13 sep. 2022, 12:34

How to become a B Corp certified company?

How to become a B Corp certified company?

Greenjobs.nl has been a B Corp for three years, but how exactly do you become a B Corp? Greenjobs.nl is happy to explain that to you in this new blog!

How to become a B Corporation?

To become a B Corp, a company or organization must go through B Corp certification. During the certification process, an organization must score a number of points in order to become a B Corp. This must be at least 80 out of 200 points! You get these points by doing the B Impact Assessment. Greenjobs.nl is happy to tell you in six steps how you can best go through this process:


1. Complete the B Corp Assessment

Completing the B Corp Assessment is done via the B Impact Assessment site. There you will complete a long questionnaire. The questionnaire first zooms in on the industry, size of your company and the location of the company. Based on that, you get a specific set of questions. The company is not only judged on the product or service, but on the company as a whole. Therefore, the questions focus on the five categories: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. Example questions of this could be:

Governance: What part of your management is assessed in writing on their performance with regard to corporate, social and environmental objectives?

Workers: What % of employees are full-time employees?

Community: What % of management comes from underrepresented populations?

Environment: Does your company record waste production?

Customers: How do you verify that your product improves customer impact?


2. Make an inventory of your Impact

A major step in the B Corp certification process is mapping the current impact of an organization. You do this by answering questions in five topics; Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. Take it step by step realistically with your team. This could take weeks or months, but that's okay! Are your baseline measurements clear and below 80? Then there is still work to be done and you can look for areas for improvement.


3. Addressing areas for improvement within your company

When answering the questions in the previous step, it is helpful to determine if and in what area of ​​each problem the company could improve. What answer do you give now, but what answer do you want to give in the future? Sketch this in Excel and work with your team to implement them and ultimately increase your impact.


4. Complete and submit the B Impact Assessment

If you have executed your plan, answered more than 90% of the questions and of course obtained a score of 80 or more, you can submit your application through the B Impact Assessment. Ideally, you should submit ratings around 85-90 points, giving you some leeway.


5. Have your score checked by B Lab

If you have successfully submitted your application, you will be contacted after a while by B Lab, the independent foundation behind the B Corp certification. Based on an interview and an extensive review of the evidence, an assigned analyst will review your assessment and verify the score.


6. Complete the B Corp certification

Were you able to pass the assessment? Congratulations, your company is now truly B Corp certified and you are part of the B Corp Community!



Need help becoming a B Corp?

Do you need help with your assessment? B Corp Way consultants are here to support you in the process of becoming a B Corp! B Corp Way is a platform created by the team behind the European Certified B Corporation movement that allows large companies and multinationals in Europe to find B Corp consultancies that meet their needs and help companies start their impact journey. Dutch B Corps that are part of the B Corp Way:

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