What are the content categories of the B Lab new standards requirements for B Corp Certification and how are they structured?

Modified on Mon, 7 Apr at 12:45 PM

The Foundation and Impact Topic Requirements in the new Standards for B Corp Certification have the same content categories and follow the same structure. The content structure details the importance of the requirements, what is required to meet and be evaluated against the requirements, and includes supporting implementation guidance and resources. The content categories and structure are as follows:

Intent	Describes the goal of the Impact Topic or Foundation Requirements and why it is important, and establishes the link between the requirements and their outcome.
Outcome	Outlines the intended result of the Impact Topic or Foundation Requirements. Outcomes represent the collective aspirations of the B Corp community.
Scope	Explains who or what the requirements apply to (i.e. the company’s operations, value chain, or stakeholders).
Notes	Sets out how the Impact Topic or Foundation Requirements align with other Impact Topics, or describes details of the requirements. Included only when relevant.
Terms and Definitions	Defines key terms used in the new standards. The defined meanings are essential to understanding the requirements.
Requirements	Includes the requirements and sub-requirements of the new standards. The company needs to meet these requirements, and in some cases maintain or continuously improve upon them, to achieve B Corp Certification. Sub-requirements in some Impact Topics have a set of options for companies to choose from. These are labeled with an “O”. Each requirement and sub-requirement has an ID code to identify which Impact Topic it falls under. For example, PSG1.1 is a sub-requirement of the PSG1 requirement, in the Purpose & Stakeholder Governance Impact Topic.
Each sub-requirement includes:
Track Factors	Identify company attributes, including: size (based on number of workers and revenue) sector industry. These determine which sub-requirements apply to the company.
Year	Indicate the number of years the company has until it must comply with the sub-requirement. Year 0 (Y0) - The company complies with this sub-requirement from its first application for certification, and continuously thereafter. Year 3 (Y3) - The company complies with this sub-requirement from Year 3 onward, and continuously thereafter. Year 5 (Y5) - The company complies with this sub-requirement from Year 5 onward, and continuously thereafter. To maintain B Corp certification, companies must continually comply with all applicable sub-requirements as soon as they become effective.
Eligible for the equity mechanism	Identifies whether the sub-requirement can have the equity mechanism applied. “Yes” means the sub-requirement is eligible; “no” means it is ineligible. The equity mechanism applies to companies based in a country or territory with “some” or “more” operational barriers. If the company qualifies for the equity mechanism, it can choose to be exempt from a percentage of the eligible sub-requirements but will need to provide a justification based on its operational barriers. All companies need to meet all sub-requirements that are ineligible for the equity mechanism.
Compliance Criteria	Sets out the mandatory actions that the company needs to implement to meet and demonstrate meeting the sub-requirement.
Intent	Describes the sub-requirement’s intended outcome.
Clarifying the Compliance Criteria	Provides additional information about what is needed to meet the compliance criteria.
Applying the Criteria to Independently Certifying Subsidiaries	Clarifies how the sub-requirement applies to independently certifying subsidiaries
Further guidance	Provides additional information about how to understand and implement the sub-requirement. Does not include mandatory actions.
Recommendations	Provides non-mandatory recommendations for implementing the sub-requirement, such as: methodologies relevant stakeholders best practice suggestions background and context other helpful considerations.
Implementation Resources	Include useful links, in available languages, to help the company implement each sub-requirement, such as: guides tools databases standards
Interoperability	Lists matching or overlapping data and information from other standards and frameworks that help meet the requirements in the new standards. As defined below, these may be a “conceptual alignment data point” with the B Lab standards, or have “equivalency data point”. Note: i) this does not equate to a verification exemption of the sub-requirement. ii) B Lab will regularly update (frequency tbc) the interoperability section in the B Impact Assessment to ensure highlighted data points from other standards and frameworks are up to date.
Conceptual Alignment Data Point	Lists metrics or qualitative data points from other standards and frameworks that contribute to meeting the sub-requirement. A conceptual alignment data point that is from other standards or frameworks is directly related to the sub-requirement, but may have slight differences in scope, specificity, or methodology. Despite the differences, the company may use the method or tool, or take the data as a starting point to produce data that meets the sub-requirement.
Equivalency Data Point	Lists metrics or qualitative data points from other standards and frameworks that exactly match the data sought to meet the sub-requirement. The company can apply the method, tool, or data used in the other standard or framework directly to meet the sub-requirement in the B Lab standards.