B Lab is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2006 in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, by Andrew Kassoy, Jay Coen Gilbert and Bart Houlahan. B Lab created, and awards, the B corporation certification for for-profit organizations. The "B" stands for beneficial and indicates that the certified organizations voluntarily meet certain standards of transparency, accountability, sustainability, and performance, with an aim to create value for society, not just for traditional stakeholders such as the shareholders.
While originally founded in the United States, today B Lab is a global network. B Lab Global is the entity that is the hub of the network and certifies companies as B Corps. The B Lab network also includes dozens of B Lab organizations at the country and regional levels. They support their community of B Corps, bring companies into the certification pipeline, and develop local programming to support the movement towards economic systems change based on stakeholder governance (i.e., a B Corp).
In order to earn B Corp certification, companies must achieve a score of 80 or higher out of 200 based on 5 criteria - governance, workers' rights, community impact, environmental impact and "stewardship of its customers". Once a company passes the B Lab's "Impact Assessment", it must then pay an annual fee which is based on its location and gross annual revenue.
As of December 2023, there are now over 7,600 B Corps in 84 countries and 157 industries. With its rigorous standards, B Corp certification can enhance a company's reputation, as well as attract socially and environmentally conscious customers. Because of this, the waiting list for assessment can be up to two years.
In addition to awarding B Corporation certifications to companies that score high enough on the B Impact Assessment, B Lab’s initiatives include administration of the B Impact Management programs and software, as well as advocacy for the adoption and improvement of benefit corporation statutes at the state level. (The B Corporation certification should not be confused with state-sanctioned benefit corporation status.)
B Lab has attracted media attention to the concept of benefit corporations. Some people confuse the concepts of a benefit corporation and a B Corporation, and sometimes use these phrases as if they are interchangeable even though they are very different legally.
B Lab has established a partnership with the United Nations to help the private sector translate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into practical business processes. B Lab created an SDG Action Manager that became available for companies to use in 2020.
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