Related Entities Intro - EU

Parent Company with Subsidiaries

As B Corporation Certification is company-level, companies pursuing Certification that have subsidiaries must include all wholly- or majority-owned subsidiaries in the Certification in one of two ways.

Certify Separately

Each subsidiary can take their own B Impact Assessment and have their own profile page on www.bcorporation.net if certified. In this scenario, each company must clear the 80-point bar and pay separate Certification fees.

Certify Together

In this case, the company would have a single Certification with only one listing on bcorporation.net if certified. Company structure will determine how many B Impact Assessments are necessary.

If aspects of the company like governance, procurement, and other operations are centrally managed with easily-aggregated data, the company may complete one collective B Impact Assessment. If the reverse is true, subsidiaries should complete their own B Impact Assessments and complete the review process separately. The overall combined score for the entire entity, which must be 80 or above for the company to obtain Certification, will be a weighted average based on revenue or number of employees; subsidiaries that would not meet the 80-point bar on their own will be reviewed by B Lab for eligibility to use the Certified B Corp logo and intellectual property.

The B Corporation Certification annual fee includes the review and verification of one B Impact Assessment. There will be an additional verification fee for each additional assessment review required for the Certification. The annual Certification fee will be based on combined revenue. The verification cost per subsidiary (tiered by size) is based on the subsidiary’s revenue:

  • Less than $100 million; $500 fee
  • Greater than $100 million; $1,000 fee
  • Less than $500 million; $2,500 fee
  • Greater than $500 million; $5,000 fee
Branding Guidelines for Parent Companies

The B Corporation Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the name Certified B Corporation™ and the B Corporation™ Logo, can only be used by the entities that are Certified and not by any non-Certified parent, subsidiaries, or related entities, including those that share the same name. Use of the B Corp intellectual property should be clearly applied to the distinct Certified entity.

Example: Ace Solar UK is a Certified B Corporation
Example: Ben & Jerry’s is a Certified B Corporation, but their parent company, Unilever, is not.

Brands, divisions, and affiliated entities (including subsidiaries) of a parent company that is a Certified B Corp with a different name than the Certified parent may only use the Certified B Corp Intellectual Property if they meet the minimum verified performance requirement independently.

Additional Information for Large and Public Companies

Companies interested in B Corp Certification that:

  • are publicly-traded (>$100M market cap),
  • have $1B or more in revenue,
  • have 50 subsidiaries or more,
  • operate in 5 or more industries, or
  • operate in 10 countries or more

should review our information for multinationals and public companies for details on additional opportunities and requirements.

Subsidiaries

Subsidiaries can sometimes certify independently of their parent company. In certain cases, maintaining a subsidiary’s B Corp Certification comes with requirements for the parent company.

A subsidiary’s ability to certify independently depends in part on whether or not the subsidiary has the same name as its parent company. In this case, “same name” means the subsidiary’s name is either identical to the parent’s or differentiated exclusively by geography (e.g. Ace Spain) or corporate type (e.g. Ace Inc, Ace LLC). A subsidiary with a similar name to the parent company that is meaningfully differentiated by industry (e.g. Ace Automotive) would not be considered to have the “same name.” If you’re unsure of how your company’s name affects your pursuit of B Corp Certification, get in touch with B Lab at reviewdesk@bcorporation.net.

Company Headquarters that are distinct subsidiaries are not eligible to certify on their own.

Subsidiaries with the Same Name as their Parent

Subsidiaries with the same name as their parent company may certify independently if the subsidiary is in a distinct geography and has a separate webpage. However, parent companies with the same name as B Corp Certified subsidiaries need to make meaningful progress toward achieving Certification within four years for their subsidiaries to maintain Certification.

Subsidiaries with Different Names from their Parent

If the subsidiary has a different name from their parent, then the subsidiary can certify independently. Parent companies with different names from their B Corp Certified subsidiaries do not need to pursue Certification to maintain their subsidiaries’ Certification.

Transparency and Verification Guidelines

Wholly-owned subsidiaries and subsidiaries of public companies, as described in greater detail here, are required to make non-sensitive answers of their full B Impact Assessment transparent on their B Corp profile page and are subject to an in-person Site Review every two-year Certification period at the company’s expense.

