Becoming a Certified B Corp
I’ve admired the B Corp movement and their commitment to creating a more sustainable, inclusive, and regenerative economy for over a decade. And I intentionally seek out B Corps when making purchasing and gift decisions.
Back in July 2020, the CEO of PaperCut Software asked for help in researching the steps to become a certified B Corp. I eagerly jumped in to launch the effort. It’s an undertaking, but there is nothing quite like this global community of companies and individuals using business as a force for good.
What is B Corp? And who does it serve?
The B Corp movement seeks to inspire people in business to balance profit against the impact of businesses on people and the planet. B Corps must adopt steps to ensure that they positively affect their stakeholders; workers, customers, suppliers, community members, governance, and the environment. To become certified, a business must be independently verified by B Lab. B Lab, founded in 2007 is the not-for-profit organization behind B Corps. Its mission is to create a more sustainable and inclusive economy with opportunities for everyone. B Lab serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good.
It’s a Certification: A Trust mark for companies that meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
It’s a Community: People and businesses that come together to increase our individual and collective impact.
It’s a Roadmap: A journey of continuous improvement to do business in a way that’s better for workers, communities, and the environment.
It’s a Movement: A global movement of leaders influencing other people in business, customers, suppliers, and whole industries to do better.
It’s a Commitment: To balance purpose and profit and use business as a force for good.
What might this mean for your organization?
B Corp is an opportunity to reaffirm your organizational DNA. Your purpose, who you are, and what you do. It voluntarily drives new organizational behaviors within a framework that provides rigorous assessment. It’s the only framework that provides a tangible and measurable road map but you get to decide what is most important and what to pursue. Inherent in the model is a bias to action. Small wins add up! It’s holistic and it focuses on learning and continuous improvement. And it’s stakeholder-driven. Win-win-win!
So how do you start?
Here are some recommended steps to get you started on your journey.
First, who can certify?
For-profit companies of any size, in any industry or geography.
Your company must be over 1 year old.
Make a legal commitment by updating your corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status if available in their jurisdiction.
Recommended steps:
Convene a team to steward the process. Involve people! Either with a formal B Corp Committee or loosely, in the process (and later in the improvement) of your assessment score. It can be very helpful to also secure an executive sponsor.
Gather these documents:
Payroll register/employee roster.
Employee handbook.
List of your “significant suppliers.” If you have more than 10 employees: top 80% of suppliers/vendors by dollar volume; if you have fewer than 10 employees: top five suppliers.
Breakdown of revenue from your various products and services.
Profit and Loss statement.
Any resource-use tracking (energy, greenhouse gas, water, etc).
Any sustainability, DEI or corporate social responsibility goals, reports, progress, or tracking documents.
Then take the Assessment! It’s free, open, anonymous, and available to anyone.
It will help you identify your North Star and where you need to focus. The assessment takes 2-3 hours to complete and includes tons of free tips and resources.
After taking the assessment, determine what improvements might need to be made before applying for certification.
When you have 80+ points, submit your assessment.
Tips For Success:
One of the best ways to improve your score is to take a strategic approach toward tracking impact metrics and internal key performance indicators, both giving you a clear image of your strengths and gaining points on the assessment.
Note: In the spirit of continuous improvement, B Lab is in the midst of an evolution to the standards to achieve B Corp certification.
Reach out if you’d like someone to support and guide you through the process.
Learn more about the pathway to certification for US companies.
Other regions:
Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand.
B Lab Europe and B Corp UK