B Lab

B Lab logo

B Lab is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2006 in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, by Andrew Kassoy, Jay Coen Gilbert and Bart Houlahan.[1] B Lab created, and awards, the B corporation certification for for-profit organizations.[2][3] The "B" stands for beneficial[4] and indicates that the certified organizations voluntarily meet certain standards of transparency, accountability, sustainability, and performance, with an aim to create value for society, not just for traditional stakeholders such as the shareholders.

While originally founded in the United States, today B Lab is a global network. B Lab Global is the entity that is the hub of the network and certifies companies as B Corps. The B Lab network also includes dozens of B Lab organizations at the country and regional levels. They support their community of B Corps, bring companies into the certification pipeline, and develop local programming to support the movement towards economic systems change based on stakeholder governance (i.e., a B Corp).

In order to earn B Corp certification, companies must achieve a score of 80 or higher out of 200 based on 5 criteria - governance, workers' rights, community impact, environmental impact and "stewardship of its customers". Once a company passes the B Lab's "Impact Assessment", it must then pay an annual fee which is based on its location and gross annual revenue.[5]

As of December 2023, there are now over 7,600 B Corps in 84 countries and 157 industries.[6] With its rigorous standards, B Corp certification can enhance a company's reputation, as well as attract socially and environmentally conscious customers.[7] Because of this, the waiting list for assessment can be up to two years.[8]

In addition to awarding B Corporation certifications to companies that score high enough on the B Impact Assessment, B Lab’s initiatives include administration of the B Impact Management programs and software, as well as advocacy for the adoption and improvement of benefit corporation statutes at the state level. (The B Corporation certification should not be confused with state-sanctioned benefit corporation status.)

B Lab has attracted media attention to the concept of benefit corporations.[4][9][10][11][12] Some people confuse the concepts of a benefit corporation and a B Corporation, and sometimes use these phrases as if they are interchangeable even though they are very different legally.[13]

B Lab has established a partnership with the United Nations to help the private sector translate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into practical business processes. B Lab created an SDG Action Manager that became available for companies to use in 2020.[14]

  1. ^ "B Lab interview | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  2. ^ "The Non-Profit Behind B Corps". B Lab. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "Contact". B Lab. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Steiman, Hannah Clark (July 1, 2007). "A New Kind of Company: A 'B' Corporation". Inc. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  5. ^ Stuber, Sophie (2024-03-18). "My Tour Operator Is a B Corp. What Does That Mean? Should I Care?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  6. ^ Rozario, Kevin. "How To Get B Corp Certified, And Why Do It Anyway?". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  7. ^ Aziz, Afdhel. "How Circularly Guides Companies Through The B Corp Certification Process". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  8. ^ "What are B Corps and can they help us travel more responsibly?". Travel. 2024-09-02. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  9. ^ Adams, Susan (March 16, 2011). "Corporate Responsibility Nonprofit, B Lab, Shows Strong Growth". Forbes. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  10. ^ "B Lab's Bart Houlahan: Building More Socially Responsible Corporations". Wharton School. November 7, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  11. ^ Brokaw, Leslie (November 28, 2012). "The 'Benefit Corporation' Movement". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  12. ^ Adams, Susan (March 25, 2010). "Capitalist Monkey Wrench". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  13. ^ Hew, Ryan K. (September 6, 2011). "Law in the Brief: To B or not to B, Hawaii Gets B-Corps through Act 209". The Blawg of Ryan K. Hew, Attorney at Law (blog). Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  14. ^ Feloni, Richard (19 April 2019). "The entrepreneur behind the coveted B Corp label shares why he's partnering with the UN to solve our most pressing workforce problems". Business Insider. Retrieved 23 May 2019.