B Corp impact areas explained

Certified B Corporations™ are businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.

For many years, companies were assessed using the B Impact Assessment, which scored businesses across five impact areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers.

B Lab has since introduced updated B Corp standards, which are designed to raise the bar and make certification more rigorous. Instead of scoring points across categories, companies must now meet minimum requirements across seven core impact topics that address today’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.

The B Corp impact assessment measures how a company’s operations and business model positively impact seven key areas:

1. Purpose and stakeholder governance
2. Fair work
3. Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI)
4. Climate action
5. Human rights
6. Environmental stewardship and circularity
7. Collective economic action

Let’s take a look at the seven key areas businesses must now address in order to achieve and maintain their B Corp certification.

1. Purpose and stakeholder governance

This area focuses on how a business is run and whether purpose is rooted in its decision-making.

This means that companies must demonstrate that they consider the interests of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities and the environment, rather than focusing solely on shareholders.

In practice, this can include:

• Defining a clear company purpose beyond profit
• Building governance structures that monitor social and environmental performance
• Ensuring transparency and accountability in leadership decisions

Embedding stakeholder governance helps ensure that impact is built into a company’s strategy rather than treated as a separate initiative.

2. Fair work

Fair work looks at how a company treats and supports its employees.

Businesses are expected to provide safe working conditions, fair wages and opportunities for development. The goal is to ensure workers are respected, supported and able to thrive.

Examples include:

• Paying fair and equitable wages
• Offering strong benefits and wellbeing support
• Providing opportunities for training and career development
• Maintaining safe and inclusive workplaces

A strong fair work culture helps create engaged teams and long-term business resilience.

3. Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI)

Put your lightsabers down. This area addresses how businesses promote fairness and inclusion within their workforce and wider ecosystem right here in this galaxy.

Companies are encouraged to build diverse teams, remove the barriers that hold people back and ensure equitable access to opportunities.

Actions may include:

• Implementing inclusive hiring practices
• Improving representation across leadership levels
• Supporting underrepresented communities through partnerships or procurement
• Measuring and improving equity within the organisation

The aim is to help businesses contribute to a more equitable economy.

4. Climate action

Climate action focuses on how companies measure, manage and reduce their environmental impact.

Businesses are expected to assess their greenhouse gas emissions and implement plans that align with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Typically, this is stuff like:

• Measuring carbon emissions
• Setting science-based climate targets
• Reducing energy use and emissions across operations and supply chains

For many organisations, this area represents one of the most significant operational challenges and opportunities for impact.

5. Human rights

Human rights requirements focus on how companies protect people across their operations and supply chains.

Businesses must identify potential human rights risks and take steps to prevent harm to workers, communities and other stakeholders.

This may involve:

• Conducting human rights due diligence
• Ensuring ethical labour practices in supply chains
• Preventing forced or child labour
• Engaging with affected communities

This area reflects the growing expectation that companies take responsibility for their global impact.

6. Environmental stewardship and circularity

Environmental stewardship examines how companies manage natural resources and reduce waste.

The circularity element encourages businesses to move away from traditional linear models of production and consumption.

Examples include:

• Reducing waste and pollution
• Designing products for reuse or recycling
• Improving resource efficiency
• Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity

These practices help businesses operate within planetary boundaries.

7. Collective economic action

Collective economic action focuses on how businesses contribute to a more inclusive and resilient economy.

Rather than acting alone, companies are encouraged to collaborate with others to drive systemic change.

This can include:

• Supporting local economies and suppliers
• Advocating for policies that benefit people and the planet
• Collaborating with industry partners to improve standards
• Investing in community initiatives

By working collectively, businesses can amplify their positive impact.

Why these changes matter

The move from five impact areas to seven impact topics reflects B Lab’s effort to make B Corp certification more robust and transparent.

Previously, companies could score highly in some areas while performing less well in others. Under the new framework, businesses must meet minimum standards across all seven areas, ensuring that impact is addressed more holistically.

The updated standards aim to ensure that B Corp certification continues to represent meaningful, measurable progress toward a more sustainable and equitable economy.

Want to see our (old) impact score? Head to our ESG page to take a peek.