Certification · social and environmental performance
B Corp certification: how it works after the V2 rewrite
B Corp certification is a private, voluntary certification run by B Lab, and since the B Lab Standards (V2) every submission is assessed against minimum requirements in seven Impact Topics rather than an 80-point score.
A certificate now runs for five years with a Year 3 audit, and it is audited by an independent Assurance Provider rather than by B Lab.
In the UK, certifying means amending your own Articles of Association; it does not change section 172 and discharges no UK legal duty.
The certification
A private certification, rewritten in 2025
B Corp certification is awarded by B Lab, a non-profit network, to companies that meet its standards for social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
It is voluntary and private: no statute creates it, no regulator supervises it, and in the UK it is administered by B Lab UK.
B Lab rewrote the standards in 2025: V2.0 was published on 8 April 2025, with minor updates as V2.1 on 12 August 2025 and V2.2 on 20 February 2026.
B Lab UK says all certification submissions are now on V2, and every existing B Corp moves to it at its next recertification.
The rewrite changed the threshold, the structure, who carries out the audit and how long a certificate lasts.
The naming is untidy by B Lab’s own account: the rewrite was known informally as “V7”, a name B Lab says “didn’t truly reflect the magnitude of their evolution”, so the standards have “instead become V2”.
B Lab publishes no dated statement of which point release is current, so V2.2 as current is a reading of its change log, not a statement B Lab has made.
- 8 Apr 2025V2.0 published
The B Lab Standards rewrite.
- 12 Aug 2025V2.1
A minor update.
- 20 Feb 2026V2.2
A further minor update.
- 15 Jul 2026ECGT audit step
Impacted B Corps expected to submit for audit.
- 27 Sep 2026EU rules apply
Directive (EU) 2024/825 in effect.
The threshold
The 80-point score is gone; seven sets of minimum requirements replaced it
The old model scored a company on the B Impact Assessment and required 80 points to certify, and that figure is still the most repeated fact about B Corp.
It no longer describes the scheme: B Lab says the new standards are “moving away from individual point scoring to minimum requirements across seven Impact Topics”, and that there is no longer a target point score.
A company now meets the minimum requirements in each applicable Impact Topic or it does not, so strength in one topic no longer offsets weakness in another.
The requirements are phased: some apply at Year 0, and new requirements fall due at Year 3 and Year 5 of the certificate.
The platform is still called B Impact, and the self-assessment still runs there; what has gone is the score as the pass mark.
B Lab UK’s legal-requirement page still refers to points awarded for the legal change on the B Impact Assessment, so the old vocabulary survives on some B Lab UK pages alongside the new standards.
Which Part 2 requirements a company sees depends on its track — its size, sector and industry — and on its risk profile, which is why two certified B Corps may have met different requirement sets.
B Lab states it will not verify a company’s responses to the Risk Tool, which sets the additional due-diligence sub-requirements; the audit that follows is independent.
| Part | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Part 1 · Foundation Requirements | Eligibility; the B Corp Legal Requirement; a risk assessment with B Lab’s Risk Tool |
| Part 2 · Purpose and Stakeholder Governance | Impact Topic |
| Part 2 · Climate Action | Impact Topic |
| Part 2 · Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion | Impact Topic |
| Part 2 · Government Affairs and Collective Action | Impact Topic |
| Part 2 · Fair Work | Impact Topic |
| Part 2 · Human Rights | Impact Topic |
| Part 2 · Environmental Stewardship and Circularity | Impact Topic |
The seven Impact Topics
What each topic asks, in B Lab’s words
B Lab describes each Impact Topic by the outcome it expects of a certified company.
