Certified B Corps are a new kind of business, balancing profit with people and the planet. We can build an inclusive and sustainable economy that works for everyone.
“Becoming a B Corp has a transformational effect on businesses. People want to work for, buy from and invest in businesses that recognise their role in addressing the global challenges of social injustice and the climate emergency. Joining a community of like minded companies allows us to tackle these issues together, amplify our impact and achieve real change.”
James Ghaffari, Director of Growth & Product, B Lab UK
Here is our step by step guide from our DiSRUPT team to using all ten tentacles.
Great starting point 😊 As a business, you can certify as a B Corp if you operate for profit in a competitive market, and have at least 12 months of operations.
Although this is the second step on our list (confusing!!), the first step in pursuing B Corp certification is actually to complete and submit the free B Impact Assessment (BIA). This is an online tool used to measure, improve and verify your company’s social and environmental performance and you can start your journey by registering here.
B-Impact Assessment
The BIA contains roughly 200 questions that are tailored to your company’s size, sector and location, and measures your positive impact on your team members, suppliers, community and the environment. Your progress is saved automatically so please don’t worry if you need to step away for a few hours or even a few days – log back in again when you are ready and you can continue your progress through those questions.
At this point it’s important to note that you will need at least 80 points to achieve B Corp Certification. However, once you have completed the BIA, please don’t panic if you haven’t yet hit that mark because our next step is all about…
The BIA has a number of fantastic tools that are built into it to enable your business to enhance its impact score. These include being able to add in team members as well as the function to export the assessment and chop it up - super handy for prioritising sections and bringing in the talent in your team to help you.
You can also activate a goal setting function as well as access a comprehensive knowledge base with best practice guides. And of course you are mighty welcome to book us in for cuppa whenever it works best for you – we can tell you all the things we got wrong, what we did to get back on track, and introduce you to some wonderful people and businesses whose partnerships will positively impact your BIA score. Guaranteed 😊
In making the B Corp legal change, your business will be required to adopt specific wording into your Articles of Association (basically the contract between your business and your shareholders).
This is your Brownie or Cub Scout Promise, to make a binding commitment to create a material positive impact on society and the environment, and to consider the impact of your decisions on all of your stakeholders. It sounds complex but your local solicitor will be able to make the required amendments and file your new Articles with Companies House in just a couple of weeks.
It’s a fantastic achievement to reach the point of submitting your BIA and you should be massively proud – it’s a process that can take several weeks and indeed months to work through. Once your BIA score is over the required 80+ marker and you have completed the Disclosure Questionnaire, then you are all good to go in submitting your assessment for review by B Lab. The review itself is a brilliant opportunity to keep working on improvements and evidence your impact as a business – it’s a pretty lovely feeling to talk through all the positive work you have put in so far.
Stage 1 of the review is Evaluation which essentially is a background check on your company’s eligibility and a screen of some of the higher scoring questions you will have answered as part of the BIA.
Stage 2 of the review is then Verification where one of the lovely Standards Analysts from B Lab will request supporting evidence from your BIA for discussion on your review call. It’s worth noting that your score could change during this process (ours did a little) so always remember to tackle the BIA conservatively and submit it with an excess score of 80 points.
Now let’s be honest, we know this is just the start of the journey, but for goodness sake please take a moment to recognise your awesomeness here. For once your business has met all the requirements, you’re now a certified B Corp!!!!
There will be a B Corp Agreement for you to sign (and an annual fee to pay) but you are now officially part of a powerhouse community of businesses doing rather amazing stuff in the world 😊 Remember that in order to maintain your B Corp Certification you will need to recertify every 3 years (so that means achieving another verified 80+ points score on the BIA) and there is also a requirement to create an annual Impact Report (something we can totally support you with if you are not already producing one).
It will support your growth. B Lab analysis found that B Corps in the UK grow 28 times faster than GDP. More than a third of British B Corps (35%) have attracted new audiences since certifying, with two-thirds of consumers saying they’re willing to spend more for goods and services that have a positive impact. That also led to a boost in staff size.
It will help you attract and retain talent. B Lab research has found the average staff attrition rate of B Corp SMEs was 10%, compared to 16-20% for the wider SME population.
Proving your responsible credentials can boost your chances of getting investment. About two thirds of private equity investors (65%) have developed a responsible investing or ESG policy and the tools to implement it, according to PwC, while 72% always screen target companies for ESG risks and opportunities at the pre-acquisition stage.
Looking to become a Planet Mark Certified business?
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Want to go through the process of becoming B-Corp Certified?
Becoming a B-Corp is rightly a challenge and there can be roadblocks throughout the process as you provide evidence of be a business for good. That's why we offer all our clients our expert advice on how to achieve B-Corp Status.
Visit our B-Corp Guide
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