Process & Requirements

Attract People with Passion

The Process: What To Expect & How To Prepare

  • The B Impact Assessment will be your main tool for B Corp Certification.
  • Many people at your company will likely need to be involved to collect information for the B Impact Assessment. Learn how to add your team members to the B Impact Assessment.
  • Expect the process to take at least 12 months. There are ways to make sure you’re ready for each stage of the process and anticipate what you need. To help, we’ve created an article on How to prepare for your V2.1 audit.
  • For more information on how to choose a track in the B Impact Assessment, please see use this guide. If your company has one or more complex structures (e.g. having operations in more than one country or revenue over $100MM) visit this page for more certification information.
  • In order to become a Certified B Corporation, eligible companies must submit their assessment to B Lab for verification and pay relevant fees throughout the certification process. To remain a Certified B Corp year after year, a B Corp must also pay an annual certification fee. Learn more about our fees.

Requirements

Verify your Social and Environmental Performance Regularly

Leverage B Impact to measure and manage your company’s impact and meet the necessary requirements to submit for audit and join the community. Keep your certification in good standing over time through recertification. The frequency and type of audits during the five-year certification period depend on the company’s specific circumstances (for example, its sector and size).

Mission Lock Your Company

Your company must adopt a legal framework that accounts for all stakeholders. This varies by country and state/province. Please use our legal requirement tool to determine the right path for your company.

Embrace Transparency

Publish your B Impact Report in our B Corp Directory. This will be done as a final step right before certification.

Pay Your Annual Fee

You are expected to recertify your company every three years, but you must pay an annual fee based on your gross revenue. See our fee structure for more details.

For more information, please see our guide to recertification.

Guide to Recertification 

Timeline

Before you certify, here are some of the steps your company should follow:

  1. 1 Understand the Business Case for B Corp Certification and the Legal Requirement

    Learn more about the value of certifying and amending your legal documents with the B Corp Legal Framework.

  2. 2 Create a Team

    Rally people from across your company, including Legal, Human Resources, Procurement, Facilities & Leadership. Once they get on board, the process for collecting information for the assessment will be more efficient.

  3. 3 Complete the B Impact Assessment

    Use B Impact to build a team, benchmark and manage your company’s impact, meet certification requirements, and store relevant data. For more information, check out this video – Getting Started in B Impact: Key Functionality Demo.

  4. 4 Submit for Audit

    Once you’ve met all certification requirements and uploaded the required documentation, submit your assessment for audit. B Lab will connect your company with one of our trusted third-party auditors to conduct an audit. For more information on pricing check out our fees page.

  5. 5 Reach Out

    Have questions or concerns about the company’s situation? Connect with our team by reaching out to .

What To Expect During the Review Process

  1. 1 Certification Readiness

    After completing the self-assessment and uploading evidence for all sub-requirements, you must sign the B Corp Agreement in order to submit your assessment for audit.

  2. 2 Submit for Audit

    After submitting, B Lab will connect you with the relevant assurance partner to schedule an audit.

  3. 3 Audit Report

    After the audit is completed, you will receive an audit report listing any nonconformities with B Lab’s standards and prepare a Correction Action Plan if necessary to resolve any nonconformities.

  4. 4 Finalize Certification

    After the audit is completed, you will receive a final certification decision, and if successful, you will receive a certificate from B Lab that is valid for 5 years. Your auditor will communicate the frequency of future audits depending on your company’s size and sector. All companies will receive audits 3 years and 5 years after their initial certification.

For more detailed information about the certification process, check out this webinar recording.

B Corp Declaration of Interdependence

We envision a global economy that uses business as a force for good. This economy is comprised of a new type of corporation – the B Corporation – which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. 

As Certified B Corporations and leaders of this emerging economy, we believe:

  • That we must be the change we seek in the world.
  • That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
  • That, through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.
  • To do so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.