The detailed requirements for each sit in the standards document B Lab publishes for download.
| Impact Topic | B Lab’s description |
|---|---|
| Purpose and Stakeholder Governance | Companies act in accordance with a defined purpose and embed stakeholder governance in decision making |
| Climate Action | Companies take action to combat the climate crisis and its impacts |
| Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion | Companies have inclusive and diverse workplaces and contribute to just and equitable communities |
| Government Affairs and Collective Action | Companies play a leadership role in fostering shared understanding and implementing solutions toward an equitable, inclusive and regenerative economy |
| Fair Work | Companies provide good quality jobs and have positive workplace cultures |
| Human Rights | Companies treat people with dignity and respect their human rights |
| Environmental Stewardship and Circularity | Companies demonstrate environmental stewardship and contribute to the circular economy in their operations and value chain |
B Lab says its standards are developed with the B Lab Standards Advisory Council, an independent, multi-stakeholder group drawn from business, government, academia and the non-profit sector.
B Lab was founded in 2006, and the 2025 standards are, in its words, “minimum requirements across seven key social, environmental, and governance topics”.
Climate Action is the topic that touches carbon reporting most directly; the evidence for it is usually an emissions inventory built on carbon accounting methods.
Purpose and Stakeholder Governance is where the Legal Requirement sits in practice, alongside the board oversight covered in ESG governance.
B Lab adds an equity mechanism “to ensure the standards are fairly implemented worldwide”, accounting for companies facing unequal conditions because of their location and political landscape.
One sector is paused: in a notice dated 4 August 2026, B Lab confirmed that it is not accepting new certification applications from financial services companies with more than US$1 billion in annual revenue while sector-specific standards are developed; smaller financial services companies may still certify under V2.
Your route
From eligibility to certificate, in B Lab UK’s steps
B Lab UK sets out four steps on its how-to-certify page: set up the assessment, complete and submit it, audit and verification, then licensing and recertification.
Eligibility comes first: any for-profit company that has been operating for 12 months or more can apply.
Setup tailors the assessment to the company’s size, industry and location; where the structure is complex, B Lab UK agrees a scope — the entities and brands included — before the assessment starts.
The Foundation Requirements are reviewed next, and the self-assessment against the seven Impact Topics follows, with evidence uploaded as it goes.
On submission the company signs the certification agreements, and B Lab assigns an Assurance Provider to audit it.
The audit report lists nonconformities: majors must be fixed before certification, minors before the next audit.
B Lab UK estimates two to six months from submission to certification, varying with the complexity of the business and the number of major nonconformities.
The tool beside this text assembles the steps that apply to your answers, each with the B Lab UK page it comes from.
Your route, in B Lab’s own steps
Answer the questions to see the steps that apply to you, in order.
B Lab sets these terms and can change them; the page names the B Lab page behind each step.
Nothing you choose is saved.
The legal change
You amend your own articles — not section 172
The B Corp Legal Requirement is the part of certification that touches a company’s constitution, and B Lab UK describes it as fundamental: every company seeking certification must meet it.
A limited company amends its Articles of Association to include B Lab’s wording, adopted verbatim and matched to its legal form; the current wording is the 2024 version.
B Lab UK’s five-step guide runs from board review and internal consultation to board approval, a special resolution passed by at least 75% of shareholders, and filing.
Filing means Form CC04, the amended articles and a copy of the special resolution at Companies House, within 15 days of the resolution; section 21 of the Companies Act 2006 is the provision that lets articles be amended by special resolution.
Paragraph 5 of the UK wording requires the company to prepare an impact report and circulate it to members, and B Lab UK encourages publishing it.
A company holding an older version of the wording is not barred from recertifying, but a company certifying for the first time must adopt the 2024 version.
None of this amends section 172, the statutory duty to promote the success of the company, which applies to a B Corp’s directors exactly as to any other company’s.
Amending section 172 itself is the aim of the Better Business Act campaign, which B Lab UK supports; that is a proposal for legislation, not a certification requirement.
