What is the Certification Agreement and why do I need to sign it?

When reviewing your submission, you will be asked to sign a Certification Agreement. This request will appear in your email inbox through the Docusign platform. You can make sure the correct person is signing by reviewing the article to assign to the correct contact.

At this time, the agreement is only available in English however as we continue to develop the auditing process, it will be available in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French. 

Why this B Lab Agreement is necessary:

You will receive this B Lab agreement in advance of moving forward to the audit phase of certification. It outlines the terms of the certification and performance commitment of the company proactively. 

Please note: This article is provided for informational purposes only. This is not an actual Agreement or a complete description of the certification requirements. 

The Agreement establishes the following:
1) the terms by which B Lab will certify the Company as a Certified B Corporation™, a certification of a company’s overall social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability,
(2) the terms under which that certification will continue,

(3) the obligations of the Company as a Certified B Corporation™,
(4) the rights of the Company to use certain intellectual property of B Lab.

Requirements for Certification
All submissions for B Corporation Certification will be reviewed by B Lab and independent auditors (“Assurance Providers”). In order to be certified as a Certified B Corporation™, the Company must meet the following requirements:

• The company must provide truthful, complete self-assessment, and other aspects of the Foundation Requirements. They must also submit to audits, background checks, and "Complaints procedures" to verify their claims.

• Certification is contingent upon following all local and national laws. Crucially, the company must adopt specific B Corp stakeholder governance and update their governing documents accordingly.

• If the company's structure, ownership, or legal form changes, they must notify B Lab immediately. If the local jurisdiction does not yet support B Corp legal forms, the company must commit to advocating for those changes and adopting them once available.

• B Lab maintains the right to change certification requirements and scopes at its sole discretion. Companies must meet all deadlines and requirements in a timely manner or risk having their certification denied or withdrawn.

    
Transparency Requirements:

Permit B Lab to make available the Company’s B Impact Report, basic Profile information, and any additional disclosures, as required and mutually-agreed upon, on www.bcorporation.net upon certification and recertification.

Legal Requirement:

B Corporations incorporate stakeholder consideration into the legal structure of your company to create long-term value for shareholders and stakeholders. The company’s legal requirement, and the timeline for the process, will be determined by your company structure, and your country and state/province of formation. Please refer to the Legal Requirement Tool to see which of the legal pathways apply to your company. 

If the company does not meet the above requirements, B Lab may revoke the company's

certification as provided or decline to recertify the company. In the event of a change in control or change in legal form of the company, the company agrees that it will notify B Lab to learn how to meet the above requirements of certification in light of those changes.

Declaration of Interdependence:

The company will sign the B Corporation Declaration of Interdependence as a symbol of its commitment to our shared collective purpose.

Intellectual Property
B Lab will grant to the company a revocable, non‐exclusive license to utilize the B Lab intellectual property (the “B Lab IP”) “Certified B Corporation™,” “B Corporation™”, “B Corp™” and the “Certified B Corporation™” logo (the “B Lab License”), only in a manner consistent with the “Brand Usage Guidelines” provided by B Lab.