What to Expect During Your Pre-Verification Evaluation

Before your company’s Verification begins you will be asked to provide information to illustrate important aspects of your company, and your B Impact Assessment (BIA) will be reviewed by an Analyst from B Lab’s Evaluation Team. This process ensures that your company has the BIA that best captures its impacts and is aligned with other companies who have taken the BIA before yours. This process takes place during the Evaluation Queue and Evaluation Stages of the Review. An overview of the entire Review timeline and process can be found here. The time it takes to complete the Evaluation steps can vary, depending on the size and complexity of your company. On average, we recommend allocating at least 2-4 hours total (Please Note: The time requirements increase if additional questions need to be filled out due to a BIA Track change).   

During the Evaluation Stage, Evaluation Analysts are responsible for the following Tasks:

• Complex Structure Review: Reviewing the ownership structure of the company and the structure of all entities and brands involved. This is to ensure that all entities involved are on the correct path to certification and that the company understands the path to certification before the Verification process begins.  

• Controversial Industry Review: Reviewing if the company is involved in any “Controversial Industries” and moving forward with next steps. 

• Assessment Track Confirmation: Reviewing the BIA Track Market, Sector, Size, Industry, and Industry Category that the company submitted the BIA on to ensure that they are correct based on the BIA Standards and precedent of other companies that have taken the BIA prior. This is to ensure that the company is on the correct Track before Verification begins.  Updates to the company’s BIA track may be made by the Analyst, which may result in additional questions to complete and/or changes to the company’s score. 

• Preliminary Scoring Screen: Reviewing the Impact Business Model(s) (IBMs) that the company submitted and confirming if they appear to be accurate or make updates to better reflect the company’s business model.  These questions are unique to our assessment and can sometimes be challenging. This may result in additional questions to complete and/or changes to the company’s score.  

• Define Verification Requirements: Completing a final check that the company is on the appropriate path for certification before entering the Verification Queue.  This includes that the Review has the correct Approach and associated Tasks.  

It is important to note that during the Evaluation: 

• The Evaluation Analyst is engaging in a pre-screening of your submission, and the Standards Analyst assigned to your company during Verification will walk through these topics and any questions in greater detail.  

• A company that moves beyond the Evaluation Stage’s score will likely change during Verification and is not guaranteed to certify after Verification.

• If the company’s score is below 80 points after the Evaluation, the Review will be closed, all of your responses will be saved, and you will be informed of tools to improve your score.  Once the company implements improvements and reaches 80 points again, it will be able to resubmit the BIA to begin the Review process again!