The legislation guide sets out where the Companies Act sits among the UK’s reporting duties.
| Company | When the legal change is made |
|---|---|
| 0–49 full-time employees | Before certification |
| Limited company, more than 50 employees | Up to a year after certification |
| LLP, more than 50 employees | Within 90 days of certification |
| Sole trader | Eligible, but cannot meet the Legal Requirement: no Articles of Association |
The certificate
Five years, with an audit at Year 3
| B Lab UK page | What it says about recertification | Describes |
|---|---|---|
| How to certify as a B Corp | A certificate valid for five years; a Year 3 audit and a recertification audit in Year 5; surveillance audits annually or every second year for some companies | V2 |
| B Corp Certification Fees | Site audits “at points during their 5 year certification cycle” | V2 |
| After you certify | “New requirements after 3 and 5 years”, and “Recertification is required every three years”; the page notes some content refers to the old standards | Both |
| FAQs | Statements that B Corps recertify every three years | The pre-2025 scheme |
Under V2 the certificate is valid for five years, and B Lab UK says all companies have a Year 3 audit and a recertification audit in Year 5.
Depending on size and sector, companies may also have partial surveillance audits annually or every second year; B Lab reports micro and small companies on the Year 0, 3 and 5 rhythm and larger companies audited more often.
B Lab UK’s own pages give two answers on the cycle, as the table shows; the five-year figure is the one that matches B Lab’s global standards and B Lab UK’s certification-process and pricing pages.
The after-you-certify page, last updated on 28 August 2025, carries a notice that some of its content refers to the old standards, and it is also where B Lab UK describes the annual impact report.
In practice certification is now a programme with dated milestones inside it, not a renewal three years out.
Who checks
An independent Assurance Provider, on an ISO/IEC 17021-1 basis
The other structural change in V2 is who carries out the check: B Lab used to verify companies itself, and now it assigns an independent Assurance Provider.
B Lab describes certification as starting “with a self-assessment against the B Lab Standards, which is later independently verified and audited by a third party based on ISO 17021-1 requirements”.
ISO/IEC 17021-1 is the standard that governs bodies certifying management systems such as ISO 14001, so B Corp now uses the same conformity-assessment architecture as the rest of the certification market.
That makes the audit comparable with an ISO 14001 audit; it does not make the subject matter comparable, because B Corp tests seven Impact Topics and ISO 14001 tests a management system.
B Lab UK explains the move on its fees page: third-party audit “strengthens the credibility of the B Corp certification through the introduction of a streamlined and rigorous auditing system based on internationally accepted norms”.
How independent assurance works more generally is on the sustainability assurance page.
27 September 2026
The EU label rules, and who they reach
The EU’s Directive (EU) 2024/825, on empowering consumers for the green transition, regulates sustainability claims and labels and has applied since 27 September 2026.
B Lab says V2 was designed to align with it, and B Lab UK set out what that meant for existing B Corps.
Impacted B Corps were expected to submit for audit by 15 July 2026; those that did not were asked to sign an amendment to the existing B Corp Agreement instead.
The trigger is not where a company is incorporated: B Lab UK says a company engaging in business-to-consumer communications in the EU may be impacted “regardless of your location”.
A UK company selling to EU consumers is therefore within B Lab’s ECGT route, and B Lab asks companies to record their status in B Impact under Manage Account → Company → Regulatory Information.
In the UK there is no equivalent of the Directive’s point-by-point blacklist for environmental claims; a claim, including the use of a certification mark, must not mislead under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and the CMA’s Green Claims Code sets out how.
The regulation timeline keeps the 2026 dates together.
“The ECGT Directive comes into effect on 27 September 2026.
ECGT-impacted B Corps that have neither recertified on V2 nor signed the amendment to the B Corp Agreement by this point will lose the right to use the B Corp logo or describe themselves as a Certified B Corporation.”
B Lab UK, The new B Lab Standards (V2), read 1 October 2026
The money
Three charges, frozen through 2026
B Lab UK publishes its fee structure on its pricing page, and says it has frozen fees through 2026 to support companies moving to the new standards.
For B Corps required to recertify on the new standards in 2026, B Lab UK absorbs the cost of the initial Year 0 HQ audit and its technology fees, and up to four required Year 0 site audits for more complex B Corps.
