28 November, 2025

B Lab’s latest research  explores how B Corps are approaching circularity, climate action and environmental stewardship, highlighting where more structured sustainability practices are beginning to translate into tangible change.  

The report suggests that what distinguishes B Corps is not just higher performance in isolated areas, but a more holistic approach that covers multiple dimensions of environmental impact as well as their contributions to broader systems change. B Corps consistently demonstrate stronger uptake of practices such as life cycle assessments, product take-back programmes, material optimisation for reuse and recyclability, and source and toxicity reduction. The research also shows that companies that implement a wider range of interconnected practices achieve stronger outcomes in emissions reduction and resource efficiency than those relying on more fragmented efforts, and goes so far as to suggest that if all companies adopted these practices at the rate that B Corps are doing, we’d reduce global temperatures by 0.5 degrees by 2100.  

This is another proof point that sustainability performance improves when it is embedded across operations, procurement, product design and governance, rather than treated as a standalone undertaking. 

Having clear company-wide targets is another way of driving systematic change and the updated B Lab Standards V2.1 requires companies to set clear climate targets, define concrete emissions reduction actions and demonstrate progress aligned with 1.5°C pathways. While only 14% of B Corps currently have science-based targets in place, they remain 2.5 times more likely than ordinary businesses to have adopted them, so this is a positive step forward.  

And it’s one we’re pleased to say we’ve taken at Good Business. Our near-term science-based target has now been officially validated by the Science Based Targets initiative under the SME pathway. We have committed to maintaining zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions through 2030 and to reducing Scope 3 emissions from a 2024 baseline.  

The report shows that B Corps are helping raise the bar for environmental responsibility, but they cannot drive systemic change on their own. The direction is promising, yet there is still a long way to go to turn momentum into impact at scale.

By Mariana Garcia