An Update to B Corp Certification Fees

 

 

A message from B Lab Europe's Executive Chair, Katie Hill to the B Corp community.

 

 

 

 

SUPPORTING A GROWING GLOBAL MOVEMENT

In recent years, the growth of the B Corp community in Europe and globally has been astounding. The free-to-access B Impact Assessment tool now has over 30,000 registrations across continental Europe and over 190,000 registrations worldwide. The demand for certification in Europe has grown at nearly 30% per annum for the last two years, with over 600 companies in Europe submitting their BIA in 2020.

 

This growth is remarkable, but has naturally put pressure on the resources of B Lab, a not-for-profit organization. As the community of B Corps has grown, so has the breadth of support and initiatives we have made available to B Corps. To make sure we’re able to continue to build the movement, B Lab must take necessary steps to ensure our financial sustainability. In this spirit, we present our new certification fee structure and submission fee.

 

Fees from April 15th 2021

SUBMISSION FEE

From April 15th 2021, all companies submitting their BIA for their first certification, will be subject to a non-refundable €250 submission fee. This fee ensures that we focus our review processes on companies that are committed to completing B Corp Certification.

FAQs

1. Why is B Lab increasing the fees?

B Corp Certification is complex, rigorous and thus expensive, but it is the rigour that delivers the credibility, and in turn create value for B Corps. So whilst we are working to lower costs and improve efficiency we need to shift pricing closer to true cost.

In the past, the certification fees, especially in the lower tiers for very small organisations, have not adequately reflected the cost of the support provided to these businesses through the certification process. In the early days of establishing a community of B Corps, B Lab made a conscious decision to subsidize some of the true verification costs in order to support the growth of the community.

Now years later, the B Corp movement in Europe and globally has grown significantly and the number of companies, looking to certify, is fast increasing. It is vital that we resource our verification process to keep abreast of these demands in a sustainable way and invest in continuing to support this powerful movement of businesses whose actions every day are making the systems change we so need possible.

Please see the Financial Model and Transparency section here to find out more.

 

2. What do my certification fees cover?

Certification fees are calculated according to the revenue of your company and based on principles of inclusivity, transparency, and fairness. As a non-profit organization, your certification fees only cover a portion of B Lab’s operating expenses. Forty percent of B Lab’s expenses are covered via philanthropy with the remainder coming from earned revenue streams including B Corp Certification.

In general, B Lab costs associated with B Corp Certification are broken into four groups:

• Verification and standards: Much of the annual fee you pay goes to cover costs associated with verification, including expenses related to staff time for the review process and developing the standards underpinning the certification.
• Technology platforms: In addition to the certification we offer the B Impact Assessment as a free tool for companies to measure and improve their impact. These fees support the ongoing development and improvement of this tool alongside the B Hive, B Analytics, and our back-office administration platforms.
• Licensing fees: This is what you pay us to license the growing ‘B’ brand on your products, services, and marketing platforms and to support efforts to grow brand awareness.
• Local and global movement building: Depending on the size of your company, the surplus from your fee goes to cover costs associated with growth and engagement efforts both in market and in service to a growing global movement.

 

3. Why is the fee increase imposed after such a hit to the economies by COVID-19?

We realise the timing might be difficult for some companies, however we have not raised certification fees in Europe since 2016. The demand for certification is growing at a considerable rate. The volume of certification demand we have now reached and the strain this is placing on B Lab’s resources mean we need to review our model. We are aware that some B Corps have experienced substantial losses due to the extraordinary conditions of 2020 and beyond. Nearer the time of implementation of the fee increase for our existing B Corp community (January 1st 2022), we will assess where the impact has hit hardest and will introduce a support structure for those community members accordingly.

 

4. What will B Lab do with the new revenue raised?

This revenue will support and strengthen the B Corp movement in a range of ways, including scaling up the Standards Analyst team and further developing tools that support existing and aspiring B Corps. Throughout 2021, B Lab aims to hire up to 19 additional analysts to meet the growing demand and strengthen this intensive evaluation and verification process. In Europe, we are bringing on new team members in the early stages of the review process to create high quality submissions for certification.