Audit costs themselves are set by the independent assurance providers, not by B Lab.
Equity pricing takes 40% off the annual fee for B Corps under £5 million annual revenue that are more than 50% owned by people of colour and under-represented ethnicities, women, LGBTQ people or disabled people; it applies automatically, with an opt-out.
The fee amounts sit in a table on the B Lab UK page and are not reproduced here; read them there, dated, before budgeting.
B Lab UK says all prices are subject to change, and the structure beyond 2026 has not been announced.
| Fee | What B Lab UK says it covers |
|---|---|
| Submission fee | One-off and tiered; a high-level review of the assessment before verification |
| Verification fee | The initial Year 0 HQ audit; payable even if a new company does not complete certification |
| Annual fee | Based on total revenue in the last audited accounts |
| Scoping and site-audit fees | May apply to companies above $75m revenue or 250 employees, or with multiple sites |
Is it a legal requirement?
Does it satisfy any UK legal duty? No — it is voluntary
B Corp certification is private and voluntary, and it discharges no UK legal duty.
A certified B Corp still owes SECR if it meets the size tests, and the certificate would not notice a missing disclosure.
It is not a management-system certification, not a reporting framework like the GRI Standards, the ISSB framework or TCFD, and not a disclosure system like CDP.
A listed company’s UK SRS reporting under the FCA’s final rules (PS26/19) is a separate obligation again, on a comply-or-explain basis for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
For companies with EU exposure, the ESRS and the CSRD and UK SRS comparison set out the EU reporting regime, which a certification does not satisfy either.
The panel beside this text takes each UK duty in turn.
Does B Corp certification satisfy a UK legal duty?
No. B Corp certification is voluntary, and it discharges none of the duties below.
Choose a duty to see why, and the provision behind the answer.
SECR is a disclosure a qualifying company makes in its own directors’ report. B Corp certification is not that disclosure and does not change whether a company is in scope; the guidance adds that there is no statutory requirement to have the environmental information audited.
SI 2018/1155, amending Schedule 7 to SI 2008/410 · SI 2018/1155; Environmental Reporting Guidelines (March 2019) Ch.1 Action iv
Answers rest on the provisions named in each row.
Nothing you choose is saved.
What the logo evidences
What a B Corp logo tells a buyer
A B Corp certificate attests that a company met B Lab’s minimum requirements across the applicable Impact Topics, on a track set by its size and sector, audited by an Assurance Provider.
It does not attest an emissions figure, a certified management system or compliance with any UK statute.
A buyer who wants an emissions figure needs one built on carbon accounting and reported by scope, and one who wants an audited carbon-reduction claim is looking at a different kind of scheme, such as Planet Mark.
The claim itself is checkable: B Lab publishes a directory of certified companies, and a UK company’s amended articles are public at Companies House.
The useful supplier questions are which version of the standards it is certified on, when its next audit falls, and what its certification scope covers.
The double materiality guide covers the related question of how a company decides which impacts matter, which the Impact Topics partly assume.
Check your understanding
Seven statements about B Corp
Most of what is wrong about B Corp was true of the scheme before April 2025 and has not been updated where it is repeated.
The statements beside this text each turn on a B Lab, B Lab UK or statutory source named in the answer.
The pattern to watch for is the 80 points, the three-year cycle and the Companies Act change, which between them describe a scheme that no longer exists.
True or false?
“You need 80 points on the B Impact Assessment to certify.”
“Under V2 the certificate runs for five years.”
“Becoming a B Corp amends your directors’ duties under section 172.”
“B Lab audits you itself.”
“The ECGT deadline only matters to companies based in the EU.”
“A small limited company makes the legal change after it is certified.”
“B Corp certification discharges SECR.”
7 claims.
Choose true or false for each.
Still open
What the record does not yet settle
B Lab publishes no dated statement of which point release of V2 is current.
B Lab UK has not published its fee structure for 2027, and audit costs are set by the assurance providers.
Some B Lab UK pages still describe a three-year cycle and B Impact Assessment points, so a citation to bcorporation.uk should name the page.
