Six questions people asked about purpose and the new B Corp Standards
On 8 July, we ran a seminar on the purpose requirements of the new B Corp Standards.
Over 130 people signed up so this is clearly an important topic! Lots is changing and the new Standards are over 1000 pages long – it can feel overwhelming and it’s hard to know where to start. We all have lots of questions!
Many brilliant, insightful questions were raised during the seminar – thank you. I’ve shared and answered these below.
We’ll be running the seminar again in September – if you couldn’t make it last time, sign up here.
QUESTION: What are the first items that should be addressed in the new B Corp Standards?
ANSWER:
Start with your business’s purpose.
There are two reasons for this:
Having a clear purpose will make your priorities clear and help you make decisions. This can make tackling the other areas of the Standards easier. In other words zoom out before you zoom in.
It could take time to agree and embed your purpose across your business, especially if your business is larger or more complex. Agreeing that your business primarily exists to deliver a social and/or environmental impact (with financial success an enabler of that) can be a big mindset shift, especially for your leadership team. The sooner you start, the more time you have to involve your whole team and take everyone on the journey.
Find out how we can help you here.
QUESTION: When we're going through the new standards, how can we tell the difference between mandatory and optional points?
ANSWER:
The new Standards don’t separate things into ‘mandatory’ and ‘optional’. Instead, they ask all B Corps to meet baseline requirements across all seven Impact Topics.
The requirement that all B Corps have a purpose which is about addressing a specific social and/or environmental impact is one of the most significant changes and should set a high bar in terms of which businesses become certified. If you’re worried about meeting that bar, find out how we can support you here.
QUESTION: As an existing B Corp, we have embedded impact into our corporate structure through our Articles. Is this sufficient approval or is there another layer?
ANSWER:
The B Corp legal requirement (in both the current and new Standards) means all B Corps change their Articles to make the following commitments:
The business will have a material positive impact on society and the environment through its business and operations; and
The Directors will consider all stakeholders (including in the long term) when making decisions.
The purpose requirement of the new Standards goes further than this. Every B Corp must have a purpose that is about having a specific positive social and/or environmental impact. That purpose must have been approved by the company’s highest governing body.
Changing your company’s Articles of Association does require a decision by your highest governing body. However, unless your Articles are clear on the specific positive social and/or environmental impact you exist to deliver then they do not meet the new requirements. You will need to get formal approval of your purpose separately.
QUESTION: Do you have any examples for service businesses that have found Product-Market-Impact Fit and are not in the sustainability/ESG sector?
ANSWER:
Two of my favourite examples of service businesses that have embedded impact into their purpose, strategy and business model are Something Big and Switchfoot Wealth, neither of which are set up to provide sustainability/ESG services.
Something Big is a creative communications agency. They work with complex, global organisations like DHL, using the power of effective and inclusive communications to make workplaces fairer, healthier and happier for all.
Switchfoot Wealth provide financial planning advice. They believe that financial planners should recognise the impacts of climate change and take these into account when providing advice. For example, taking into account risks to property or investments based on the latest science. They build this into their advice and share their approach with the wider industry, aiming to influence change much more widely than through just the advice they are providing to their own clients.
It tends to be easier to identify an impact-focused purpose for product based businesses – their impact (and the impact of their industry) is more tangible. Service-based businesses, however, are often several steps removed from real world impact. However, there is always a purpose there even if it is hiding quite deep – it can take a bit more digging to find it and help it to emerge.
Find out more about Product-Market-Impact Fit here.
QUESTION: How can B2B service-based businesses effectively meet the new purpose requirements?
ANSWER:
The requirements of the new Standards are easier to apply to product-based businesses but are going to be more challenging for B2B service-based businesses for two reasons:
They are often further removed from tangible real-world impact.
Many of these businesses (e.g. accountants, law firms) exist to enable good governance. The new Standards suggest that they must go further and identify a social / environmental purpose.
That said, there are examples of B2B service-based businesses (like Something Big which I mentioned before) which are meeting the purpose requirements. But the social / environmental purpose can take more time to identify. Therefore, I recommend you start working on finding it now.
I’m particularly interested in this question around B2B service-based businesses and am doing research into it. As part of this I will be gathering case studies from around the world. If you have a case study to share or would like to be involved in the research please email me.
QUESTION: With the new standards requiring a more focused purpose statement, should this now be treated as a tool for annual reporting, with evolving goals? And should it follow an impact report-style framework – with clear targets, yearly updates, and tracking progress over time?
ANSWER:
This question made me smile as it shows the connection between purpose and impact reporting, which are the two things we help businesses with. The question also answers itself and hits the nail on the head!
Purpose is about sharing your North Star and the direction you are heading in. Then your impact report is your annual opportunity to:
Reflect on the progress you’ve made versus both what you said you’d do and against your purpose;
Set objectives for what’s next; and
Reflect on your learnings and share these.
Other questions people asked about the new B Corp Standards that aren’t directly related to purpose
QUESTION: Scoring seems to have disappeared. You are either compliant or not. Will there be any benchmarking system put in place?
ANSWER:
During the consultation process, B Lab explored various benchmarking approaches but have decided not to implement these for now.
The structure of the new Standards means that continuous improvement is built in – businesses will have to meet increasingly tough requirements each time they recertify.
In terms of measuring progress, I would recommend that this is best measured by looking at your business’s unique purpose. It’s an area where I felt the previous Standards fell down as the points system could sometimes encourage a tactical approach to impact (doing different activities to pick up points). You will have far more meaningful impact by taking a strategic approach, prioritising your activities based on your purpose and what will help you make the most progress towards that.
It’s hard for a certification system like B Corp to build that sort of progress into a scoring system because progress will look different for each company, depending on their own unique purpose, mission and strategy.
QUESTION: My company is just starting the B Corp journey. If we are able to submit all documents for the impact assessment before the end of the year, would we be required to recertify next year?
ANSWER:
No you won’t be required to recertify next year – recertification will be 3 years from when you first certify.
There are two caveats to this:
If your business is large then you must now certify under the new Standards.
If your business markets products and services to consumers in the EU then you are encouraged to certify under the new Standards by September 2026 as the new Standards align with the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, which comes into effect in September 2026.
QUESTION: Does the assessment process still involve answering questions on a number of subtopics within each pillar – if so, have these sub-pillars been decided?
ANSWER:
There are seven main Impact Topics and then more detailed subtopics within each of these. There are then detailed requirements under each of those subtopics. All the detailed requirements have been mapped out.
I recommend that you open your B Impact Assessment (using your usual login) and spend time familiarising yourself with the ‘New Standards Assessment’ in there – I’ve found it user friendly and by far the easiest way to navigate the new Standards.
QUESTION: If we comply to the new Standards, will that be aligned to EU green claims? For example, can we continue to communicate B Corp logo on our products?
ANSWER:
The new Standards have been designed so that they align with many of the other regulations that you need to meet. This includes the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, which comes into effect in September 2026 and affects companies that market products and services to consumers in the EU.
We help businesses embed impact into their purpose, strategy and business model - and so meet the requirements of the new B Corp Standards. Find out how we can help you: