You might have seen it before. A small B logo on some products. I’ve been noticing the logo pop up more and more lately. So, what exactly does it mean to be B Corp certified?
I am constantly looking for brands that are giving back to the planet and those living on it. Quite honestly, I run into a lot of companies that say they are socially conscious, ethical, and give back. But how do I know they actually are? How do we know that’s truly how the company operates? That’s where the B Corp certification comes in.
What is B Corp Certification?
In today’s economic climate, there seems to be an increasing sentiment that corporations are evil, corrupt, and abusive. I’ve talked about it in past blog posts — slave labor in big chocolate and the exploitation of garment workers — there are most definitely companies that are benefitting financially by exploiting workers, abusing the environment, and price gouging customers.
The B Corporation website puts it best. “The B Corporation is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.” These organizations believe that business can be a force for good. The certification looks at the overall positive impact of an organization, which includes:
- products or services offered
- employees
- customers
- community
- environment
In order to become certified, companies must receive a passing score on their B Impact Assessment. They must make their impact report available on the B Corporation’s website. Last, their legal governing documents must require their Board of Directors to balance purpose and profit. By doing so, certified B Corps gain credibility by consumers, but also create accountability for themselves.
Who Decides?
B Labs is the nonprofit organization that administers the certification process. Their mission is to help build and support a movement of enterprises who use business for good. They operate in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a partnership in Latin America with Sistema B. Any for-profit organization in any industry can apply to become a B Corp. Currently, corporations in over 150 different industries have been certified.
Why Should I Care?
As someone who spends a lot of time looking at “social impact” brands, this is awesome. Like I mentioned, anyone can say they run a socially conscious company. Truth is, we all have our own definitions of what that means. And our definitions can vary dramatically from each other.
Having a set of standards that all companies need to adhere to in order to gain certification provides a framework for what being a “social good” company means. Likewise, an independent third party who has looked critically at a company’s business operations and deemed it as having a positive impact makes that claim far more credible. If you want to support brands that are trying to balance purpose and profits, then this is a great tool. Even better, someone’s already done the work of vetting the organization for you.
What About Companies That Are Not Certified?
As of 2019, there are a little over 3,000 companies that are B-certified. Ummm… that’s not very many, you say? True. A lot of companies do not pursue these types of certifications due to cost, resources, or priorities. It obviously takes time, effort, and funds to get certified. And for some organizations, it’s just not going to make sense to pursue. And that’s OK too.
That being said, think of the B Corp certification as an extra seal of approval. I used to think only small, grassroots companies could be “socially conscious.” Not true! Many large corporations are coming around to the idea that businesses can be forces of good change. In fact, some may argue that the big companies SHOULD be leading the charge. But that’s another story for another time…
So next time you see the B Corp logo on the product, you have the confidence in knowing that this brand has gone through a rigorous screening process and is committed to making the world a better place. Personally, I think it’s awesome that companies are voluntarily stepping up and making themselves publicly accountable for how they treat their employees, the environment, and their customers.