No located document says whether UK buyers or frameworks will ask for V2 certification specifically rather than B Corp status generally; the news log records changes when they come.
Where certification meets reporting
Guides for the work around a B Corp
ESG criteria
What a buyer is scoring when it asks about B Corp status.
ESG questionnaires
Where the evidence for a certification answer comes from.
ESG governance
Board oversight, which the Legal Requirement touches.
ESG strategy
How a certification fits a wider plan.
ESG data management
The evidence an audit samples.
ESG reporting examples
Published impact reporting, read closely.
ESG reporting template
A structure for an annual impact report.
The ESG pillars
The three headings most frameworks share.
ESG standards
Which are standards and which are certifications.
The ESG manager role
Who usually runs a certification project.
ESG consultants
What an adviser does, and what to ask one.
What is ESG?
The terms, from first principles.
For the frameworks a B Corp’s data may also feed, see ESG frameworks in the UK, ESG reporting and the carbon footprint consultant guide.
The documents
B Lab, company law and the claims rules
B Lab and B Lab UK
- B LabB Corporation — the global site
- B LabAbout B Corp Certification
- B LabFind a B Corp — the public directory
- B LabAbout B Lab
- B Lab UKB Lab UK
- B Lab UKFor B Corps
- Better Business ActThe campaign to amend section 172
UK company law and filing
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006
- GOV.UKFile changes to a company with Companies House
- Companies HouseFind and update company information
Claims, frameworks and neighbouring instruments
- European CommissionConsumer rights and complaints
- CMAMisleading environmental claims — case page
- ASAEnvironmental claims — advertising rulings
- GRIGRI Standards — a reporting framework
- CDPCDP — a disclosure system
- SBTiScience Based Targets initiative — target validation
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
- ISOISO 14001:2026 — a management-system certification
- ISOISO 14001:2026 is published
- UKASUKAS — the UK national accreditation body
- GOV.UK (DESNZ)Environmental reporting guidelines, including SECR
- GOV.UKEnergy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
- GOV.UK (DESNZ)Government conversion factors for company reporting
Frequently asked
B Corp certification, answered
What is B Corp certification?
A private, voluntary certification awarded by B Lab, a non-profit network, to companies that meet its standards for social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
In the UK it is run by B Lab UK.
No statute creates it and no regulator supervises it.
Do you still need 80 points to become a B Corp?
No. Under the B Lab Standards (V2) there is no target point score.
B Lab describes the new standards as moving away from individual point scoring to minimum requirements across seven Impact Topics, so a company meets the requirements in each applicable topic or it does not.
What are the seven B Corp Impact Topics?
Purpose and Stakeholder Governance; Climate Action; Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Government Affairs and Collective Action; Fair Work; Human Rights; and Environmental Stewardship and Circularity.
They form Part 2 of the standards, after the Part 1 Foundation Requirements.
Who can become a B Corp in the UK?
B Lab UK says any for-profit company that has been operating for 12 months or more can become a B Corp. Sole traders are eligible but cannot meet the Legal Requirement because they have no Articles of Association.
How often do B Corps recertify?
Under V2, B Lab UK’s certification-process page says a certificate is valid for five years, with a Year 3 audit and a recertification audit in Year 5, and surveillance audits for some companies depending on size and sector.
B Lab UK’s FAQs and after-you-certify pages still say every three years; the after-you-certify page carries a notice that some of its content refers to the old standards.
Does B Corp certification change directors’ duties under section 172?
No. Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 is unamended.
The B Corp Legal Requirement amends the company’s own Articles of Association with wording B Lab supplies.
Amending section 172 itself is the aim of the Better Business Act campaign, which is a proposal, not a certification requirement.
How do you meet the B Corp legal requirement in the UK?
A limited company amends its Articles of Association with B Lab’s current 2024 wording, adopted verbatim.
B Lab UK’s route is board approval, a special resolution passed by at least 75% of shareholders, and filing Form CC04, the amended articles and the resolution at Companies House within 15 days.
