V2 Standards Structure and Concepts : Knowledge Hub

V2 Standards Structure and Concepts

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

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.

If my company is applicable for the Equity Mechanism, how is this applied to my certification process?

We are changing parts of the Equity Mechanism to align with the expectations of our assurance partners and the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive.

Implementation in two phases

For at least Q1 and Q2 2026, companies facing operational barriers due to where they are based use the Equity Mechanism via the Variance Mechanism to opt out of B Lab Standard requirement(s). Read section 4.2.2. Requesting a Variance in the Certification Requirements. The company is then not required to demonstrate conformity with those requirement(s) during the audit. There are two conditions to receiving this type of variance:

The company’s location captured in their assessment is a country or territory with “some barriers” (e.g. Brazil) or “more barriers” (e.g. Kenya). The full list is available in the article How the new B Lab Standards requirements are tailored to each company's context?
The company requests a variance for a sub-requirement that is eligible for the Equity Mechanism. Under each sub-requirement, there is a field “Eligible for equity mechanism?” with either a “Yes” or “No”.

B Lab is exploring how to integrate the Equity Mechanism into B Impact. This would replace the initial approach of using the Variance Mechanism. The exact timeline for this work is still in progress.

Equity Mechanism and different countries context

In order to operationalize the Equity Mechanism we have to simplify its application to contexts where one company’s scope covers multiple countries or territories. The Equity Mechanism applies based on the location stated in the company’s assessment (i.e. where the majority of workers are located).

B Lab intended to have the Equity Mechanism apply at the country level, regardless of the headquarter's location. This has proven operationally unfeasible and therefore needed to change.

Examples

A company in Kenya that only operates domestically is eligible for the Equity Mechanism.
A company in Brazil is eligible for the Equity Mechanism, even if it has operations in Canada and Germany.
A company in Germany is not eligible for the Equity Mechanism, even if it has operations in Brazil and Kenya.

In all cases, the company’s location as stated in their assessment is what determines the eligibility and the number of sub-requirements they can opt out of. The full list is available in the article How the new B Lab Standards requirements are tailored to each company's context?

Changes to the calculations due to equity mechanism

Instead of expressing how many sub-requirements a company can skip using percentages (10 or 15%), we now state an absolute number (e.g. Small can opt out of three sub-requirements at Year 0). This is clearer and avoids the company making their own calculation.

In the article How the new B Lab Standards requirements are tailored to each company's context?, companies can see exactly how many sub-requirements they can opt out of in Years 0, 3, and 5.

Which companies are impacted by the Equity Mechanism?

Eligible companies certifying in at least Q1 and Q2 2026 use the Variance Mechanism to benefit from the Equity Mechanism. This is a temporary solution while we work on integrating the Equity Mechanism into B Impact.

Companies in a country or territory “with fewer operational barriers”, but with operations in a country or territory with “some” or “more operational barriers”, are not eligible for the Equity Mechanism. See examples above.

Continuous improvement in the V2 Standards

The new standards offer a clear roadmap for achieving B Corp Certified status through continuous performance and improvement across seven Impact Topics. Its requirements, designed in a phased approach, guide companies on a journey of continuous improvement that unfolds over the years.

To achieve initial certification, companies must comply with the Year 0 sub-requirements. Subsequently, they will progressively adopt and comply with the Year 3 and Year 5 sub-requirements.

To maintain B Corp certification, companies must continually comply with all applicable sub-requirements from the time they become effective. Thus, in Year 3, a company must continue to comply with the Y0 sub-requirements while meeting the Y3 sub-requirements; and in Year 5, it must continue to comply with the Y0 and Y3 sub-requirements while meeting the Y5 sub-requirements. See the image below.

Each successive phase builds upon the previous one, reinforcing continuous improvement and complete adherence to the new standard’s requirements.