: in the event that some requirements are not met, it will be critical to create an improvement plan that can ensure the company is compliant with the new B Corp standards. Subsequently, it will also be important to begin to learn about the sub-requirements required in year 3 and year 5, and to plan an improvement action integrates with the business strategy and sustainability plan.

How NATIVA can support your company on the B Corp journey.

NATIVA has believed in the B Corp model since its inception, recognizing its transformative power for businesses and society. We were the first B Corp in Italy in 2013 and have proudly supported more than 140 companies on paths of evolution that also enabled them to become B Corp.

We welcome the new standards, aware of how being a B Corp is a journey of continuous exploration and improvement.

If you are a company interested in confronting the new B Corp standards, with the goal of improving your impact or becoming a B Corp, you can contact us here! We will support you in learning about the new requirements, how they apply to your organization and how they can support its sustainable innovation journey.

FAQ on new B Corp standards

Below is a section of frequently asked questions about the new B Corp. standards:

When will the new B Corp standards go into effect for already B Corp companies?

The entry into force of the new standards for B Corp changes depending on several factors:
SMALL, SMALL MEDIUM AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

      • B Corp with recertification date by Dec. 31, 2025
        The company must make submissions under current standards (Version 6) with a firm deadline of June 30, 2025.After this date, B Lab will no longer accept recertification requests under current standards.
      • B Corp with a recertification date of January 1 to December 31, 2026
        The company recertifies according to the Year 0 sub-requirements of the new standards, with a 12-month extension from the current recertification date. B Corp will have to submit their self-assessment for verification by the extended recertification date, so the six-month early submission policy does not apply.

Details about the new certification process will be shared before July 1, 2025.

LARGE AND MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES

      • B Corp with a recertification date by December 31, 2025. The company must make submissions according to the current standards (Version 6) no later than 3 months before the existing submit deadlines* with respect to their recertification cycle expiration date.
      • B Corp with a recertification date of January 1 to December 31, 2026. The company recertifies according to the Year 0 sub-requirements of the new standards, with a 12-month extension from the current recertification date.

All information is available on the B Lab website. We advise each B Corp to write to B Lab to specifically assess their situation.

How do the new B Corp requirements change by industry, size, and geographic area?

To ensure that standards remain relevant and applicable for companies in different industries and geographies, B Lab has developed a number of strategies for customizing requirements:

      • Some sub-requirements will be differentiated according to company size and industry. The number and stringency of sub-requirements increase with company size.
      • Some sub-requirements provide different options or are inherently context-dependent. Although companies will now have to fulfill all requirements that apply to them (instead of the previous points-based certification approach), in some parts they can choose how to fulfill these requirements. In addition, other sub-requirements are inherently based on business context.
      • Equity mechanism for countries and territories to ensure fair and balanced application globally. Depending on where they operate, companies are in fact subject to contextual dynamics that affect their ability to meet B Lab’s Standards. The Fairness Mechanism allows some companies to exclude up to 15 percent of the sub-requirements, depending on their geographic location. All information is available on the B Lab website.

Are the new B Corp standards compatible with other sustainability standards such as GRI or ESRS?

The new standards have areas of interoperability, where they align with other frameworks, such as GRI or ESRS, to make it easier for companies to use data, methodologies or tools they are already working with. These overlaps can help companies simplify documentation and data collection.

In addition, B Lab is developing a new third-party verification model, compliant with the EU Empowering Consumers Directive (ECGT), which will come into effect in September 2026. From then on, companies seeking B Corp certification will be verified by accredited third-party entities according to B Lab’s new assurance model.

What is the role of Impact Business Models (IBM) in the new B Corp standards?

IBMs (Impact Business Models) represent how a company is intentionally designed to generate a specific positive impact for a specific stakeholder group. Due to the evolving regulatory framework-such as the Empowering Consumers Directive-and the risk of further delays in the adoption and implementation of the new standards, the assessment and recognition of IBMs were not included in the first publication of the new B Corp. standards. B Lab confirms its commitment to exploring ways to recognize and value IBMs, both within and outside the B Corp. certification process.

Where can I find the new complete B Corp standards?

You can read in detail about the new B Corp standards on the B Lab website, at this link.