What is a B Corp? And why should you care?

So – what’s the deal with B Corps? If you’re wondering this 👈, you’re in the right place. 

Whether you’re a business owner who’s interested in earning B Corp certification, or are simply curious about this topic – this guide covers all you need to know.

Let’s get stuck in!

What is a B Corp?

A B Corporation (or B Corp) is a for-profit company that has been rigorously assessed to make sure it meets certain environmental and social standards. This involves looking at everything from the company’s supply chain to its charitable giving to its employee benefits – and many more areas in-between.

Any company can start the journey towards becoming a B Corp – which involves being assessed by B Lab, the nonprofit organisation behind this whole scheme. Here’s B Lab’s definition of a B Corp:

“Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.”

As you can tell from this definition, becoming a B Corp isn’t a box-checking exercise, by any means. It’s a huge commitment that involves intricately assessing the DNA of a company – and making changes where necessary to meet B Lab’s standards. All B Corps are reassessed every three years. If they don’t still meet B Lab’s standards, their B Corp certification is removed.

The whole idea here is that there’s a lot of transparency about where a business may be falling short, and what they're working on. More often than not, recertification actually gives companies the chance to improve their B Corp score, and share all the progress they have made.

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What is B Lab?

B Lab is a non-profit network designed to transform the “global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet.” Impressive stuff! These guys are the ones behind the entire B Corp certification scheme. The initiative was born back in 2006, and since then, B Lab has been actively building a movement to change the world’s economic system through creating new standards, policies, tools and programmes 💪. 

Find out more about B Lab >

What does the ‘B’ stand for in B Corp?

The ‘B’ in B Corp stands for ‘Better for all’. That’s because B Corps have been assessed to ensure that they benefit all of their stakeholders. 

But wait, what does that mean? A company’s ‘stakeholders’ include anyone with a personal interest in that business. For example, this can include its shareholders, customers, employees,  suppliers, and the general community that surrounds the company – not forgetting the planet itself!

In short, a B Corp acts in the best interest of all those it affects – rather than focusing solely on turning a profit. 

How does a business become a B Corp?

Any company operating for profit in a competitive market, and which has been trading for at least 12 months can apply for B Corp certification. 

The certification process involves a few different steps – but the main ones are:

• The BIA: The company has to fill out the ‘B Impact Assessment’ (BIA). This is a thorough questionnaire that is designed to enable the company to measure and manage its societal and environmental impact. Five different areas are assessed here – Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers – with each getting its own score. A score of 80+ is needed to certify.

👀Psst! Ticket Tailor's current score is 86.3, but we're hoping to push that into triple digits when we go through recertification in 2025.

• B Corp legal requirements: The company has to make a legal commitment to being accountable to all of its stakeholders. This might mean changing its internal legal structure. It's also a requirement for all B Corps to update their Articles of Association to include mission-aligned legal language.
• Transparency: Once certified, B Corps have to publish an annual impact report, which is publicly available on the B Corp and B Lab websites.

Check out the Ticket Tailor 2021 impact report and 2022 impact report – 2023’s coming soon!

TEAM TICKET TAILOR VISITED ONE OF THEIR PARTNER CHARITIES CUMBRIA WILDLIFE TRUST

Why should a company care about becoming a B Corp?

There are tons of benefits to gaining B Corp status. If you’re a business owner who cares about balancing profit with purpose – it’s well worth looking into. 

Let’s look a bit closer at some of the direct benefits. Being a B Corp can help you to:

• Attract employees: By nature, being a B Corp means you treat your employees really well! Plus, you’ll be more likely to attract employees who also care about the things you care about – like protecting our planet.
• Stay on-track with your mission: You’ll be held to account as a B Corp – thanks to the fact you need to publish an annual impact report and be reassessed every three years. This can help you build resilience as a business that seeks to balance profit with purpose.
• Attract like-minded investors: Investors who back your mission are more likely to want to get involved with you, as a B Corp.
• Be a part of something bigger: If you’ve always known you want to somehow make a difference – being a B Corp is a really good way to know that you tangibly are.
• Stand out in a world of ‘greenwashed’ businesses: Although companies striving to be more socially and environmentally conscious is not a bad thing – there’ve been quite a few stories of brand greenwashing in the media over the past few years. AKA brands making sustainability claims in order to attract more sustainably-minded consumers – only for it then to be revealed that these claims were misleading or not totally genuine. 

