Certified B Corporations and benefit corporations are often confused. They share much in common and are complementary, but have a few important differences.
Certified B Corporations and benefit corporations are both leaders of a global movement to use business as a force for good. Both meet higher standards of accountability and transparency. Both create the opportunity to unlock our full human potential and creativity to use the power of business for the higher purpose of solving society's most challenging problems.
Some companies are both incorporated as benefit corporations and certified as B Corporations—others are just one or the other. Refer to the chart below to learn the key differences, and check out benefitcorp.net for more information on the legal form.
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What's the Difference? |
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| Issue | Certified B Corporations | Benefit Corporations |
| Accountability | Directors required to consider impact on all stakeholders | Same |
| Transparency | Must publish public report of overall social and environmental performance assessed against a third party standard | Same* |
| Performance | Must achieve minimum verified score on B Impact Assessment | Self-reported |
| Recertification required every two years against evolving standard | ||
| Availability | Available to every business regardless of corporate structure, state, or country of incorporation | Available for corporations only in 30 U.S. states and D.C.** |
| Cost | B Lab certification fees from $500 to $50,000/year, based on revenues | State filing fees from $70-$200 |
| Role of B Lab | Certifying body and supporting 501c3, offering access to Certified B Corporation logo, portfolio of services, and vibrant community of practice among B Corps. | Developed Model Legislation, works for its passage and use, offers free reporting tool to meet transparency requirements; No role in oversight |
| * Delaware benefit corps are not required to report publicly or against a third party standard ** Oregon and Maryland offer benefit LLC options |
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