Storytelling is the most impactful way to communicate messages people will remember. When you think of the most impactful movements throughout history — whether the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, or the French Revolution — it is likely not statistics or figures you recall, but the critical figures and events that paint the scenes in your mind.
The new standards for B Corp Certification recognize that storytelling from the myriad voices of the B Corp movement will help transform the certification into a force for systemic change. This is why the new B Corp standards — released in April 2025 — include transparent communications as a fundamental element of the Government Affairs and Collective Action Impact Topic and ethical marketing policies as a key part of the Purpose & Stakeholder Governance Impact Topic.
The requirements go beyond an individual or business declaring “Here’s what we did.” It includes reasoning, learning, and pivoting, and it is guided by goals and data-driven decisions that help determine where clients are having the most impact and where their time and resources could be most effective.
We asked four B Corp Certification Consultants who are also B Corp business owners to share more about how public communication and transparency are playing a larger and important role in the B Lab Standards 2.0 — and why that matters for the future of impact business.
Featured B Corp experts:
- Hazel Hovarth, Founder and CEO of Ecolytics
- Carolina Miranda, Founder and CEO of Cultivating Capital
- Jeffrey D. Stewart, Founder and Executive Director, Enharmonic Encounters
- Nathan Stuck, Founder and CEO, Profitable Purpose Consulting
As you review the standards and begin to work through the assessment for your company, don’t hesitate to reach out to these four leaders for guidance, tools, and support. And if you have questions about achieving your communications and storytelling goals, connect with us at Bark Media — we’d be delighted to bring your impact stories to life.
Why is a higher level of transparent public communication valuable for B Corps and the broader B Corp movement?
Carolina: The new requirements about public communication transform internal initiatives into demonstrable leadership. Very few companies in any industry do all the practices required under the new standards. This provides B Corps with a significant opportunity to leverage the new standards for real business value by creating meaningful impact, standing out from their competitors, positioning themselves as leaders in their industries, attracting values-aligned customers, strengthening stakeholder relationships, and building resilience.
Beyond individual company value, the new standards demonstrate a united front of companies taking bold action on the pressing social and environmental issues of our time. Ultimately, the model that we are establishing and the leadership that we are providing can catalyze the systemic change we all want to see.
Nathan: Transparent communication is something we’ve struggled with as a community of businesses. It’s time for our movement to shift from telling people we’re doing the right thing to telling them how doing the right thing has made us more successful and resilient. Let’s tell our stories ethically and well. Let’s share the outputs and outcomes of our impact. This is how we can use B Corp Certification to differentiate ourselves and stand out from the competition — and it’s how we’ll get others to follow us. We can make no better argument to the rest of the capitalist world than treating and paying people well, caring for our communities and the environment, and showing why doing business better is good for business.
How can companies approach these communications-related requirements?
Jeffrey: While robust, the new standards are much more customizable according to individual company categorizations. My advice is to seek to understand the specific requirements your company must fulfill and not get bogged down by the complete set of new standards. Next, review your company’s positive social and environmental impact as it stands today and hold it against the new standards. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you’re already meeting a number of the new requirements as a result of your previous commitment to continuous impact improvement. Finally, put an execution plan in place to make the necessary updates to meet the new standards.
Hazel: This new set of standards provides increased clarity around which requirements apply to each company. With the old standards, companies would go through the 200-plus questions on the assessment and think, ‘This doesn’t really apply to me because it’s meant for a company that has a thousand workers or a huge carbon footprint.’ The new standards offer a set of criteria tailored to business size, sector, and so on. In that way, the new standards will be more manageable for companies.
What are some specific reactions or feedback you’ve heard on the new standards?
Jeffrey: The largest area of concern is in the Climate Action (CA) Impact Topic, particularly as it relates to carbon accounting and mitigation for smaller companies. Many companies are new to this area and may have never taken an active approach to measuring and tracking their environmental footprint, especially given that their footprint may not be considered material in the grand scheme of things. Nonetheless, it is an area that requires a deliberate stance from us all, irrespective of size.
Nathan: I teach an MBA-level B Corp class at the University of Georgia, serve on the board of B Academics, own a B Corp, run a B Local and a regional BLD conference, and have become the face of B Corps in a large part of this region. With that comes a lot of outreach, such as speaking to accelerators and civic organizations, etc. When I get to my slides in presentations about Gen Z not trusting you, everyone nods in agreement. It’s not a secret. Consumers and potential employees are confused. A good marketing team can put a lot of lipstick on a pig. Adding these requirements to the revamped standards will benefit all of us and help us further differentiate and market our businesses.
Many B Corps are small companies. How do you suggest small B Corps manage the broader scope of the new requirements?
Hazel: The new standards are rigorous, and they will be a change, especially for small B Corps. During this time of transition, as B Lab puts out additional guidance, we encourage companies to start putting systems in place around B Corp Certification. Typically, the first step is gathering the team involved in the process so you know who’s tracking data, who’s going to be in charge of policies, who’s going to be in charge of publishing your commitments and stories, etc. Start looking at your team capacity to see where you have gaps that need additional support, whether from external sources or dedicated team time.
Nathan: For those with the means, hire a consultant. Someone with outside eyes and experience with other B Corps can help you strategize not only what you need to do, but how to do it in a way that boosts your business. The biggest thing I’ve tried to convey is to get started on recertification in early 2026. Allocate some time throughout the next year to play around with the new assessment and start familiarizing yourself with what is needed. While I don’t like the new formatting of the assessment, the standards changes shouldn’t scare any B Corps — you got this, and we’ll all get there together. Many B Corps are likely meeting many of the requirements already, so don’t stress!
Carolina: First, approach the standards as an opportunity to create incredible business value rather than as a compliance exercise. Each of the requirements yields opportunities to differentiate, increase recruitment and retention, mitigate risk, and so on — the new standards basically provide a framework for building a better business, especially in uncertain times.
Second, establish internal systems to provide ongoing oversight of the company’s impact practices. Unlike the old standards that could be completed as a periodic “check-the-boxes” exercise, the new standards really call for impact to be managed in the same way that a company manages marketing and finance — as important areas that require ongoing attention.
Lastly, clarify your company’s purpose, as it lays the foundation for all of the other requirements and ensures that the company’s strategy and operations are aligned.
Can you share an example of how your own company has made progress in this area?
Jeffrey: At Enharmonic Encounters, we’ve made significant progress this year in furthering our own strategy in marketing and storytelling. We released our inaugural impact report, covering our first three years of operations, which will now be an annual iteration. In the report, we incorporated critical progress markers, such as our new environmental commitment to track and mitigate our carbon footprint annually through the Offset Climate Certified program. In addition, we are in the process of finalizing significant website updates that will do a much better job of reflecting our performance and commitments publicly. We’ve also expanded the diversity of our partnerships, which we look to capture in our storytelling strategy.
Carolina: Cultivating Capital focuses on one thing: making B Corp certification accessible to small companies by transforming complex B Lab standards into actionable opportunities that will help their business and that they can get excited about. Rather than looking at recertification as an unpleasant compliance exercise, I focus on how companies can implement the B Corp practices and then leverage them for business value.
Hazel: Ecolytics is collaborating with B Lab and B Locals to help build education and awareness around how to translate data into meaningful stortyelling. Our tool can help companies turn impact data into impact reports, and we’re working to model those to meet the new standards and help companies achieve their transparent communications goals.