5 Areas of impact
High quality corporate social and environmental standards require continuous improvement to meet the principles of inclusiveness, independence and credibility. The B-impact assessment and standards are developed independently by the Standards Advisory Board and the Board of Directors with input from external stakeholders and various working and advisory groups:
Corporate Governance
A company's overall mission, ethics, accountability, transparency, and how it incorporates its vision and values into its bylaws. Best practices focus on how they engage employees, board members, and the community to achieve their mission, as well as employee access to financial information, customer opportunities to provide feedback, and board diversity.
Employees
An organization's efforts to create positive impacts for its employees. Best practices in the work environment consider aspects such as compensation, benefits, training, and opportunities for participation, as well as evaluating work communication, workplace flexibility and employee health, safety practices, and general working conditions.
Customers
How a company serves its customers and provides products or services that serve the common good. Best practices examine whether a company adds value to the lives of its customers by providing essential services such as education, healthcare, and financial management, and by engaging in ethical marketing, privacy and security, and feedback channels.
Environment
How a company is working toward a more sustainable and regenerative planet by reducing its environmental footprint and making its impact on air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity central to its business practices. This section examines the impacts of a company's facilities, materials, emissions, resource and energy use, and transportation/distribution channels and the environmental impacts of its supply chain.Community
A rigorous, holistic certification
B-Corp certification is a sign that a company meets high standards for audited performance, accountability and transparencyHolistic assessment
B Corp certification is holistic and does not focus exclusively on a single social or environmental issue.Different paths to certification
The certification process varies and becomes more rigorous depending on the size and complexity of a company.Risk assessment
At the beginning of the B Corp certification process, companies must undergo an assessment of risk factors based on their industry and other practices.Documentation provided
Responses to the B Impact Assessments are validated through documentation of your company's business model, as well as information about your operations, structure and various workflows.Reviews and site visits
Taking into account the size and profile of the company, the review may also include a review of potential public complaints and possible site visits.Recertification every three years
B-Corps must undergo the verification process every three years to be recertified. This ensures that standards continue to be met and promotes long-term resilience.