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B Corp for brand managers: How voluntary certification supports brand-building

Sofia Liszka
04 February 2025

Voluntary certification schemes validate the rigor of corporate sustainability activities, providing transparency and credibility. The B Corp certification—one of the most prominent sustainability certification schemes—also brings spirit and community into the mix.

Against the backdrop of increased ESG regulation and disclosure expectations, voluntary certifications signal brands’ commitments to stakeholders, and by joining the scheme, brands strengthen a movement raising the bar for corporate responsibility.

What is B Corp?

B Corp is a comprehensive third-party sustainability certification that assesses corporate performance across environment, community, workers, customers, and governance. It champions a mindset shift beyond shareholder governance to stakeholder governance, where businesses are receptive to all groups influenced by their operations. Member firms are committed to changing how they do business and improving against the standards.

Beyond the technicalities, B Corp brands itself as a ‘force for good’, speaking to its high-ambition, active, and growing membership. The standards B Corps must certify against are intended to be a wider corporate guidebook for doing business better—and any company can use its certification assessment tool to gauge progress and map improvement areas.

Certifications signal who is walking the talk

Holding a credible sustainability certification should empower brands to communicate their supporting efforts confidently. The recognisable ‘Circle B’ seal denotes that the brand is a B Corp, which goes a long way: 58% of UK adults say they use certifications to make decisions about buying from and working for businesses. A voluntary certification signals:

  1. The brand is trustworthy because its sustainability actions are validated
  2. The brand is attractive because it is making a positive contribution through its sustainability efforts

Strategically, brand managers must connect their B Corp status to the broader communications approach and brand identity. The credential distinguishes the business’ performance as a cut above sector peers, which deserves recognition from stakeholders. As a B Corp, the brand is also better positioned to reach customers, partners, and investors who may increasingly consider engaging with and/or purchasing from a brand based on its sustainability credentials.

A seal grabs attention, but it does not tell a story. While some SMEs are founded with the intention of becoming certified B Corps, larger businesses have a longer legacy. Their stakeholders—investors, employees, partners, and customers need to know what B Corp status means to the brand and what has changed because of the certification.

Where does the brand intend to go? What are its values? How will it do better on environmental, social, human capital, and governance topics?

Another aspect of the brand-building effort includes championing what distinguishes the certified organisation; after all, striving for the certification is completely voluntary. What work has been done to get to this point? Why should the brand’s decision to make sustainability improvements and ‘do the right thing’ matter to a consumer?

Consumers can spot a certification logo, but without answers to these questions, they cannot meaningfully differentiate between a certified brand and its competitors on sustainability.   

Certifications make the case for upskilling

As brands share their goals and progress around sustainability, stakeholder expectations tend to grow. Certifications validate a brand’s sustainability efforts, but they do not prevent misrepresentation or miscommunication. Building internal sustainability literacy and upskilling communications and brand marketing teams is therefore crucial.

A sustainability team or working group carries most of the responsibility for ESG progress, but this team needs allies in adjacent departments such as supply chain, communications, legal, and finance to reach sustainability goals. And because certifications require increased transparency within and outside the organisation, internal stakeholders must be convinced that the journey is worthwhile.

Without informed and effective sustainability communications, the hard work that both led to and maintains certification status will not resonate with external stakeholders. Voluntary certification is not an endpoint; if treated as such, the brand will attract criticism.

Certifications keep brands accountable

Being perceived as committed to sustainability requires both strong ESG performance and clear, continuous messaging to stakeholders about it. Brands who lack consistency and/or evidence in communicating about their sustainability journey risk perceptions of inauthenticity. Similarly, brands who do not advance their sustainability commitments and performance against them, instead plateauing or waning, risk criticism for deprioritising sustainability. Both practices can damage reputation.

Despite being held to a higher level of performance requirements, brands with sustainability certifications are still susceptible to reputational risks and changes in their sustainability perceptions. B Corps and other sustainability certifications are arguably watched more closely for their missteps and can have their credentials weaponised against them.

Above all else, achieving a voluntary certification kicks off a new phase on a brand’s sustainability journey: one marked by greater organisational accountability, communications, and consequently, brand authority on sustainability.

About the Author

Sofia Liszka
Strategy & Sustainability Consultant
Brand Finance

Sofia joined Brand Finance as Strategy & Sustainability Consultant after completing her MSc In Environmental Economics & Climate Change at the London School of Economics. During her time at Brand Finance, she has worked on a variety of sustainability research and consulting projects.

Prior to joining Brand Finance and moving to London from the Chicago area, Sofia spent two years at a boutique ESG management consulting firm. She also holds joint BAs in Economics and Sustainability from Miami University (Ohio).

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