Companies with 0–49 full-time employees do this before certification; larger limited companies have up to a year after, and LLPs 90 days.
Who audits a B Corp under the new standards?
An independent Assurance Provider assigned by B Lab, not B Lab itself.
B Lab says certification starts with a self-assessment that is independently verified and audited by a third party based on ISO/IEC 17021-1 requirements.
Major nonconformities must be resolved before certification; minor ones before the next audit.
How long does B Corp certification take?
B Lab UK estimates two to six months from submission to certification, depending on the complexity of the business and the number of major nonconformities to resolve.
Setup, the Foundation Requirements review and, for smaller companies, the legal change come before submission.
How much does B Corp certification cost in the UK?
B Lab UK charges a one-off tiered submission fee, a verification fee covering the initial Year 0 HQ audit, and an annual fee based on total revenue in the last audited accounts. It froze its fees through 2026.
Large or multi-site companies may also pay scoping and site-audit fees, and equity pricing takes 40% off the annual fee for eligible companies under £5 million revenue.
What happened to B Corps on 27 September 2026?
That is the date the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive applies from.
B Lab UK says ECGT-impacted B Corps that had neither recertified on V2 nor signed the amendment to the B Corp Agreement by then lose the right to use the B Corp logo or describe themselves as a Certified B Corporation.
A company is impacted if it engages in business-to-consumer communications in the EU, regardless of its location.
Is B Corp certification a legal requirement?
No. It is voluntary and discharges no UK legal duty: not SECR, not ESOS, not the FCA’s UK SRS listing rules, and not a Carbon Reduction Plan under PPN 006.
Can financial services companies become B Corps?
Those with more than US$1 billion in annual revenue cannot apply at present: B Lab confirmed on 4 August 2026 that its moratorium on new certifications for them remains in effect while sector-specific standards are developed.
Smaller financial services companies may still certify under the V2 standards.
Is the B Corp Risk Tool checked?
B Lab states that it will not verify a company’s responses to the Risk Tool, which produces the risk profile that sets additional due-diligence sub-requirements.
How can you check a B Corp claim?
B Lab publishes a directory of certified companies.
For a UK company the amended Articles of Association are filed at Companies House and can be read there.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- B LabExplore the B Lab Standards — Part 1 Foundation Requirements and Part 2 Impact Topic Requirements
The seven Impact Topics, the end of cumulative point scoring and the Year 0/3/5 phasing.
- B Lab UKThe new B Lab Standards (V2)
All submissions on V2; third-party assurance; the ECGT dates of 15 July and 27 September 2026.
- B Lab UKHow to certify as a B Corp
Eligibility, the four steps, the Assurance Provider, nonconformities, the five-year certificate and 2–6 months.
- B Lab UKMeeting the legal requirement
The Articles of Association wording, its timing by size and form, and the five-step filing route.
- B Lab UKB Corp Certification Fees
The three fees, the 2026 freeze, the 2026 recertification concession and equity pricing.
- B Lab UKFAQs
B Lab UK’s answers on certification, including its statements on recertification.
- B Lab UKAfter you certify (last updated 28 August 2025)
The impact report, and the page’s own notice that some content refers to the old standards.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 21 — amendment of articles
Articles are amended by special resolution.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 172 — duty to promote the success of the company
Unamended by B Corp certification.
- Companies House (GOV.UK)Change of constitution — Form CC04
The form filed with the amended articles.
- EUR-LexDirective (EU) 2024/825 — empowering consumers for the green transition
The EU rules on sustainability labels and claims, applying from 27 September 2026.
- ISOISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 — requirements for bodies providing audit and certification
The basis on which B Corp audits are now carried out.
- GOV.UK (CMA)Green Claims Code — making environmental claims
The UK guidance on how environmental claims, including certification marks, are described.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Companies (Directors’ Report) and LLP (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018
SECR: a statutory duty B Corp certification does not discharge.
Related questions
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