BrazilThe path to B Corp certification in 7 steps
What does it take to achieve the prestigious B Corp certification? Experts from sustainability consultancy Nexio Projects outline seven steps to getting certified, covering eligibility criteria and practical tips.
The B Corp certification is awarded by the non-profit B Lab to businesses that can prove outstanding performance and transparency in several ESG categories. This exceptional commitment to environmental and social sustainability is not merely a plus, but for many businesses is a big part of maintaining trust with stakeholders.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for the B Corp Certification, an organization must be for-profit. This is simply because B Lab seeks to empower businesses to be part of the system-wide change that is most often spearheaded by governments and non-profits. NGOs, charities, and any government-funded organizations are not eligible.
A company must be operating for more than a year in order to get B Corp certified, though a new company can also get a provisional “Pending B Corp” status in the meantime if they meet the requirements.
Large companies with diverse or global operations can pursue B Corp certification but may encounter extra requirements like subsidiary reporting and issue disclosure. Companies involved in certain industries, like mining and fossil fuels, are generally disqualified from getting B Corp status, though some exceptions with specific conditions exist. Having clients in these sectors can also lead to ineligibility.
Steps to becoming a B Corp
With this preliminary work out of the way, companies need to complete the B Impact Assessment (BIA), an evaluation tool that allows you to measure your company’s social and environmental impact. It is essentially a questionnaire in which companies need to score at least 80 out of the possible 250+ points.
The first step is to assemble a ‘B team’ – the group of internal stakeholders that will work together to coordinate the effort. The team must provide all necessary data, or if any data is not available, disclosing that fact. Then the team needs to complete a disclosure questionnaire that covers any controversial practices, fines, or sanctions on the company.
Once the team submits the questionnaire and the supporting documentation, the company will be given a BIA score. This requires you to register on the BIA portal and gather all necessary data and documentation. Keeping careful notes on the data collection methodology is recommended.
The BIA will then be submitted. If the score is above 80, you can go on to the next step of the process, which is evaluation. A BIA score below 80 means that you have not passed and will have to improve that score.
The reality is that most companies applying for B Corp certification do not manage to pass the BIA on the first try. The BIA tool will help your company to better understand the areas that need improvement and the results will also include an Improvement Report.
With a passing score on the BIA, your company’s profile will then be evaluated by the B Lab Evaluation Team, which will determine whether the application is able to go on to the next step: Verification.
The process of verification will include several rounds of reviews in which your team will be asked to provide more documentation on your company’s specific practices. Your BIA score may be adjusted during this process.
At this point, the whole process is nearly complete. But one additional step is filling out the B Corp Legal Requirement, which is a legal commitment to ‘stakeholder governance’. This is in line with B Lab’s overall vision for companies to be more accountable to their workers, communities, and suppliers while being responsible in their relationship to the environment.
This legal requirement will need to be incorporated into the text of your company’s articles of association. The exact wording and integration of this text will vary depending on region and the type of company.
Certification
Congratulation! After passing all of these steps, you are certified. The only thing left to do is pay an annual fee to remain certified.
However, keep in mind that the initial certification is only the first step in the B Corp Journey: Maintaining the B Corp status requires getting re-certified every three years. This is very much an iterative process of not only maintenance, but of continuous improvement.