Working alongside our network of Country Partners, we also continue to provide community services to B Corps across Europe, the funding of which comes from certification, the only revenue stream we have.

The fast growing B Corp network has the potential to inspire meaningful systems change across economies. Our pan-European Public Policy group, in partnership with The Good Lobby, engaged more than 60 B Corps in responding to EU regulation of Sustainable Corporate Governance, and underlined the power of B Corps’ collective voice in action. Partnering with the UN Global Compact to engage businesses in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals through the SDG Action Manager tool has already resulted in more than 5000 goals being set globally. It is vital that we continue to invest in these collective actions and systems change initiatives to multiply the impact of individual B Corps, and realise the potential of business to meet the needs of people and the planet.

 

5. What is the additional Submission fee for? Is it refundable if I do not certify?

This fee is only for companies submitting their BIA for their first certification. It doesn’t apply to existing B Corps and won’t be applied for recertifications. This fee is designed to focus the review processes on companies that are committed to completing the B Corp Certification. This fee is non-refundable and will be charged at the point at which companies submit their first BIA for verification.

 

6. What if my income has dropped - is that taken into account?

We still have fee bands in place, so yes, if your income drops and takes you to a lower fee band, then your annual certification fee will be applied at the appropriate fee band rate. The annual fee refers to the turnover of the company in the last audited accounts. Conversely, if your income rises to a new fee band, your annual fee will be charged at the higher fee rate.

We are aware that some B Corps have experienced substantial losses due to the extraordinary conditions of 2020 and beyond. Nearer the time of implementation of the fee increase for our existing B Corp community (January 1st 2022), we will assess where the impact has hit hardest and will introduce a support structure for those community members accordingly.

 

7. As a small company - where do we fit in?

B Lab has always and remains committed to ensuring free access to all its tools that drive impact performance, so that size is in no way a barrier to creating and improving impact-focused businesses. Small companies are at the core of the B Corp movement; they are the foundation on which its growth has been built. Many of these B Corps which were ‘Born B’ have now grown ‘B’, and we are incredibly proud of their progress. At this stage we have reached a volume at which we can no longer scale the subsidisation of the certification process, so we need to adapt our model. As the community has grown, so has the breadth of support and initiatives we have made available to B Corps; from the SDG Action Manager, to countless opportunities to collaborate and learn from the extensive network of B Corps around the world. To continue to offer this support to the thriving European and global B Corp community, we need to ensure we are on sustainable financial ground.

 

8. How did you decide on the new fees?

Cost of verification isn’t proportionate to company size. The new fee structure was adjusted to be in line with global certification fees, in terms of tiers as well as fee lifts, and to better reflect the real cost of verification. With the new fee structure, we’re ensuring our work in supporting the growing community of B Corps is on sustainable financial ground, so we’re able to continue to support this movement to use business as a force for good. We hope having significant advanced notice will help you plan for this fee increase.

 

9. How are recertifications affected by this fee increase?

All existing B Corps will pay certification fees based on the new fees after January 1st 2022. Any recertification fees due before January 1st 2022, will be charged at the previous rates.

 

10. What will happen if I submitted before April 15th 2021?

If you submitted your BIA before April 15th 2021, and become a Certified B Corporation in 2021, you will pay at the previous rates. After January 1st 2022, all B Corps will be charged the new fees, so after this date, your certification fee will be adjusted to the new rates.

 

11. Who can I get in touch with to ask for more information about this?

B Lab Europe Team and European Country Partners will be available should you have any enquiries. If you are located in one of the countries below, reach out directly to your country partner. If you are located in another country, you can reach out to B Lab Europe directly.

 

COUNTRY PARTNER CONTACTS

- Benelux		- Denmark
- France		- Italy
- Germany		- Portugal
- Spain		- Switzerland
- Poland