5 Tips To Get You Ready For Your B Corp Recertification
B Corp is one of the fastest growing movements in the business community, with 9,050 different companies worldwide already certified, with many more certifying as you’re reading this.
After becoming a B Corp, every three years a B Corp must recertify. This serves to check and quantify the impacts of each company, helping B Lab to maintain the credibility of the B Corp Certification.
Through the recertification process companies must resubmit the B Impact Assessment (BIA), providing all the evidence of all of their continued good practices. B Lab expects businesses to have improved* their operations from previous submissions, showing their commitment to continual improvement and growth.
B Lab have announced that in 2025 they will be releasing new standards which all companies, both current and aspiring B Corps, will be assessed against. These standards will introduce eight core topics rather than five and will come with minimum requirements.
To help you navigate both the current and future standards, betternotstop have pulled together their 5 tips on how to prepare for recertification:
#1 Start Now!
Making an early start is essential. B Corp can be a long and complex process which requires both time and workload commitment. Balancing your day-to-day operations with your B Corp responsibilities can be challenging, so making an early start is so important.
If you’ve just certified, keep the documentation, monitoring and tracking of all the various sections up to date (you’ll thank yourself later).
Developing a timeline from your current position to recertification date will help you to achieve your goals. By breaking larger objectives into smaller milestones over time you will be able to maintain momentum and make progress more manageable.
It is important to remember that many of the questions relate to the most recent financial year, so make sure you plan ahead accordingly so that you have all actions in place.
#2 Retrace your steps
Start by reviewing your current BIA to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Looking back can refresh your memories of different sections and help to add clarity on where actions should be taken.
Top tip: you can find all the comments and documents from your last assessment in your BIA side panel under ‘Assessments’. Just scroll to the assessment that says ‘Verified’.
You must establish whether you are still doing all of the actions that were in place at the time of your initial certification and which you have not been keeping up with. Begin by ensuring you have all the necessary information which makes up your current score documented and accessible.
Check in with all the different team members who were involved with B Corp to see if they have any areas they think need improvement. Often people will have had great ideas at the time which were shelved after certification is achieved.
Finally check any comments or feedback which was provided during your initial certification. Your assessor will have asked you for several pieces of feedback during the process which can often contain tips, advice or could simply spark a new idea.
Understanding your current position is crucial in taking the next steps and improving the impact of your business ready for recertification.
#3 Have a goal
Focusing on a desired score can help to keep the process moving along. By setting an internal target, you signal the importance of purpose-driven growth to everyone involved. This creates buy-in, improves workplace culture and makes employees feel like they are working for a good company.
When setting targets, think SMART! Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound targets will help keep you on course to hit your recert goals!
Check in with other similar companies who have gone through the process. This not only gives you a benchmark, but also allows some friendly competition as you try and be the best in your industry.
Identifying the areas you can make the greatest improvements and work on these to ensure that you keep moving forward.
Can you open up a new segment of the assessment by starting to have an Impact Business Model? Though they are tricky to implement and evidence, the reward is a chance to reach a much higher score… not to mention they have the greatest potential for positive impact.
Assigning team members to lead initiatives related to each goal fosters accountability and encourages ownership over the improvement process. Fundamentally, improving your B Corp score is going to come down to a full team effort. We’ve helped our clients set up B Corp working groups and they tell us it has driven engagement as well as lightened the workload!
Overall, be ambitious with your goal. By setting the bar high you can drive continuous improvement and inspire your team to reach new heights.
#4 Make sure all changes are disclosed, documented and aligned with B Corp
Businesses make changes all the time to their structure, personnel and clients, but making sure these are all B Corp compliant and aligned with the values is essential.
Have your structural changes shifted the assessment track that you should be on? Your sector, focus and operations define which track you should be on. Each track has access to different questions, so checking that you are on the right one can make a big difference.
Many questions in the BIA have the potential to open new sections, so make sure that your entire assessment is accurate and don’t miss out on any more opportunities to boost your score!
The changes and growth in your business can also shift the costs, wait times and scrutiny that you may be under. Understanding the implications of this can make a big difference, in particular when planning company strategy away from B Corp, including budgets and capacity for new projects.
Are there any new areas which may need disclosing? As your business grows, the areas you work in change, which could result in new industries, stakeholders and clients. Do these changes align with your initial assumptions and assessment? Have you had any major legal, financial, environmental or social impact issues, over the last three years? Disclosing all incidents to B Lab is fundamental for transparency and to avoid unexpected backlash.
If you are concerned, reach out to B Lab in advance for guidance. Be honest and open and disclose any changes.
#5 Start preparing for the new standards now
The B Corp community is constantly evolving, with the new standards set to roll out in 2025, it’s crucial for certified companies to stay informed. Understanding these changes will not only help you maintain your certification but also position your company to thrive in the future.
If you are recertifying before the new standards are released, it is still essential to understand and be aware of the future changes. In theory, you will need to recertify under them next time if not now.
The earlier you can begin aligning yourself with to the new standards, the easier it will be in the long-term to maintain certification. Just as the old standards do, they provide a template of what good business looks like which can initiate change and creativity. So it’s a win-win!
If you will be recertifying under the new standards, then it is more crucial than ever that you understand the expectations.
Read up on all available resources so that you understand the new changes. Get everyone on your team up to speed about the upcoming standards and the importance of adopting them. Connecting with other B Corps to discuss the upcoming changes is a great way to keep up-to-date. Join forums, social media groups, or local meetups to share insights and strategies for adopting to the new standards.
After learning about what is required, ensure your goals reflect the new standards. Begin to implement changes and work with the stakeholders who may be affected by them. Sharing your journey can also help others to start taking action.
The shift to the new standards is not fully disclosed by B Lab yet, so we can only work off the limited information available. Ensuring that you are ready to absorb all of the criteria when it is released will put you in the best possible place to get ahead of the curve and make necessary changes.
Fundamentally, regardless of when you will be recertifting, the new standards will improve business practices and the earlier you can align to these will only enhance your business.
To find out more about the new standards check out what B Lab has to say.
These are just a few of the ways in which you can begin getting ready for recertification and there are many more actions you can take. Make sure you are organised, have a plan, get team buy-in and are always looking to improve.
It is always important that once you reach your target score, take the time to celebrate this achievement. Recognising progress not only motivates your team but also reinforces the importance of the B Corp values.
B Lab Europe have pulled together a checklist of all things needed for recertification which is worth checking out for some last minute planning.
As B Corp ourselves, betternotstop are going through the recertification process and understand the pressures, challenges and opportunities. We regularly help other companies through recertification so if you need any additional help just get in touch and we can guide you through the process.
*A higher score is not a requirement to recertification
