New B Corp Standards: What the new standards mean for businesses
B Lab has introduced new standards for B Corp certification that represent a significant shift for businesses that prioritise purpose over profit while driving commercial value. For many businesses, B Corp certification has always been more than a badge. It’s a framework for aligning strategy, operations, and culture to drive commercial value while demonstrating good impact for people and the planet. B Lab was founded in 2006 with the mission to create standards, policies, tools, and programs to help organisations drive high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. The certification was set up to drive a shift towards conscious capitalism, enabling for-profit businesses with a governance framework that considers all stakeholders, including the environment, in everyday decisions and strategic planning. B Lab’s certification standards have continuously evolved since 2006, with version six released in January 2019. In 2020, B Lab launched a comprehensive multi-year review of the version six standards with the goal of implementing new certification standards designed to raise expectations, strengthen credibility, and align the certification more closely with global ESG regulations. The result is a new B Corp certification framework (Version 7) released in April 2025, with full transition by September 2026. This represents a significant shift in the B Corp certification process. As the leading B Consultancy in Australia and New Zealand, with six B Lab-trained consultants, The Growth Activists helps businesses turn certification into commercial value under these new standards. What’s Changing? From Points to Performance Under the previous B Corp model, certification was based on a points system. Businesses could score across five impact areas: Workers Suppliers Community Governance Environment A total of at least 80 points out of a possible 200 was required to submit for certification. This allowed flexibility. Companies could excel in one area, boosting points, whilst in another area they may score less. This showed organisations where they needed to focus on impact improvement. Over time, that flexibility led to growing concerns about inconsistency, credibility, and greenwashing. For example, a company might score highly on employee engagement while having less climate action or supply chain oversight. The system rewarded overall scores, not balanced performance. In response, B Lab launched the multi-year review to implement new certification standards designed to raise expectations, strengthen credibility, and align the certification more closely with global ESG regulations. The result is an updated framework that has moved the B Corp certification process from a focus on flexibility to balanced accountability. The updated standards are clearer, more consistent, and better suited to distinguishing businesses that genuinely prioritise purpose over profit and can demonstrate it in practice across all aspects of the business. Rather than the points-based system, which is being phased out, under the new standards, every business must meet clearly defined minimum performance requirements across seven core Impact Topics. It is no longer enough to lead in one or several areas. Certification now depends on meeting the bar in every category. The 7 New B Corp Impact Topics Under the new standards, every business must meet clearly defined minimum performance requirements across seven core Impact Topics, including: Purpose & Stakeholder Governance: Ensures the business is legally accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and integrates purpose into its mission, governance, and oversight structures. This is about ensuring your business makes decisions that benefit everyone it affects, not just the people who own it. Fair Work : Requires businesses to create safe, fair, and respectful workplaces by supporting worker voice, ensuring strong employment practices, and promoting equitable compensation and conditions. In other words, businesses have a responsibility to treat workers well, pay them fairly, and give them a real say in the workplace. Climate Action: Requires businesses to measure and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and develop plans to transition to a low-carbon future. It’s a key part of an organisation’s plan to reduce its carbon footprint and become a positive force in the fight against climate change. Circularity & Environmental Stewardship: Promotes responsible use of materials, waste reduction, and the design of circular business models that minimise environmental impact. At its core, circularity is about businesses finding ways to use resources wisely, create less waste, and keep materials in use for longer. Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: Encourages the creation of equitable systems and inclusive cultures through leadership accountability, representation, and fair opportunity practices. Simply put, businesses have a responsibility to make sure everyone gets a fair go without facing discrimination. Human Rights: Mandates that companies identify, prevent, and address risks of human rights harm within their operations and supply chains. This is all about businesses protecting the human rights of all people involved throughout the entire manufacturing process from beginning to end. Government Affairs & Collective Action: Encourages companies to engage ethically in public policy, contribute to industry progress, and collaborate with peers, partners, and communities to drive systemic change for good. The goal is to build community, speak up for change, and find ways to work with other organisations to drive common good. Supporting B Corp Certification: A Collaborative Approach The new standards come with higher expectations, and businesses will need to show that positive impact is embedded across all operations and decision-making. For many companies, this has raised an important strategic question: How to meet the requirements in a way that supports their broader commercial goals, brand reputation, and long-term direction. At The Growth Activists, we’ve designed our collaborative B Corp certification process around this critical focus. Some are looking to ensure compliance with B Corp standards. Others want to integrate impact more deeply into operations and use certification to compete more effectively in their sector. And some are ready to lead in the ESG space by setting ambitious targets, driving innovation, and reshaping industry expectations. We help businesses make an intentional choice about where they want to sit on the spectrum, and why. That decision then informs every aspect of the roadmap we build together, from how we phase the work and the resourcing required, to the