B Corp
B Corp certification under the V2.1 standards
B Lab published new standards for B Corp certification on 8 April 2025. The old 80-of-200 points model is gone, replaced by three Foundation Requirements and seven Impact Topics, with sub-requirements that change depending on your company’s size, sector and risk profile. Certification is now assessed by accredited third-party auditors rather than by B Lab directly.
Who this affects
Is this you?
- Companies certifying as a B Corp for the first time
- Existing B Corps coming up for recertification
- Consultants preparing clients for either
- Published by
- B Lab
- Current edition
- V2.1
Key dates
8 April 2025
B Lab Standards V2.1 published
Three Foundation Requirements plus seven Impact Topics. The 80-point threshold is retired: you either meet the requirements that apply to you or you do not.
February 2026
Existing B Corps could begin submitting under V2.1
Companies already certified were the first cohort able to recertify against the new standards.
March 2026
First-time certifiers moved to V2.1, and V1.6 closed
Submissions under the previous standards were no longer accepted. Everyone is now on V2.1.
27 September 2026
ECGT deadline for affected EU-facing companies
The EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition directive creates a separate pressure point for companies making environmental claims in the EU.
Detail
What this means in practice
Points are gone
Under the old B Impact Assessment you collected points across five areas and needed 80 of a possible 200. V2.1 replaces that with requirements you either meet or do not. There is no longer a way to offset a weak area with a strong one, which is the single biggest change in how it feels to work through.
What you owe depends on your company
Nearly every sub-requirement is gated on company size, sector and certification phase. B Lab uses seven size bands, and the rule is that you sit in whichever of your worker count or your revenue gives the smaller band — so a five-person consultancy turning over $80m is treated as the smaller company, not the larger one. Getting that wrong means measuring yourself against the wrong set of requirements.
Requirements arrive in phases
Year 0 is what you need to certify. Year 3 and Year 5 add more at successive recertifications, and they are cumulative: a company at Year 5 still owes everything from Year 0. Planning for certification without planning for Year 3 is the common mistake.
Third-party audit
Certification moved to accredited independent auditors — To-Cert and SCS Global Services — working to an ISO 17021-1 basis, rather than assessment by B Lab itself. In practice that raises the bar on evidence: someone outside the process will read what you wrote and what you attached.
With KinopiQ
Tracking B Corp readiness
- Works out which V2.1 sub-requirements apply to your size, sector, phase and risk flags, and hides the rest
- Keeps your answer, your written note and the documents that prove each requirement together
- Counts unmet mandatory requirements separately from your readiness score
- Links the same document against ISO 14001, GRI or UK SRS requirements where it also proves those
- Gives an auditor or adviser a read-only seat on the whole record
What KinopiQ does not do
KinopiQ is not B Lab, does not certify anyone, and does not submit anything on your behalf. B Lab’s own B Impact platform works out which sub-requirements apply to you, lets you set a status, owner and due date on each, and is the system of record you submit through — it is free, and if B Corp is the only standard you answer to it may be all you need. KinopiQ is for the company that is also answering to ISO 14001, GRI or UK SRS and does not want three separate evidence packs.
- Do I still need 80 points to certify as a B Corp?
- No. The 80-of-200 points model was retired with B Lab Standards V2.1, published 8 April 2025. Certification now depends on meeting three Foundation Requirements and the sub-requirements that apply to your company across seven Impact Topics. There is no points threshold and no way to offset a weak area against a strong one.
- Which B Corp requirements apply to a company my size?
- B Lab uses seven size bands, derived from your full-time-equivalent worker count and your annual revenue. You sit in whichever of the two gives the smaller band. Sub-requirements are then gated on that band, on your sector — one of five — and on your certification phase, which runs Year 0 to certify and Year 3 and Year 5 at recertification. Risk flags from B Lab’s risk-profiling step can trigger further requirements regardless of size.
- Can I still certify under the old V1.6 standards?
- No. Existing B Corps could begin submitting under V2.1 from February 2026 and first-time certifiers from March 2026, at which point V1.6 submissions closed. All certification and recertification now runs on V2.1.
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