B Corp movement in Benelux

Certified B Corporations are for-profit companies that use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. B Corps are businesses that meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

The European B Corp movement, officially launched in 2015 with 60 companies, has now grown to 500+ B Corps and is leading the way in Europe. Companies in The Netherlands and Belgium were one of the first ones to certify in Europe. Today 100+ Benelux B Corps are part of the community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good.

Alpro, Auping, Fairphone, Tony’s Chocolonely, Dopper, Seepje, WeTransfer, Triodos Bankare some of the certified companies in the Benelux and part of this worldwide community of thousands of B Corporations.

Why become a B Corp?

Certifying as a B Corporation goes beyond product- or service-level certification (think of Fair Trade, Organic, LEED etc). B Corp Certification is the only certification that holistically measures the entire social and environmental performance of a company.

Why do companies become a B Corp?

• To lead a movement

• To build relationships with fellow B Corps, investors, and their stakeholders.

• To attract and retain talent

• To improve impact

• To amplify voice

• To protect the mission

How to become a B Corp?

1. Complete the B Impact Assessment and reach a minimum of 80 points to be eligible for certification

2. Submit for review. The B Lab Standards Analyst team will get in touch and perform an initial check of your assessment.

3. Provide supportive documentation. The B Lab team will ask you for documents and data to support and validate the answers you have provided in the assessment.

4. Conduct the review. To verify your company’s impact performance, a review call and additional desk research will be conducted. 

5. Meet the Legal Requirements. Protect your mission by adopting the B Corp Legal Language. This step should be completed in parallel to the certification process. Learn more about specific to your country pathway to the legal requirement.

6. Sign B Corp Agreement & Declaration of Interdependence to finalize the certification process. The score should be above 80 points to meet the bar. .

7. Pay the invoice. Companies pay a yearly certification fee based on their annual revenues. Fee ranges from 500€ (start-up) to 50.000€ (multinational).

Note: The Certification process and requirements may differ based on size and structure. Please be sure to review the process and requirements below that best correspond to your company's size and structure.

Learn more about the steps to become a B Corp

Our BIA Webinars

If you want to learn more about how to go through the certification process check out our BIA Webinars on Youtube. 

• BIA Webinar #1 - Creating your account on the B Impact Assessment

• BIA Webinar #2 - Getting Started with the B Impact Assessment

• BIA Webinar #3 - Evaluating Your Impact with the B Impact Assessment

• BIA Webinar #4 - Improving Your Impact with the B Impact Assessment

The B Lab Benelux Team