18 September, 2026

This week, we attended a B Corp breakfast where one topic dominated the conversation: B Lab’s new standards for B Corp certification. While the standards themselves were unveiled in 2025, we are now starting to see what they mean in practice. Earlier this month, the first cohort of UK companies successfully certified under the updated requirements. 

The new framework introduces more rigorous and consistent requirements for B Corps. Rather than building up points across different impact areas, businesses must now meet minimum requirements across seven topics, including climate action, fair work, human rights, diversity and inclusion, governance, and environmental stewardship. Certification is also becoming a more continuous process, with stronger assurance requirements and mandatory progress milestones. 

We welcome this shift. The new standards align more closely with the direction of travel in sustainability regulation and reporting, creating greater consistency between B Corp certification and what is increasingly expected by regulators, investors and other stakeholders. They also respond to criticism that some organisations with questionable social or environmental track records have nonetheless been able to achieve B Corp status. By introducing requirements that better reflect a company’s size, sector, and impacts, the new framework should help strengthen trust in the certification. 

The higher bar will bring challenges, and recertification is likely to be more demanding for some businesses. But for organisations that have always seen B Corp as more than a badge, these changes should feel like a natural evolution. B Corp has long been about continuous improvement, and businesses with strong governance and a genuine commitment to positive impact are already well placed to meet the challenge. 

As a certified B Corp since 2021, we’re looking forward to preparing for our own recertification under the new framework next autumn. Supporting organisations with sustainability strategy, reporting and certification is a core part of what we do, and we’re excited to help businesses navigate the new requirements. If you’d like to discuss what the changes mean in practice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. 

By Hillevi Fock