If the parent company has revenues in excess of $1 billion and the subsidiary applying for Certification has the same name, but is not wholly-owned, it is subject to the same transparency requirements as wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Branding Guidelines for Subsidiaries

The B Corporation Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the name Certified B Corporation™ and the B Corporation™ Logo, can only be used by the entities that are Certified and not by any non-Certified parent, subsidiaries, or related entities, including those that share the same name. Use of the B Corp intellectual property should be clearly applied to the distinct certified entity.

Example: Ace Solar UK is a Certified B Corporation
Example: Ben & Jerry’s is a Certified B Corporation, but their parent company, Unilever, is not.

If a B Corp Certified subsidiary sells products or services outside of its distinct geographic location of operations and there is an affiliated company with the same name where the company’s products/services are sold, the B Corp Intellectual Property can only be used in the geographic location of the company that is Certified. This applies to affiliated entities without a common parent, subsidiaries of the same parent, and franchises of a non-certified franchisor.

Example: If all of Ace Solar UK’s products are sold and labeled for the UK, the subsidiary may use the Certified B Corp seal on its products in UK. However, if Ace Solar UK also sells products in Spain, and Ace Solar products sold in Spain are also sold by different Ace subsidiary that is not Certified, Ace Solar UK may not use the Certified B Corp seal on products sold in Spain.

Affiliated Entities with the Same Name without a Common Parent

ffiliated entities with the same name without a common parent can certify independently only if the entity seeking certification has a separate website and is located in a geographically distinct region from its related entities with the same name. In this case, “same name” means the names are either identical or differentiated exclusively by geography, industry (e.g. Ace Spain or Ace Auto), or corporate type (e.g. Inc, LLC).

Brand Guidelines for Affiliated Entities

The B Corporation Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the name Certified B Corporation™ and the B Corporation Logo™, can only be used by the entities that are Certified and not by the affiliated entities. Use of the B Corp intellectual property should be clearly applied to the distinct certified entity.

Example: Ace Solar UK is a Certified B Corporation

If the certified company sells products or services outside of its distinct geographic location of operations and there is an affiliated company with the same name where the company’s products/services are sold, the B Corp Intellectual Property can only be used in the geographic location of the company certifying.

Example: If all of Ace Solar UK’s products are sold and labeled for UK, it may use the Ceritfied B Corp seal on its products in UK. However, if it sells products in Spain as well, and there are Ace Solar products sold in Spain by affiliated companies that are not Certified B Corps, Ace Solar UK may only use the Certified B Corp seal on products sold in UK.

Franchises

Franchisors are eligible to certify. If the Franchisor has geographic distinction and operates stores or operating entities, they can use the Certified B Corp IP at those sites; otherwise, they can only use it at the Corporate level and on the Corporate webpage. If the Franchisor is a Certified B Corporation, any franchisee can pursue independent B Corporation Certification.

Independent Franchisee Certification

The B Corporation Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the name Certified B Corporation™ and the B Corporation™ Seal, can only be used by the entities that are Certified and not by any non-Certified parent, subsidiaries, or related entities, including those that share the same name. Use of the B Corp intellectual property should be clearly applied to the distinct certified entity.

Example: Ace Solar UK is a Certified B Corporation
Example: Ben & Jerry’s is a Certified B Corporation, but their parent company, Unilever, is not.

If the certified subsidiary sells products or services outside of its distinct geographic location of operations and there is an affiliated company with the same name where the company’s products/services are sold, the B Corp Intellectual Property can only be used in the geographic location of the company certifying. This applies to affiliated entities without a common parent, subsidiaries of the same parent, and franchises of a non-certified franchisor.

Example: If all of Ace Solar UK’s products are sold and labeled for the UK, the subsidiary may use the Certified B Corp seal on its products in UK. However, if Ace Solar UK also sells products in Spain, and Ace Solar products sold in Spain are also sold by companies not Certified, Ace Solar UK may not use the Certified B Corp seal on products sold in Spain.

Brands, divisions, and affiliated entities (including subsidiaries) of a parent company that is a Certified B Corp with a different name than the certified parent may only use the Certified B Corp Intellectual Property if they meet the minimum verified performance requirement independently.

While many large and public companies are engaged in B Corp Certification and the broader B Economy, every company is unique. Contact us by filling out the form below and our team will be in touch shortly to discuss your goals and determine what engagement makes sense for your business.