Being a B Corp removes all doubt about your genuinity as a socially and environmentally conscious business.

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Why should customers care about companies’ B Corp status?

If you’re a customer who’s seeing the B Corp badge pop up among brands and companies – why should you care?

In a nutshell: it allows you to have full confidence that the companies you interact with are keeping good on their promises to act in a fair, responsible way.

If you care about the planet, sustainability, social equity and the fair treatment of communities and employees – you should definitely care about B Corp certification.

What is B Corp Month?

B Corp Month is a global celebration that takes place across March every year – and it pretty much does what it says on the tin! It’s a chance for the global B Lab and B Corp community to come together and celebrate all things B Corp and raise awareness of the movement. 

For the whole month, B Corps carry out their own campaigns and celebrations – from pop-up shops to influencer campaigns, special events, limited edition products and much more. 

B Lab also shares its own awesome content across its socials for the month, which is well worth tuning into if you’re interested in the initiative and all it represents. 

• Check out our article from B Corp Month 2023 to get more of a flavour >

What is the theme for B Corp Month 2024?

Each year, B Lab chooses a theme for B Corp Month to help bring the community together and make sure everyone’s singing off the same hymn sheet. Last year’s theme was all about how B Corps ‘Go Beyond’ business as usual, whereas 2024 is about how B Corps are ‘moving business forward together’. 

This theme of ‘moving forwards’ plays on the idea that B Corp Certification isn’t a destination, it's an ongoing commitment to being a better business. It represents how B Corps are often trailblazers in their industries, showcasing how it’s possible to balance profit with people and the planet.

Keep your eyes peeled on Ticket Tailor’s socials to get in on the action, and see how we’re moving ticketing forwards!

How many B Corps are there?

As of February 2024 there are 8,290 B Corp certified companies across 96 countries and 162 industries 😌.

Some of the most well-known B Corps include Ben & Jerrys, Patagonia and Seventh Generation. Not forgetting us here at Ticket Tailor, of course! 👋  

And it's not just consumer brands making waves. In fact, B2B businesses are leading the charge, with B2Bs making up over 60% of certified B Corps.

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How many B Corps are there in the UK?

There are currently more than 1,900 B Corps in the UK – and the community is growing fast. In fact, the UK is now home to the second biggest B Corp community in the world!

💚 Ticket Tailor’s B Corp journey 

Here at Ticket Tailor we’ve always believed business should be used as a force for good. Which is why we started our B Corp journey in 2020. Two years and much rigorous assessment later – we were beyond proud to be given our B Corp certification. We were the first ever independent ticketing company in the world to become a B Corp 😌!

Fast-forward to today – and we’re still going strong as a B Corp, and fully enjoying the way this awesome initiative helps us continuously learn and grow. Check out our official B Corp profile here >

That’s a wrap on our B Corp guide! We hope you found lots of useful and inspiring content here 👆. To learn more about how you can start your own B Corp journey, head here. Keep reading for some B Corp FAQs.

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B Corp FAQs

How long does it take to get certified?

How long it takes to get certified as a B Corp depends on the size and complexity of the business at hand. You’ll have to take into account the amount of time it takes you to fill out the B Impact Assessment and legal accountability requirement – and then the time it takes for B Lab to verify everything. This can take between 6-8 months for a small to medium sized business, but could be longer for a larger, more complex enterprise.

Can any business – whatever the size – become a B Corp?

Yep – B Lab states that businesses of all sizes can start the certification process. Including sole traders!

How can I find out if a company is a B Corp?

It’s super easy to discover if one of your favourite brands or companies is a B Corp. All you need to do is search for them in the B Corp directory.