New B Corp certification standards: are they truly holistic?
People are describing the new B Corp standards as holistic. We’ve just completed our recertification as a small business, and we’re not sure that’s the right word. Here’s why.
What are the new B Corp standards?
New B Corp certification standards were introduced earlier this year. Under the old approach we were due our 3 year recertification in February 2026. The complexity introduced by the new standards means we’ve been given a postponement to early 2027.
B Corp certification isn’t like an MOT. You don’t just turn up on the day, hope nothing unforeseen pops up and drive away happy.
B Corp recertification takes a few months’ detailed work. The quiet summer months are the perfect time to knock off these strategic jobs, so we’ve completed our submission and are now able to reflect on the new process.
We’re hearing a lot of B Corp CEOs saying they are excited by the new certification standards. The description that keeps popping up is “holistic”. Apparently people like that. But what does holistic mean, and is it truly a description of the approach that’s now required?
Is B Corp certification difficult?
This is a question we’ve always been asked, and the honest answer is Yes, it’s tough. Under the old standards we would complete all the relevant reports at the end of each financial year, which would take maybe half a day.
You could in theory forget about them for two years, then panic when your 3 year deadline approached, but for us it always seemed easier to be more consistent and planned.
There’s also an annual fee for belonging to the movement, which for a small business like ours is £1000 per year.
In summary, being a B Corp adds time and cost to the business.
Yet this is more than offset by the positive impact it has on who we get to work with and the relationships it creates. It adds more in value than it costs.
Old vs new B Corp standards: what’s changed
There are some fundamental changes in the new standards. Here’s the difference at a glance:
| Old standards | New standards |
| 5 sustainability pillars | 7 areas of assessment |
| Points-based: 80 points to certify, and every answer had a visible score | No points. Your judgement is based more on interpretation than a simple score |
| Strong areas could offset a weak one: outstanding in 4 pillars, woeful in the fifth, and you could still certify | You must meet the requisite standard in all 7 areas |
Sweeping away point scoring introduces a level of obscurity that didn’t exist before. The new standards have been visible for a year or so, but it’s still difficult to know what exactly good looks like. In the old system answer D might get you 1.3 points and answer E 1.6. You could directly attribute the approach your business took to how close you were to certification.
Another big shift, meeting the standard in all 7 areas, closes a real gap. Many still believe the old flaw was a factor in the traumatic demise of BrewDog as a B Corp. They achieved many brilliant things around customer engagement and the environment, yet have received repeated bad press over employee practices.
In theory this wouldn’t be possible under the new standards.
Why did B Corp standards need renewing?
B Lab has drawn negativity too as global businesses have joined the movement, some with questionable environmental credentials.
B Lab has always been caught between a rock and a hard place on this point: Keep the movement for artisan consultancies and you’ll never achieve anything of scale. Invite global businesses and you draw criticism of allowing corporations to play at greenwashing.
It’s a no-win situation and they deserve credit for attempting to address the challenge via the new standards.
The timing is probably right.
Are the new B Corp standards holistic?
Both the old and new standards are comprehensive. In each case a certifying organisation needs to consider every aspect of sustainable business, from supply chain through to customers and the environment.
Whether it’s 5 pillars or 7 it’s a far-reaching assessment of your sustainable credentials.
The problem comes at the next level of detail.
A holistic view of your health would touch on a wide list of considerations that might include diet, exercise, sleep, work-life balance, relationships and others.
On the other hand, if your GP calls you in for a health check they’ll measure things like your heart rate, BMI and cholesterol. It’s not a holistic assessment, it’s a checklist.
Because the new B Corp standards attempt to ensure compliance and to do so without points, they layer sub-bullet point over bullet points. It’s a very, very comprehensive checklist.
But the long checklist doesn’t fit naturally with holistic thinking.
Why does it matter whether B Corp standards are holistic?
It matters for two reasons and the first is very simple: Proving yourself against a lengthy checklist where there’s no “score” takes more work. It’s taken us maybe 4 or 5 times as much time to ready ourselves for submission in 2026 as it did last time around.
For a small business, this matters. The economy is tough and if you exert extra energy you want it to be on business growth initiatives, not on reporting.
People who’ve been through internal audit processes will know how this feels: You’re obliged to create and maintain reports that satisfy auditors even though you know they don’t make you more effective in your job.
It’s another of those things employees roll their eyes about: As long as they do what the boss says they’ll still be paid at the end of the month.
The second problem with this is that it shifts the emphasis away from holistic thinking to checklist compliance. Here’s an example of how this affects Sales: Untangled®
The new standard GACA2.1a expects us to “mentor others in our industry, profession, or value chain to advance their social or environmental impacts”.
Bear in mind we’re not a sustainability consultancy. It’s not like we’re running paid courses that allow us to simply count the number of attendees we’ve mentored.
Yet being a B Corp is in our DNA. Every conversation, proposal and blog post has within it the thread of running the business the way we do. It’s not something we switch on and off.
Try telling that to an auditor who’s measuring you against GACA2.1a!
To meet this standard we’d somehow need to record every conversation we have about sustainability, scrutinise every client proposal and submit every LinkedIn post. It’s detail, not overview.
How do we feel about our recertification on the new B Corp standards?
Being a B Corp is in our DNA. It’s a good reflection of the way we do business and the B Corp community is a massively friendly, supportive group. We’ll bend over backwards to make sure we keep the certification.
Yet at this stage it feels like the process has become more onerous with no more reward.
The ambition is good and it’s right that standards evolve to stay relevant.
Maybe the changes will grow B Corp awareness and brand perception, which in time will create a halo we all benefit from. It’s just at this early stage it feels like we should describe them as comprehensive rather than holistic.
It’s a relief for us to have got this far. Now we’re waiting for the auditor feedback to tell us how we’ve done.
If you’re on a B Corp certification journey and would like to chat about our approach then get in touch. Though you might want to wait until we know the result before you do!
New B Corp standards FAQs
How long does B Corp recertification take under the new standards?
Plan for at least a week’s detailed work spread over a few months. Assessment of your submission is likely to take another six months – so in total it can easily take a year. This is for a small business. The initial work will rise substantially for more complex organisations.
How much does B Corp certification cost a small business?
For a business our size the membership fee is £1000 per year. There’s also a one-off submission fee of £200 when you first apply, plus £360 each time you recertify (every 3 years). These costs are all subject to VAT.
Is B Corp certification worth it?
For us, yes. It adds a small amount of time and cost, but that’s more than offset by the clients it brings us, the relationships it creates and the value we get from being part of the supportive B Corp community.