Page content
What changed and why does it matter?
For years, B Corp certification worked on a points system. Score 80 or more on the B Impact Assessment across five impact areas, and you were in. The problem? A company could score poorly on environmental performance and still certify by overachieving elsewhere. It was exactly the kind of loophole that critics used to question the credibility of the whole certification.
B Lab heard it. So did the EU. With the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) directive tightening requirements on sustainability claims, staying with the old model wasn’t just reputationally risky, it was becoming legally untenable for companies operating in European consumer markets.
The core shift: no more points. Instead, every certified B Corp must now meet mandatory minimum requirements across seven Impact Topics, with a phased improvement roadmap stretching from Year 0 to Year 3 to Year 5. You don’t just achieve certification. You commit to getting better over time.
The new structure: Foundation Requirements + seven Impact Topics
Before you even get to the impact topics within the B Impact Assessment , you need to clear the Foundation Requirements. Think of these as the table stakes or the basic eligibility checks every business must pass before the real assessment begins.
Foundation Requirements cover three areas: eligibility (you’re a for-profit entity, operating for at least 12 months, not involved in ineligible industries like fossil fuels, tobacco, or weapons), the legal requirement to adopt stakeholder governance in your corporate documents, and a risk assessment using B Lab’s new Risk Tool (14 questions that determine whether your business model triggers additional due diligence requirements).
Once you’ve cleared those, the seven Impact Topics are where the real work lives. You can pick and choose, but instead every topic has mandatory sub-requirements, and the specific requirements that apply to your company depend on your size, sector, industry, and geography.
The phased timeline: Year 0, Year 3, Year 5
One of the most significant structural changes is the shift to continuous improvement as a certification condition. Under the old model, you could recertify every three years without any requirement to have progressed. That’s gone.
The new model uses a three-phase timeline. Year 0 is the baseline and the minimum requirements you must meet to achieve certification. Year 3 and Year 5 layer in additional obligations as your organisation matures. This isn’t only theoretical as B Lab will verify that you’ve moved the needle.
Key deadlines for 2026
-
1From January 2026: All new applicants certify under the new standardsNo more version 6 certifications for first-time applicants. The new standards are the only path in.
-
22026 Recertifications: SMEs get a 12-month extension — but transition is mandatory
The extension was automatically issued in August 2025. It buys you time, but not the option to avoid the new standards.
-
3September 27, 2026: ECGT compliance deadline for EU B2C companies
If your business communicates sustainability claims to European consumers, old certifications won’t hold up. This is a hard deadline.
-
4
From 2027: All recertifications under new standards, no exceptions
Regardless of company size or classification, version 6 is fully retired.
What’s genuinely new and what’s harder?
Some requirements will feel familiar if you’ve been through B Corp before. The legal requirement, transparency commitments, and governance structures build on version 6. But several areas represent a genuine step change.
- Human Rights as a standalone topic is entirely new. Where version 6 touched on supply chain practices, the new standards require a formal assessment of salient human rights issues across your operations and value chain as well as evidence that you’re taking action to prevent and mitigate negative impacts. For many SMEs, this will mean building due diligence processes from scratch.
- Climate Action is more demanding at every size tier. A public Climate Action Plan is required at Year 0. For larger companies, annual third-party verification of your GHG inventory is non-negotiable from day one. The days of vague commitment language are over.
- Purpose & Stakeholder Governance now has teeth. A public purpose statement isn’t enough. It needs to be embedded in your governance, and larger companies must conduct regular materiality assessments, formally engaging stakeholders on their most significant social and environmental impacts.
- The verification process has changed too. All assessments are now handled externally, specifically to meet EU greenwashing regulations. This is no longer self-assessed and filed. An independent third party will verify your claims.
Is B Corp still worth it?
The short answer is yes. But only if you mean it. The new standards have done something important: they’ve made that question harder to dodge. You can no longer certify on the strength of a good HR policy and a recycling programme. You need a climate plan, a human rights assessment, governance that actually reflects your stated purpose, and a demonstrated commitment to getting better over time. For companies that have been doing the real work, that’s finally good news because the certification will actually mean something again. For companies that were coasting on the badge, 2026 is a wake-up call. B Corp has always stood for business as a force for good and the benefits of a B Corp certification are tremendous. The new standards now make sure you can back it up.
Ready to kickstart your certification process or improve your B Corp score?
At Quest, we’ve guided organisations through B Corp certification across multiple sectors and geographies. We’ll help you run your gap assessment, build your multi-year roadmap, and make sure your certification reflects the impact you’re actually creating.
Other Blog Posts
Quest joins Luxembourg Task Force on Finance for Biodiversity
