What is a B Corp?

A B Corp is a business that has achieved the prestigious B Corporation certification for its social and environmental impact. 

They’re not always obviously ‘green’ companies and a B Corp is not the same thing as a social enterprise. B Corps are for-profit businesses that have a material positive impact on the world. They prove this by completing the certification process and publicly reporting on their progress.

There are now more than 10,000 certified B Corps employing over one million people across 100+ countries. Octopus Group became a certified B Corporation in 2021. (Which makes sense – what with the green energy and electric vehicles.)

Founders Andrew Kassoy, Bart Houlahan, and Jay Coen Gilbert created B Lab in 2006. Their nonprofit network would grow to a global scale and become famous for its B Corporation certifications. The three friends started out with the view that a different kind of economy was not only possible – it was necessary. Today, B Lab helps mobilise ‘a global community of businesses committed to collective action on society’s most critical challenges’.

The assessments are administered by B Lab. If you want your business to become a B Corp, it must: 

1. Meet the standards of social and environmental responsibility
2. Make legal commitments in its constitutional documents
3. Show full transparency on the B Lab global directory. 

The first steps are to create an account on the B Impact platform and get familiar with what’s required. When you’re ready, you’ll complete your self-assessment and upload evidence. After that, there’s an audit stage before the process hopefully concludes with your certification. 

The latest B Lab Standards (V2) came into effect in 2026. First of all, your business needs to meet the foundation requirements – which include signing the ‘Declaration of Interdependence’. You’ll then be assessed against seven impact topics. 

1. Purpose and Stakeholder Governance
2. Fair Work
3. Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI)
4. Human Rights
5. Climate Action
6. Environmental Stewardship and Circularity
7. Government Affairs and Collective Action

B Lab says the process should take from two to six months from submission to certification. But it can vary, and it can take longer than this. If the audit stage finds any major issues, you’ll be expected to fix these before your accreditation can progress. 

If climate action is an issue for you, remember that business travel and commuting are top sources of emissions and an EV salary sacrifice scheme can help reduce them.

From 2026, businesses will be assessed against the B Lab Standards (V2). This process is more rigorous than before.

Previously, organisations needed to score at least 80 points across a variety of categories. This meant that a company could balance a poor score on environmental issues by making up points with good corporate governance practices or large charitable donations. Naughty, naughty. 

In the new system, all B Corps must achieve a pass mark on all seven critical impact topics – meaning none of these can be overlooked. Electric vehicles are likely to play a key role in helping you meet the standards of the climate action, fair work and environmental stewardship topics. 

How long have you got? The list could go on forever, but here are a few highlights. 

Customer loyalty: People are increasingly looking for companies that align with their own personal values, and being a B Corp can give you a competitive edge. The added transparency of B Corp reporting can give you an extra boost of trust and loyalty, too.

Employee engagement: As a B Corp, you’ll hone your approaches to organisational purpose, reward, and diversity, equity and inclusion. These all support employee engagement [link to Octopus blog], productivity gains and lower turnover rates. 

Attracting top talent: B Corps work to create a new economy that values people and the planet. Who wouldn’t want to get on board with that? Between 2024 and 2025, UK SME B Corps saw 11% headcount growth (compared to just 2% percent for all UK SMEs).

Increased brand visibility: As the B Corp movement continues to grow, certified B Corps are gaining visibility and media attention. This can help raise awareness of your company and its mission and attract new customers and investors.

Increased investment: Investors are always looking for businesses that create an impact and are well-governed. From 2015 to 2025, B Corps received a median of £1.5 million in growth funding from external investors. (That’s 18% more than other UK businesses.)

For every employee that switches their personal car to an electric vehicle, you’ll cut your company’s Scope 3 emissions by 1.5 tonnes a year. 

Our EV salary sacrifice scheme helps your employees make the switch by saving up to 40% on a new EV. 

And because the scheme improves your climate credentials and your employee benefits package at the same time, it’s a double boost to your B Corp credentials.

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