How to Become a B Corp

Introducing the B Corp community

You’ve probably heard about companies becoming B Corps or seen brands sharing their recent certification on LinkedIn. But what does all of this mean?

B Corporations are companies such as Jubel or Delphis Eco that have been certified to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Who decides who can become a B Corp, you wonder? B Corps are certified by B Lab, a non-profit aiming to harness the power of businesses as a force for good. Focusing on stakeholder-driven models, B Lab rewards businesses that benefit people and the planet.

B Lab recognised that governments and non-profits alone could not solve the world’s most challenging problems, such as economic inequality and environmental degradation. Companies had a vital role to play, and B Lab would lead the adoption of new business standards.

Since 2006, the B Corp movement has grown, and with it, a community of businesses improving their social and environmental impact to drive positive change. As of 2024, there are 8,250 B Corps across 162 industries and 96 countries. We’re seeing those numbers grow every month.

The benefits of becoming a B Corp

From greater levels of employee retention and diversity to increased commercial and marketing opportunities, B Corps are rewarded with a wide range of business benefits. Here’s a preview of how you could benefit from certification:

• Revenue growth: UK B Corps saw their revenues increase by an average of 26% between 2017 and 2020, compared to 5% for other companies. Clearly, doing good is also good for business!
• Headcount growth: B Corps are seeing faster growth in their employee headcount. That makes sense, given the fact that people want to join companies that align with their values.
• Employee retention: B Corps also have lower attrition rates than other businesses. Why would you want to leave a company that’s doing good for people and the planet?
• Greater innovation: B Corps are shaking things up in their industries, so it is no surprise that they apply for and receive more R&D tax credits.
• Securing investment: B Corps are more successful in raising capital. Certification can mean better risk management, and B Lab has already done some due diligence for investors!

Do you think your company has what it takes to become a B Corp? Going through the certification process will help you answer that question.

Certifying as a B Corp

Aspiring B Corps use the B Impact Assessment, a digital tool helping companies measure their social and environmental impact. What does it do? It evaluates companies’ practices regarding their governance, workers, and customers, as well as how they impact communities and the environment.

The bar has been set high. To be certified, companies must achieve a total B Impact Assessment score of 80 across the five evaluated sections. To give you a better idea of what that means, ordinary businesses have a median score of 50.9.

That’s not all. When they become B Corps, companies also commit to adopting the legal structure of a Benefit Corporation. This legal commitment makes B Corps accountable to all stakeholders and protects a company’s mission from changes in leadership or investment.

Of course, B Corps don’t stop at certification. The movement is about continually improving performance and a company’s ability to positively impact people and the planet. That is why B Corps are recertified every three years to ensure they align with B Lab’s standards.

How carbon accounting platforms can help attain certification

As you go through the certification process, you will want to identify ways to save time, as it requires diligent data collection and management. Leveraging a carbon accounting platform can ease the process, especially for the environmental section of the questionnaire.

We’ve calculated that companies can earn at least 13.5 points from the Environment Impact Area of the B Impact Assessment. That’s nearly 17% of the points needed to meet B Lab’s standards and reach certification.

For the environmental section of the questionnaire, companies will need to disclose a holistic greenhouse gas inventory covering emissions from scopes 1, 2, and 3. B Lab will also request accurate data on a company’s energy consumption, water usage, and waste generation.

That’s where carbon accounting software such as Zevero can simplify data collection for emissions reporting, streamline the calculation process, and create reports with the environmental data you need for the B Impact Assessment.

In line with B Lab’s expectations of continuous improvement, carbon accounting software and climate experts can help you track your KPIs, set targets and identify pathways to reduce your emissions.

How Zevero helped Wieden+Kennedy become a B Corp

Wieden+Kennedy is a global advertising agency network with 1500 employees in seven countries. Its mission is to use creativity to impact culture and bring positive change to the world.

They received their B Corp certification with a score of 83, a reward for their commitment to social and environmental sustainability. They are using business as a force for good and hope to inspire others in the process.

Throughout the certification process, Wieden+Kennedy partnered with Zevero to implement an emissions measurement program and develop a science-backed strategy to reduce their emissions.

The partnership between Zevero and Wieden+Kennedy contributed to them earning 11.1 points in the environment section. That’s nearly 14% of the points needed to pass B Labs certification requirements.

Zevero works with everyone, from leading global companies to the most ambitious challenger brands who want to build credible climate programmes, reduce carbon emissions, and quantify their decisions.

Through powerful technology and climate experts, Zevero is on a mission to help accelerate the transition to a net zero economy. To do so, we enable companies to measure their impact and reduce emissions.

*Reach out to Zevero to explore how you can measure, reduce and report your climate impact.*

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