Introduction
I’ve been seeing on many websites, shops etc information about organisation’s being certified to B Corp (B meaning ‘Benefits’). I thought therefore it would be a good opportunity to find out more about this sustainability certification system for this post.
B Lab was founded in 2006 and is a non profit organisation. It originated when the founders decided to sell a basketball and footwear company that they owned. When doing so all employee benefits such as fair wages, professional development opportunities and charitable giving were stripped by the new owners. The founders therefore decided to develop a more permanent structure for social and environmental practices. B Lab is responsible for managing B Corp certification by the way.
B Corp Certification
At the time of writing there are over 6500 certified B corps around the world in 89 countries. It certainly seems to be gaining traction and becoming a very well-known sustainability certification scheme.
To gain B Corp certification an organisation must complete three tasks.
Step 1 – Carry out a B Impact assessment (BIA)
This is a no cost online tool that an organisation can use to measure its impacts on stakeholders. It’s a fairly heft undertaking with around 200 questions to answer. That BIA covers many topics under the following headings (some examples are provided next to the category headings):
- Governance – ethics code, whistle blower policy
- Workers – health, wellness and safety and engagement
- Environment – environmental management systems, water, waste and energy use
- Community – diversity, equity and inclusion
- Customers – customer feedback or complaint mechanism monitoring of customer outcomes and wellbeing.
The BIA generally covers day to day operations in these categories. Further questions are asked of organisations that already make a positive impact, these questions for part of the Impact Business Model (IBM).
The answers to the questions are scored, and if a score of 80+ points is reached and the organisation has submitted a Confidential Disclosure Questionnaire it is then thoroughly reviewed by B Lab.
Step 2 – Meet B Corp Legal requirements
All organisations that want to become B Corp certified must Meet B Corp legal requirements and must also update their Articles of Association based on these requirements. The B Corp legal requirements legally commit an organisation as a force for good. It does this by legally committing to:
- creating a material positive impact on society and environment, and
- considering stakeholder interests, such as those associated with shareholders, employees and the environment.
Once Articles of Association have been updated they have to be filed with Companies House (or equivalents in other countries outside of the UK).
Step 3 – sign the B Corp Agreement and Declaration of Interdependence
The B Corp Declaration of Interdependence is a short statement that commits the organisation to be a force for good. The impact score of the organisation is listed on the B Corp directory. This enables transparency as the impact of any organisation certified to B Corp can be viewed.
Recertification
To keep certification the B Corp Impact Assessment must be updated every three years. It is then submitted, documentation is provided and as before the score is thoroughly checked by B Lab.
Final Note
The B Corp certification scheme is becoming increasingly popular with many organisations. As we have seen it consists of the three tasks: completing a B Impact assessment, meeting B Corp legal requirements and signing the B Corp Agreement and Declaration of Interdependence.
John Binns BSc (Hons), MSc, MIEMA
With over 19 years’ experience working in environment management, John Binns BSc (Hons) MSc MIEMA is an experienced environmental tutor and consultant