Several retailers are among an exclusive group of 20 UK businesses to have become the first to certify as B Corps under B Lab’s new, more rigorous standards.
Fashion businesses Finisterre, Mulberry and Vivobarefoot, alongside Bloom & Wild, Butternut Box, Huel, and Lily’s Kitchen, are among the organisations to have achieved certification under the new framework.
The first cohort also includes Belvoir Farm Drinks, Colart Group, Exodus Travels, Explore Worldwide, Fluvio, G F Smith, Gorman’s Restaurants, MPM Products, St Eval, Streets Heaver Computer Systems, Wanderlust Life, Medik8 and Fussy.
The milestone marks a significant moment for the B Corp movement in the UK, which has grown from 62 businesses just over a decade ago to more than 3,000 certified B Corps today. But the growth of the community has also prompted B Lab to raise the bar for what it means to become a B Corp.
B Lab launched its new standards in 2025 following a multi-year consultation involving academics, policymakers, businesses and civil society organisations. It represents the biggest overhaul of B Corp certification requirements to date, and – at its heart – is a move towards a more independent certification model, including a new third-party audit process.
The updated standards establish a shared baseline for B Corps, with minimum requirements covering key social and environmental impact areas. Crucially, they also make continuous improvement a mandatory part of certification.
Under the previous approach, B Corps were expected to improve their impact over time. Under the new standards, they are required to do so.
For retailers, the new requirements come at a time when scrutiny of environmental and social claims is increasing, while businesses face growing pressure to demonstrate that sustainability commitments translate into meaningful action.
B Lab says B Corp certification was never intended to represent a ‘job done’ badge, and the new standards reinforce that principle.
The first 20 businesses to certify under the new framework therefore represent the beginning rather than the end of a new phase for B Corp in the UK – one in which certification is intended to provide a shared benchmark while requiring businesses to keep improving their impact.
With thousands more companies working towards certification, B Lab’s new standards could ultimately reshape what consumers, employees and other businesses expect from companies seeking to demonstrate that they put people and the planet at the heart of their business.
[image credit: Green Retail World]
