B Corporation (B Corp) Certification is a designation that a company is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.
The B Corp movement began in 2006 in the USA based on businesses being a force for good and not just profit generators. It is shifting the economic system from profiting only the few to benefiting all, from concentrating wealth and power to ensuring equity, from extraction to regeneration and from prioritising individualism to embracing interdependence.
Certification is administered by B Lab a non-profit organisation.
In order to achieve certification, a company must:
- Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above.
- Make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status if available in their own jurisdiction.
- Exhibit transparency by publishing performance information.
B Corps can reap remarkable benefits as they build trust with consumers, communities, and suppliers; attract and retain employees; and encourage mission-aligned investors. The verification process is every three years to recertify so B Corps are focused on continuous improvement which leads to their long-term resiliency.
To obtain a B Corporation certification, a company must complete the B Impact Assessment, which measures the positive impact of the company in areas of governance, workers, community, the environment and customers. Companies that earn a minimum score of 80 out of 200 points undergo an assessment review process to verify the claims made in their assessment.
In order to meet the transparency requirement for B Corp Certification, a business must publish its public profile in the B Corp Directory including the company’s score and impact report.
We can assist in changing a company’s Constitution to reflect their B Corp commitment. Just email pm@parfreymurphy.ie