
Back in 2020, I remember reading an intriguing email from B Lab. They had sent out a survey to B Corps asking if they should embark upon a significant undertaking: creating new B Corp standards that shifted away from a flexible path to certification in favor of a set of required standards that all companies would have to meet.
Fast forward to 2025, and the new standards are now almost upon us! After 5 years of surveys, consultations, and focus groups on the part of B Lab – and lots of hand-wringing on the part of B Corps anxious about the upcoming changes – the standards are now close to being finalized.
As B Corp Consultant, part of my role is to break down these developments for small businesses and provide actionable guidance. I started doing this two years ago by running a free, year-long series of webinars focused on each of the Impact Topics to help companies prepare for the upcoming changes. Now, as we stand on the cusp of the finalization of the long-awaited standards, I wanted to recap what we know and what we might expect, hitting on some common questions that have been coming up:
- Why is B Lab making this change?
- How has B Lab ensured that stakeholder concerns are taken into account?
- What exactly is changing?
- What is the timeline for releasing the new standards?
- Where can we see the draft standards?
- How much will the standards change in their final format?
- Will it be harder to certify or recertify as a B Corp?
- How will the new standards affect my recertification?
- Should we certify on the current standards or on the new standards?
- How should we prepare to meet the new standards?
- How can we stay up-to-date with the changes?
The Evolution of Standards: Background and Context
Why is B Lab making this change?
In their original communication about why they were exploring a significant change to the new standards, B Lab identified 5 key challenges that they had run into after using essentially the same standards framework for 14 years.
These challenges included defining what it means to be a B Corp in a consistent and impactful way, tailoring standards to different business contexts, the impact of scoring changes on company’s ongoing certifications, lack of continuous improvement, and lack of focus on the most impactful practices.
In short, the “choose your own adventure” framework allowed companies to pick the practices that got them to 80 points, even if those weren’t the most impactful practices and even if the company did not then fully engage in continuous improvement. This made it more difficult to effectively tell the story of what B Corps were doing, since everyone was engaged in different actions.
To rectify this, the 80-point model will be replaced with a set of Impact Topics with specific requirements that companies will have to meet in order to certify and recertify as B Corps. This will ensure that B Corps are addressing the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time with impactful practices and that we can consistently tell the story about what it means to be a B Corp.
How has B Lab ensured that stakeholder concerns are taken into account?
B Lab has not undertaken such as a massive change lightly. Over a 5-year period, this process has involved extensive stakeholder engagement, consultations with experts, and feedback from the B Corp community to ensure the new standards are both aspirational and attainable.
In particular, there have been two public consultations. The first took place in 2022 when the first draft of the standards was released, and the second took place in 2024, when the second draft was released (incorporating the feedback received in 2022).
All of this information is publicly available on B Lab’s Evolving the Standards page on their website.
Details of the New B Corp Standards
What exactly is changing in the standards?
The process of answering questions on the B Impact Assessment to earn points, with the goal of attaining the magic number of 80 required for B Corp certification, will soon be phased out. Instead, companies will need to meet a set of requirements in specific Impact Topics to certify or recertify as B Corps.

The new standards will now consist of eight Impact Topics: Foundation Requirements, Purpose & Stakeholder Governance, Fair Work, JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), Human Rights, Climate Action, Circularity & Environmental Stewardship, and Government Affairs & Collective Action.
Each of these topics has requirements and sub-requirements tailored to a company’s size, industry, and geographic location. In the example below, the Impact Topic is Human Rights. Within that topic, the first requirement (HR1) is that “The company commits to respecting human rights.” As part of that requirement, there are 2 sub-requirements that a company would have to meet.

One key element of the sub-requirements that is different from what is currently in place under the current standards is that companies will be required to engage in continuous improvement by setting goals and tracking progress annually. This will be an significant change for B Corps that may have previously neglected ongoing tracking in between recertifications.
The new standards will also address these three components:
- A new approach for recognition, since the use of a numerical score will no longer be used. The new approach will identify if a company “does not meet/meets/exceeds” each sub-requirement.
- B Corps with Impact Business Models (IBMs) will likely also receive special recognition and may have some flexibility in meeting some of the sub-requirements, though a full consultation about IBMs is expected in 2025.
- An equity mechanism that acknowledges that some countries encounter more “operational barriers” that make it difficult to meet all standards and allows B Corps in those countries to justify non-compliance with a small percentage of the sub-requirements.
What is the timeline for releasing the new standards?
The final version of the new standards is expected to be released in 2025, likely in Q1.
However, companies will not begin certifying on the new standards until 2026. This will allow time for the transition to the standards. The full timeline that B Lab released in the summer of 2024 is shown below.

It’s worth noting that in addition to the changes to the standards themselves, there are two significant back-end changes that B Lab needs to make in order to roll out the standards.
First, there will be a new B Impact Assessment for the new standards. The one that we’ve come to know and love (or not!) has not been set up for the new standards, so B Lab will be developing a new digital experience. We don’t have much information about this at this time, but it should be a more modernized, user-friendly platform.
Second, the Verification process itself may be updated to certify companies on the new standards. Again, we don’t have much information at this time, but B Lab’s timeline for implementation indicates that “a new third-party assurance model” is in the works.
Where can we see the draft standards?
You can view the draft standards on B Lab’s new standards microsite. This is the most comprehensive, publicly available information about the new standards at this time. It provides detailed information about the Impact Topics, requirements, sub-requirements, compliance guidance, and more.
However, note that the some of the information there may be outdated based on feedback from the second consultation. For example, the microsite lists “Fair Wages” and “Workplace Culture” as two separate Impact Topics, yet those have now been combined into one “Fair Work” Impact Topic.

