B Corp
B Corp certification is awarded by B Lab, a non-profit, to companies that meet its standards on governance, work, human rights and the environment. Since 2026, new standards have replaced the 80-point score with seven Impact Topics. Here is what the label checks, and what it leaves out.
The Dictionary · Certifications
7 Impact Topics2 brands10 min read
You have probably seen the small circled B on a box of tea, a pair of trainers or a bank’s website. It stands for B Corp certification, and it is often read as a promise about the product in your hands. It is not quite that.
The certification describes how a company is governed and run, checked against standards written by B Lab, a non-profit organisation. This entry explains what those standards ask for since their 2026 overhaul, how they differ from the points system many guides still describe, and where the label stops.
A B Corp, or Certified B Corporation, is a for-profit company that B Lab has certified as meeting its requirements on governance, work, human rights and the environment, and that has written accountability to all its stakeholders into its legal documents. The certification applies to the company, not to its products.
What is a B Corp?
B Lab began in 2006 in the United States, started by three friends with backgrounds in business and private equity: Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan and Andrew Kassoy. Their idea was simple to state and harder to build. Companies should be able to show, not just claim, that they are run with workers, communities and the environment in mind. A first cohort of around 80 companies was certified in 2007.
Today B Lab works as a global network, with local organisations in Europe and beyond. It reports more than 10,000 certified companies in over 100 countries, from sole traders to listed groups. They all carry the same mark. The requirements behind it, however, are tailored to each company’s size and sector.
In practice, the certification asks three things of a company. It must meet the standards, as verified by a review of its evidence. It must change its legal documents so that its directors weigh every stakeholder, not shareholders alone. And it must accept a public listing in B Lab’s directory. The full text is set out in B Lab’s standards.
B Corp and benefit corporations: not the same thing
The names are close, so the two are often confused. A benefit corporation is a legal form that exists in some jurisdictions; Maryland was the first US state to adopt it, in 2010, in a law B Lab helped draft. A B Corp is a certification. One is written into company law. The other is earned, and has to be kept.
They meet at one point. To be certified, a company must adopt B Lab’s legal requirement, which commits its directors to consider workers, customers, communities and the environment alongside shareholders. Depending on the country and the company’s structure, that can mean amending its articles of association or adopting a benefit-type legal form. Plenty of B Corps are not benefit corporations at all.
How B Corp certification works since 2026
B Lab published new standards on 8 April 2025, after several years of consultation, and they now govern every new certification and recertification. The most visible change: there is no longer a score to reach. A company has to clear two layers of requirements instead.
The first layer is the Foundation Requirements. The company must be legally incorporated, have operated for at least 12 months and comply with local and national law. It must adopt the legal requirement and sign the Declaration of Interdependence, the movement’s founding text. It must also complete a risk assessment, which sets how much additional due diligence it will face.
The second layer is a set of minimum requirements across seven Impact Topics:
- Purpose and Stakeholder Governance: a defined purpose, and stakeholders built into decision-making.
- Fair Work: the quality of jobs and of the workplace.
- Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: inclusive workplaces and fair treatment of communities.
- Human Rights: respect for the people affected by the business, including in its value chain.
- Climate Action: concrete steps to reduce the company’s contribution to climate change.
- Environmental Stewardship and Circularity: limiting environmental harm in operations and supply chains, and contributing to a circular economy.
- Government Affairs and Collective Action: a fair contribution to the countries where the company operates, and joint action on shared problems.
Depending on its size, sector and industry, a company faces between 20 and 124 requirements. Strength in one topic no longer makes up for weakness in another.
Certification has also become a progression rather than a single exam. A company meets its Year 0 requirements to be certified, then takes on further ones at Year 3 and Year 5, with audits along the way, including a dedicated audit in Year 3. B Lab announced the first companies certified under these standards in June 2026. It also presents the new model as a way for companies to comply with the EU directive on empowering consumers for the green transition.
What changed from the 80-point model
For most of its history, the certification ran on points. Companies completed the B Impact Assessment and needed a verified score of at least 80 out of 200, spread across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. A strong showing in one area could offset a thin one.
| Criterion | Previous standards | Standards in force since 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold | At least 80 out of 200 points | No score: requirements to meet |
| Structure | Five impact areas | Foundation Requirements and seven Impact Topics |
| Compensation | One strong area could offset a weak one | Minimum requirements in every topic |
| Number of requirements | One assessment, adjusted by company profile | Between 20 and 124, by size and sector |
| Over time | Recertification every three years | Progression over five years: Year 0, Year 3, Year 5 |
| Verification | Review of the assessment by B Lab | Audits, including a dedicated audit in Year 3 |
Companies certified under the old version keep their certification until they recertify, and then move to the new standards. That is why some profiles in B Lab’s directory still display a score.
