B Corp certification is a certification for companies that want to document that they are working systematically with their social, environmental and management impacts. The certification is administered by B Lab. For companies seeking certification from 2026, B Lab’s new standard V2.1 applies, which was launched after the major standard update in April 2025. The new model is no longer based on an overall points score, but on specific requirements across 7 impact topics and a number of basic requirements, called Foundation Requirements. B Corp is therefore not just something you “have”. It is a framework for how the company works with governance, risks, policies, processes, documentation and continuous improvements. For some companies, B Corp becomes first and foremost a certification. For others, it also becomes a practical management tool.
What is B Corp certification?
B Corp certification is a third-party verified certification that assesses whether a company meets B Lab’s requirements across key social, environmental and governance-related areas. Under the new standard, companies must meet requirements within 7 impact topics: Purpose & Stakeholder Governance, Fair Work, Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Human Rights, Climate Action, Environmental Stewardship & Circularity, and Government Affairs & Collective Action. This means that certification is no longer about collecting enough points across different categories. It is about whether the company can document practices and compliance with requirements across the areas covered by the standard.
What does B Corp require in practice?
The short answer is: a sincere commitment to the work, and in addition, systematicity, documentation and management support. Under the new standard, companies must, among other things, be able to demonstrate that they have relevant policies, procedures and governance structures in place, and that they are working to improve their practices over time. B Lab itself describes the new model as a framework for continuous improvement, where the requirements are built up in phases over a five-year certification cycle. Year 0 is about establishing strong foundations, and additional requirements follow later. In addition, Foundation Requirements are part of the certification basis. They include, among other things, access requirements, legal anchoring of stakeholder governance and a risk profile, which has an impact on which additional requirements the company meets in the process.
B Corp expects a sustainability management system
With the new standard, it has become clearer that B Corp does not only assess individual policies or efforts. In practice, companies are expected to have a sustainability management system that makes it possible to work more systematically with social, environmental and management issues across the business. It is not necessarily about a formal system in the classic ISO sense, but about the company having a structure that makes it possible to translate requirements into practice, follow up and improve work over time. This may include, for example:
- policies and principles
- roles and responsibilities
- risk assessments
- goals and action plans
- documentation
- follow-up and improvements
For many companies, this is precisely where B Corp can create value: not only as certification, but as a framework for gathering and structuring work on ESG, due diligence and management anchoring.
What can companies specifically use B Corp for?
B Corp can be used for several different things, depending on where the company is:
- As an overview of requirements and gaps B Impact allows companies to measure themselves against the latest standard and get an overview of the 7 impact topics. It can be used to identify where the company lacks documentation, processes or management support.
- As a structure for internal implementation The new standard makes it clearer which areas the company must work on, and makes it easier to organize the work across HR, purchasing, management, compliance, sustainability and communication. This is a reasonably practical conclusion based on the standard’s structure across seven fixed impact topics.
- As a framework for continuous improvements B Lab has built the new standard as a phased approach over time. This makes B Corp more useful as a development tool and less of a one-off exercise.
- As a third-party verified certification For companies with B2C communication in the EU, it may also be important for B Lab to link the new third-party verified model to the ECGT Directive’s requirements for sustainability labels.
Today, B Corp certification is more than a certification. For many companies, it can also function as a structure for working more systematically with governance, due diligence, goals, action plans and improvements over time. This is also why the new standard is worth understanding in depth — not only for companies that want to be certified, but also for companies that want to professionalize their work with social and environmental issues.
Would you like to clarify whether B Corp can be used as a certification, a management tool or both in your company? Then I will be happy to help you create an overview of the requirements, structure and next steps.