How much will the standards change in their final format?
In general, it’s unlikely that we’ll see major changes in the standards themselves at this point. The Impact Topics are likely to remain somewhat the same, since it would be surprising to introduce a completely new Impact Topic at this late stage in the process.
The requirements and sub-requirements are still being refined, with items shifting from one Impact topic to another (such as supply chain pay issues moving to Human Rights) or from the Disclosure Questionnaire to an Impact Topic (such as questions regarding contracts and overtime moving to Fair Work).
What is likely to occur is that, rather than introducing too many new requirements and sub-requirements, the new standards will provide greater guidance and contextualization on how companies can meet the standards.
The one exception where we might still see some significant changes is in the Fair Work category, specifically around living wages. This has been a contentious topic since it was introduced, and the information released publicly after the second consultation indicates that the new standards will be less prescriptive in their approach to living wages.
How the New B Corp Standards Impact Your Journey
Will it be harder to certify or recertify as a B Corp?
Overall, just under 75% of B Corps feel that the new standards are attainable, showing that the majority of B Corps feel that they will be able to successfully transition to the new standards.
There will be a couple of elements in particular that may make it a bit harder for companies to certify or recertify as B Corps. First, some may choose not to meet specific requirements that up to now have been optional, such as measuring a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Second, the requirements around continuous improvement and annual tracking of KPIs may be a challenge for companies that aren’t prepared to establish or improve internal systems to continuously measure and improve their impact.
However, for companies that are committed to measurable impact and continuous improvement, the new standards might actually be slightly easier to meet. Rather than having to complete 200 questions on the BIA – some of which relate to practices that are ultimately not very impactful – they will have a streamlined set of impactful practices to focus on. This could be an opportunity to prioritize fewer, but more impactful, practices within an organization.
As part of the new standards, B Lab has also been updating the risk standards. These are part of the Foundation Requirements Impact Topic and will be used to determine eligibility for B Corp certification up front, rather than later in the process. For example, companies that operate in or earn significant revenue from clients in high-risk industries may be deemed ineligible, which would make it harder for some companies to pursue certification.

How will the new standards affect my recertification?
If your recertification date is prior to July 2026, then you’ll be recertifying on the current standards. Remember that your submission date is 6 months before your recertification date. In essence, this means that if you have to submit your assessment before January 1, 2026, you’ll be using the current standards.
If your recertification date is after July 2026, then you may be part of the phased transition to the new standards. The timeline that B Lab released last year (shown above) indicates that B Corps will be informed about the certification timeline and compliance expectations sometime this year and that there will be a phased transition. The need for a transition was also reaffirmed in the Second Consultation Summary Report.

It’s possible that companies recertifying in 2026 may still be able to certify on the current standards and companies recertifying in 2027 may need to meet the new standards. It’s also quite likely that companies that recertify in 2026 may be encouraged to certify on the new standards, in order to expedite the company’s transition to the new standards.
However, we need to wait to hear from B Lab to get definitive guidance on this.
Should we certify on the current standards or on the new standards?
For businesses that want to get B Corp certification, we’re advising our clients to proceed under the current standards. There’s no need to delay your company’s B Corp journey because of the new standards since you can still get certified under the current ones.
Of course, it’s important for any company seeking certification now to know that they will need to meet the new requirements when they recertify and to prepare accordingly. For example, practices that are optional right now (such as measuring GHG emissions) are worth doing anyways because they’ll soon be required.
By certifying under the current standards, companies will also have more time to meet the new standards. A company that certifies in 2025 will likely need to meet the new standards by 2028 when they recertify, whereas a company that certifies in 2026 will likely need to meet the new standards right away.
How Small Businesses Can Prepare for the New Standards
How should we prepare?
Taking steps now to start preparing for the new standards is important, and there are things that you can do to get yourself and your team ready.
Any successful certification process requires a strong internal foundation, so start by organizing your B Team and educating your team about the new standards. Although this change has been in the works for years, many people still have not begun the transition.
You should also assess your current practices to see where you’re already meeting the standards and where you’re not. With that information, you can then identify areas for improvement and develop an action plan. This is something that can be done on your own by comparing the draft of the standards with the feedback from the second consultation or you can reach out to us about our Strategic Transition package if you’d like assistance.
How can we stay up-to-date with the changes?
The best way to get the latest information is to sign up to get emails directly from B Lab and to follow B Lab on LinkedIn, where they post regular updates about the new standards (and other topics of interest!).
If your company is already a B Corp, you can also join the Evolution of Standards group on the B Hive. This is the internal forum where you can take your questions to get live answers and learn from others are we embark on this journey.
Join our 2025 Learning Sessions, as we take a deep dive into each of the topics. You’re also welcome to follow me on LinkedIn, where I share information and insights about the new standards.
What’s Next?
The new standards represent a monumental shift in the B Corp certification process, and we’ll be in the midst of this transition for a while. In the long run, I believe that the standards will be good for the B Corp movement because they will bring greater clarity, promote continuous improvement, and elevate the impact of B Corps on pressing social and environmental issues.
Navigating these changes might seem daunting, but you don’t have to do it alone! Our team can help you develop strategic transition plans or you can join our learning community to connect with like-minded businesses. Together, we can embrace the new standards and amplify our collective impact.
Fill out the form below to find out how we can help you manage your transition strategically.