The new B Corp standards for large companies

The B Corp movement has always stood for businesses that balance purpose and profit. Since its beginning, B Lab—the nonprofit behind the B Corp certification—has set a high bar for companies that want to showcase their social and environmental impact. But as global challenges grow more complex, expectations for corporate accountability and transparency are evolving. That’s why, on April 8, B Lab published a major  revision of its standards.  

B Corp Certification is for businesses of all sizes—committed to accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement. While small and medium-sized companies make up the majority of the B Corp community in Europe, larger and more complex businesses play a crucial role in scaling impact and advancing B Lab’s mission to change the economic system. When multinationals show leadership on positive social and environmental performance—and take steps to minimise their negative impacts—they do more than improve their own practices: they help shift the broader business ecosystem in a better direction. 

The Terrace has supported numerous SMEs, large and multinational companies to get B Corp certified. In today’s blog, we dive into what the new B Corp standards mean for large and multinational companies looking to certify or recertify in the coming years. 

Until now, the B Impact Assessment (Version 6) used a points-based system, requiring companies to score at least 80 out of 200 points across five Impact Topics. This allowed businesses to offset lower performance in some areas with higher scores in others. While this helped over 250,000 companies improve their impact (9,000 of which are B Corp certified), B Lab saw the need for greater clarity, consistency, and ambition. 

The new standards (Version 7): 

• Strengthen accountability on key global issues like climate, equity, and human rights 

• Replace flexibility with clearer baseline expectations 

• Ensure certified companies make meaningful progress on urgent global challenges 

1. More impact topics: The number has increased from 5 to 7.
2. No more point system: Instead of scoring 80+ points, companies must now meet baseline performance requirements across all 7 Impact Topics.
3. Stronger focus on progress: Companies must meet minimum requirements at certification, and additional requirements after three and five years.
4. IBMs excluded (for now): Impact Business Models are no longer recognised, though B Lab may reintroduce them in a new form later.

Under the new framework, companies must meet Foundation Requirements and non-negotiable minimums across the 7 Impact Topics. 

Foundation Requirements (for all companies): 

• Legal incorporation and compliance with applicable laws 

• Adoption of the B Corp legal requirement into your company’s legal framework 

• Completion of a risk profile using the B Corp risk tool, which sets the number of due diligence requirements you must meet 

7 Impact Topics 

The minimum requirements that your company has to meet on the 7 Impact Topics depend on your size, sector and industry. If your company has more than 250 FTEs or €75 million in revenue, you must meet specific requirements across these areas: 

Purpose & Stakeholder Governance: Conduct a Double Materiality Assessment, consult stakeholders, and implement governance policies, engagement mechanisms, and a grievance procedure for your stakeholders.

Fair Work: Analyse gender wage gaps, communicate how wages are set and reviewed, and include worker feedback in key decisions.

Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI): Implement at least two JEDI actions via a structured plan with deadlines, resources, responsibilities, and regular reporting.

Human Rights: Publish a human rights policy, assess salient risks, remediate negative impacts, and work with suppliers to manage risks.

Climate Action: Measure and verify GHG emissions annually (including value chain), and publish the results.

Environmental Stewardship & Circularity: Monitor energy, water, and waste data, track material use, and remediate environmental impacts—also in collaboration with suppliers.

Government Affairs & Collective Action: Disclose lobbying and political contributions, and engage in collective action (e.g., mentoring or supporting external research). 

The B Impact Assessment portal now includes a Self-Assessment aligned with Version 7. Depending on your (re)certification timeline, you’ll certify under either the old or new standards. 

Further guidance is expected soon. For now, if your company has over 250 FTEs or €75M in revenue, you can certify or recertify under the old standards until 31 December 2025 or under the new standards from 1 January 2026. 

However, if your company sells products in the EU, we recommend certifying under the new standards by September 2026. The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (coming into effect next September) may prevent communication about B Corp certifications granted under the old standards. 

This blog is written by senior consultant and B Leader, Maurits de Munck.