In this episode of the Getting Down to Business podcast, host Lauren Everett chats with two experts on B Corp certification and recertification at B Lab U.S. and Canada. Zach Fayer is the organization’s recertification manager supporting the community of B Corps in the United States and Canada on their recertifications. And Max Hayes is a community growth manager who helps companies navigate the standards, benchmarking, review process, and other aspects of the certification journey at B Lab.

Value of B Corps certification

Max describes several key benefits to businesses of getting certified. One of the main value adds, he says, is around accountability. “Oftentimes, businesses know they want to do better, but they don't necessarily have the systems or structure to hold themselves accountable,” he tells Lauren. “And so that's really where maintaining your B Corp certification becomes an awesome accountability tool.”

Additionally, he says, the standards become the roadmap: “So not only are we holding you accountable to what you say living up to your values, but then we're also giving you that road to travel down and showing you what is best in practice in market.”

A third benefit is around the branding and the community. “The B Corp logo is a small simple logo, a b with a circle, but it says a lot within that simple logo,” he says. “And then the community is global and diverse and local all at once. And so I think there's just so much power within the B Corp community as well.”

Certification process walk-through

Max and Zach also discuss the stages of the certification process. Zach describes the first stage as the evaluation stage. “A contractor is going to meet with your company, do a very high level overview of how your company answered the assessment, potentially ask for some additional information to make sure that all of the T's are crossed and i's are dotted, but not going to do that super in-depth review that you would expect from the B Corp certification,” he explains.

Next a company is assigned to a verification analyst who takes them through the verification stage. “And at that point, your verification analyst will do the very in-depth review of your company's assessment, will potentially ask for additional documentation and additional information about how your company answered the assessment, and verify that your answers are correct based on your documentation or other information you provide,” Max describes. “And ultimately, at the end of that process, if you're still above 80 points, your company will be awarded B Corp certification.”

The next step is one of the most critical stages, according to Max. “Our team has a great onboarding webinar that we encourage everyone who's recently certified to join,” he says. “ And really what they're doing in that webinar is not just welcoming you into the B Corp community, but getting you to start thinking about the next steps, which is really how are you going to announce your certification, how are you going to get your staff to understand what process you've just went through, what it means and how it's changed your outlook on your business, and then how are you going to get involved in the community?”

Once a business has crossed that line, Max says, it's time to start getting involved. “What B Local can you join? What network is relevant for you when you come into Champion's Retreat?” he asks. “I think the most exciting part is once you're across that line and really integrating into the community and learning how the community can really support you, make feel seen, and help you go even deeper than the standards ever could.”

For more information about B Corp Certification and how to measure your company's impact, visit https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/b-impact-assessment/