What is B Corp certification and why does it matter?

  • Certified B Corporations, B Corps for short, are for-profit companies dedicated to using business as a force for good.

  • B Corps meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability to all of their stakeholders.

  • B Corps use the power of business to solve our most pressing global challenges.

  • Unlike traditional corporations, B Corps are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders: customers, workers, communities, and the environment.

  • People want to work for, buy from, and invest in businesses they believe in. B Corp Certification is the most powerful way to build credibility, trust, and value for your business.

  • Over 5,000 Certified B Corporations in over 70 countries, across 150 industries inspiring tens of thousands of other companies to follow their lead by measuring their impact, changing their corporate structure, and building better businesses.

  • Total combined revenue of B Corps globally is 67 billion.

  • More than 75,000 businesses are actively following the lead of B Corps by using B Lab's B Impact Assessment and benefit corporation governance structure.

Our Qualifications

First and only Certified B Corporation (B Corp) lighting company in Canada

  • We consider our impact not just on the environment, but also on our customers, workers and communities (Measured by the B Impact assessment)

  • Aaline by Fishtnk Inc. has more than double the median score for ordinary businesses on the B impact assessment (see image on right)

  • We maintain B Corp Certification because we care about our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) mandates

How B Corps get certified?

B Corp Certification is based on three essential pillars. Alone, none of these pillars are sufficient. It's the combination that makes it unique, credible, and significant.

  • Verified performance ensures that B Corps walk the talk. To meet the performance requirement, a company must earn a minimum, verified score of 80 points on the B Impact Assessment, which examines a company’s overall impact on its workers, community, customers, and environment.

  • Transparency builds trust. Once certified, each B Corp must make its B Impact Report transparent on bcorporation.net, allowing the public to see the areas in which specific companies excel and compare B Corps' scores against the performance of mainstream businesses.

  • By meeting the legal requirement for certification B Corps are better able to maintain mission as they scale, have more flexibility when evaluating future sale options, and are better prepared to lead a mission-driven life post-IPO

Environment

  • In 2020, B Corps: Protected 200,000 hectares of land, Offset 16 million tons of carbon, saved 225 million liters of water, Divertered 207 thousand metric tons of waste

  • B Corps outperform ordinary businesses by 15% on natural-resources conservation.

  • B Corps are 87% more likely to monitor, record, and set scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets compared with ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 70% more likely to reduce the volume or toxicity of waste generated through material selection, production process, or product design than ordinary businesses.

  • 98% of B Corps in manufacturing have incorporated energy-efficiency measures within their facilities.

  • B Corps are 2.8x more likely to use 100% low-impact renewable energy 9% of B Corps in developed markets have offset 100% of their GHG emissions. B Corps are 2.5 times more likely to be carbon neutral than ordinary businesses

  • B Corps based in the United States are 28% more likely than ordinary businesses to adopt a Green Building Standard for the majority of their facilities.

Data & Insights

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

  • B Corps are 9% more diverse than ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 81% more likely to have transgender-inclusive health care coverage.

  • B Corps are 33% more likely to have gender-inclusion trainings than ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 48% more likely to have LGBTQ-inclusion trainings than ordinary businesses.

  • B Cops are 45% more likely to have Diversity and Inclusion training (on people of color)

  • Corps are 1.1 times more likely to have majority female management

  • B Corps based in the United States are 49% more likely to employ managers from traditionally underrepresented groups in comparison to ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 61% more likely to anonymously survey employees on gender identity, race/ethnicity, disability status, and other demographic factors to improve workforce diversity and inclusion in comparison to ordinary business (34% of B Corps do)

  • B Corps are 41% more likely to have conducted a pay equity analysis by gender, race/ethnicity, or other demographic factors and, if necessary, implemented equal compensation improvement plans or policies to manage and improve workforce diversity and inclusivity in comparison to ordinary business (43% of B Corps do)

Community

  • B Corps are 1.1 times more likely to donate more than 1% of their revenue to charity in comparison to ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 28% more likely to have hosted or organized company service days in the last year and 71% more likely to offer paid time off for community service in comparison to ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 75% more likely to hire workers from chronically underemployed populations than ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps have hired more than 16,000 workers that traditionally have high barriers to employment.

  • 14 percent of US based B Corps are headquartered in Opportunity Zones, designated zones of economically distressed communities by the IRS.

  • 70% of B Corps offer either paid or nonpaid time off (44% of B Corps offer paid time off) to their full-time employees to participate in volunteer service.

  • 49% of B Corps have supplier policies that encourage purchasing from local suppliers. (150% more likely than ordinary businesses)

  • 50% of B Corps screen suppliers based on use of negative social and environmental practices like no use of child labor. (76% more likely than an ordinary business)

Governance

  • 67% of B Corps screen suppliers based on use of positive social and environmental practices. (210% more likely than an ordinary business).

  • 32% of B Corps have a policy to give preferences to use suppliers that are are owned by underrepresented groups (400% more likely than ordinary businesses)

  • B Corps are 40% more likely to have their CEO and 26% more likely to have their Senior Manager’s compensation tied to specific social and environmental metrics or objectives

  • B Corps are 2.2 times more likely to have the Board of Directors (or equivalent governing body) review the company's social or environmental performance on at least an annual basis (41% of B Corps do this)

  • B Corps are 1.9 times more likely to provide training/resources to improve the social or environmental performance of its suppliers, either through the company itself, or through a third party in comparison to ordinary businesses (23% of B Corps do)

Workers

  • B Corps outperform ordinary businesses by 8% based on metrics in the BIA surrounding paying workers a living wage, providing workers with health insurance, job/scheduling flexibility, job satisfaction, and professional development

  • B Corp employees have on average 28 days of paid vacation.

  • 79% of B Corps allow telecommuting for the majority of their workers.

  • B Corps are 27% more likely to pay 100% of their hourly workers a living wage in comparison to ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 43% more likely to pay the majority of employee health insurance than ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 94% more likely to offer healthcare to their part time employees in comparison to ordinary businesses

  • B Corps are 20% more likely to have flex-time work schedules than ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps with employees are ~2x more likely to be owned by people of color than American businesses generally

  • B Corps with employees are ~6x more likely to be owned by women than American businesses generally.

  • B Corps are 68% more likely to be majority women workers than ordinary businesses.

  • B Corps are 55% more likely to have 91+ days of paid maternity leave in comparison to ordinary businesses

  • B Corps are 13% more likely to provide their employees supplementary benefits like policies to support breast-feeding, health and wellness programs, and free or subsidized meals in comparison to ordinary businesses.

  • The average pay ratio for B Corps is 7:1. B Corps are 29% more likely to have a pay ratio of 6:1 or better in comparison with ordinary businesses. B Corps are 48% less likely to have a pay ratio of 16:1 or higher in comparison with ordinary businesses

About Certification