March 2026 is B Corp month, an annual celebration of all things related to the B Corporation. So, what exactly does this mean, and what’s its relevance to the rest of us?
The story starts in 2006, when three friends had a vision of business being a force for good and so they created ‘B Lab’, the certifying body that grants B Corp status. Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies ‘verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability’.
How has the B Corp standard evolved?
There have been some high profile instances of organisations having their B Corp status removed, where standards have fallen short of the perceived high bar. However, the standard has evolved to remain fit for purpose in the eyes of its stakeholders.
The latest revision took place in January 2026. These changes address areas where the B Corp standard had been previously criticised. The verification process had always required an organisation to have scored sufficient points in a B Impact Assessment, to have amended their Articles of Association to consider the impact of decisions on all stakeholders, and to have signed the B Corp Agreement and a Declaration of Interdependence. However, the standard now includes independent third-party verification, and crucially, instead of being able to offset weak performance in one area with strong performance in another, the new standard ensures businesses must meet minimum performance across a set of core “impact topics”.
The core B Corp impact topics
These impact topics include (among others):
- Purpose & Stakeholder Governance
- Fair Work
- Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI)
- Human Rights
- Climate Action
- Environmental Stewardship & Circularity
- Government Affairs & Collective Action
This addresses criticism that an organisation could for example, retain certification by excelling in carbon reduction and environmental initiatives, but have an arguably poor performance in employee relations. Now, organisations will need a more balanced approach.
For transparency, all B Corps’ impact scores are publicly available on the B Lab Directory, and certification must be renewed every three years, with scoring improvements required. The impact assessment is designed not just to evidence credentials, it’s also created to act as a roadmap for continuous improvement for the organisation in question. You can watch a short clip explaining how B Corp certification works.
That’s the formal aspect of B Certification. It’s deliberately rigorous, and advocates argue it enables organisations to prove they are a force for good in business. It’s purposely designed to be rigorous, and advocates of the B Movement (as it’s come to be known) would argue that it’s a way for organisations to evidence being a force for good in a commercial context.
What does the B Corp logo mean for consumers?
But what does the B Corp logo mean for the average consumer? Probably not as much as it should, as awareness levels are still not very high, but for those familiar with the logo, it means that the organisation is typically well above average for its environmental and/or social commitments. In a fast-paced world where consumers often want to do the right thing but don’t have the capacity or ability to research brands’ true credentials, the B Corp logo does at least give assurance of a commitment to do business in the right way and think beyond just short term profit considerations.
As of February 2026, there are over 2,700 B Corps in the UK, with over 153,000 employees.1 If you’re a Bidfood customer and would like to find out more about our suppliers who are B Corp certified, please ask your account manager.
