This article is about a non-profit organization. For the private certification, see B Corporation (certification). For the legal corporate structure, see benefit corporation.
B Lab
Founded2006; 20 years ago (2006)
FounderAndrew Kassoy, Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan
LocationPhiladelphia, United States
Websitebcorporation.net

B Lab is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2006 in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, by Andrew Kassoy, Jay Coen Gilbert and Bart Houlahan.[1] B Lab created, and awards, the B corporation certification for for-profit organizations.[2][3] The "B" stands for beneficial[4] and indicates that the certified organizations voluntarily meet certain standards of transparency, accountability, sustainability, and performance, with an aim to create value for society, not just for traditional stakeholders such as the shareholders.

B Corp evaluates applicants on five criteria: governance, workers' rights, community impact, environmental impact and "stewardship of its customers". To be certified, companies must achieve a score of 80 or higher out of 200 in each category. Once a company passes the B Lab's "Impact Assessment", it must then pay an annual fee which is based on its location and gross annual revenue.[5] The waiting list for assessment can be up to two years.[6]

In addition to awarding B Corporation certifications, B Lab also administers the B Impact Management programs and software, and also advocates for benefit corporation statutes at the state level. (The B Corporation certification should not be confused with state-sanctioned benefit corporation status.)

In 2020, B Lab created an SDG Action Manager to help companies adopt the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).[7]

References

  1. ^ Kassoy, Andrew; Schwartz, David (August 20, 2020). "B Lab interview". McKinsey. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  2. ^ "The Non-Profit Behind B Corps". B Lab. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "Contact". B Lab. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  4. ^ Steiman, Hannah Clark (July 1, 2007). "A New Kind of Company: A 'B' Corporation". Inc. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  5. ^ Stuber, Sophie (2024-03-18). "My Tour Operator Is a B Corp. What Does That Mean? Should I Care?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  6. ^ "What are B Corps and can they help us travel more responsibly?". Travel. 2024-09-02. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  7. ^ Feloni, Richard (19 April 2019). "The entrepreneur behind the coveted B Corp label shares why he's partnering with the UN to solve our most pressing workforce problems". Business Insider. Archived from the original on Nov 7, 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2019.