The B Corp Standards are at the heart of the B Corp movement, defining social, environmental and governance best practices for for-profit businesses. They were established with B Lab's founding in 2006 and have undergone updates since then. The core of the standards and the framework itself however have been largely consistent including the fact that companies need to achieve a verified score of 80 points by meeting a flexible range of ESG standards. While this approach has been impactful for 16+ years now, it also has its limitations.
Leadership in environmental and social performance changes over time. The world is at a different stage compared to where it was 15 years ago. In response to stakeholder feedback, in December 2000, B Lab announced a review of the performance requirements for B Corp Certification.
The just underwent their second public consultation and are currently under review by the Standards Advisory Council and B Lab's Board. Below are are the biggest changes in a snapshot; the full draft with proposed changes to the standards can be found here and answers to FAQs here.
Old
Companies have a verified 80 point score.
Companies have flexibility in how to achieve the 80 pt. score.
At recertification: Companies need to again have a verified 80 point score.
New
Companies need to meet specific requirements on ten topics.
Each requirement will be verified for certification
At recertification: Companies need to demonstrate ongoing compliance with the requirements, progress on topic-specific plans, and on goals set in the impact management topic.
Picture by B Lab