What B Corp certification does not tell you
This is the limit worth keeping in mind on a directory of European-made goods. The certification looks at how a company is governed and how it treats people and the environment. On its own, it says nothing about where a garment is woven, cut or sewn, where a table is assembled, or what a product is made of.
A certified brand may manufacture in its home country, elsewhere in Europe or further afield. And a company without the certification is not, for that reason, a worse place to buy from. The label is voluntary.
For provenance, other signals do the work. Origin labels answer the question directly: see what Origine France Garantie certifies, or the EPV label, a French state distinction for companies with rare craft or industrial know-how.
Material and product labels sit at yet another level. GOTS certification concerns organic fibres and how they are processed, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 concerns testing textiles for harmful substances, and FSC certification concerns forest management and the wood supply chain. None of them states where a product was assembled.
The useful reading is a division of labour. The B Corp mark informs you about the company, a production address about origin, material labels about what the product is made of. Our guide to local versus European production goes further on the second question, and you can browse brands made in France on CollectionEU.
Certified B Corps in the CollectionEU directory
Two brands listed on CollectionEU appear as Certified B Corporations in B Lab’s public directory. Both were certified under the previous version of the standards and will move to the new ones when they recertify. Check the directory before relying on the label.
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Le Slip Français: certified, and made in France
B Corp sinceMarch 2022HeadquartersÎle-de-France, France
Founded in 2011 by Guillaume Gibault, Le Slip Français started with underwear and now covers everyday clothing and accessories. The company states that its products are manufactured in France through a network of partner workshops, and it has been an entreprise à mission, a French legal status for companies with a stated purpose, since 2020. The certification and the French production address are two separate facts here, which is exactly how they should be read. Its pieces sit within men’s fashion made in France on CollectionEU.
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Montlimart: menswear, certified since 2023
B Corp sinceJune 2023HeadquartersPays de la Loire, France
Montlimart is a French menswear brand. Its B Lab profile places its headquarters in the Pays de la Loire and lists operations in several European countries. It illustrates the point above well: the certification tells you about the company, while the production details given for each piece tell you where it was made.
Reading B Corp certification at its true scope
B Corp certification is a third-party check on how a company is run: its governance, its work practices, its approach to human rights, its climate and environmental actions. Since 2026 that check rests on minimum requirements in seven areas rather than a single score, with more to meet over five years. It is useful information. It is not a statement of origin, and it does not grade a product.
Read alongside a production address and the material labels, it becomes one clear signal among several. For the other terms that come up when buying European-made goods, the CollectionEU dictionary covers fibres, woods, labels and certifications.
Your questions
Frequently asked questions
What does B Corp certification mean?
It means B Lab has verified that a company meets its standards on governance, work, human rights, climate and the environment, and that the company has changed its legal documents so its directors must consider all stakeholders. It describes how a company is run. It is not a product label, and it is reassessed over time.
What changed in the B Corp standards in 2026?
Since January 2026, new certifications and recertifications use B Lab’s revised standards. The 80-out-of-200 score is gone. Companies must meet Foundation Requirements, then minimum requirements across seven Impact Topics, with further requirements due at Year 3 and Year 5 and audits along the way.
Does B Corp mean a product is made locally?
No. B Corp assesses how a company is run, not where its goods are woven, sewn or assembled. A certified brand may produce in its home country or elsewhere. For origin, look at the production sites a brand discloses, or at origin labels such as Origine France Garantie. Our guide on how to tell if fashion is made locally goes further.
Which European-made brands are B Corp certified?
Among brands listed on CollectionEU, Le Slip Français (certified since March 2022) and Montlimart (since June 2023) appear as Certified B Corporations in B Lab’s public directory. Status can change at recertification, so the directory is the place to check before relying on the label.
Can any company become a B Corp?
A company must be legally incorporated, have operated for at least 12 months and comply with local laws. Under the new standards, it then meets between 20 and 124 requirements depending on its size and sector. Some industries are not eligible, and preparation time depends on how much the company needs to change.
