B Corp FAQs

Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified as meeting standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. B Corps are part of a global movement using collective action to work towards a more inclusive, equitable, and fair economy.

Under version 1.6 of the standards, to achieve certification, companies complete an assessment in the B Impact platform and must meet a minimum of 80 points before submitting their assessment to be verified by B Lab. 

This requires a whole-of-business approach, and covers leadership, supply chains, operations, environmental impact and governance. B Corp Certification is a rigorous process that takes significant time and effort to demonstrate and measure a business’ impact.

Over 300,000 companies have engaged in the assessment, and the average score achieved by companies is 50. Eighty points is a high bar for the average business. That’s why achieving B Corp Certification sets businesses apart: they are verified on credible social and environmental business practices, and make a commitment to accountability and transparency. 

In April 2025, B Lab introduced its updated global standards. While updating our standards is something we have always done, this new set of standards represents the biggest shift in B Corp’s history. From 2026, B Corps will need to meet mandatory performance requirements across seven Impact Topics:

• Purpose & Stakeholder Governance: Companies act in accordance with a defined purpose that is made public and embed stakeholder governance in decision-making, and create governance structures to monitor purpose, social, and environmental performance.
• Climate Action: Develop an action plan to support limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
• Human Rights: Understand how their operations and value chain may involve negative human rights impacts and take action to prevent and mitigate negative impacts.
• Fair Work: Provide good quality jobs and have positive workplace cultures, implement fair wage practices, and incorporate worker feedback in decision-making.
• Environmental Stewardship & Circularity: Assess their environmental impacts and take meaningful action to minimise them in their operations.
• Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: Foster inclusive and diverse workplaces and contribute meaningfully to just and equitable communities. 
• Government Affairs & Collective Action: Engage in collective efforts to drive systemic change, advocate for policies that create positive social and environmental outcomes, and, for the largest companies, publicly share their country-by-country tax reports.

The specific requirements that a company must fulfil will depend on its size, sector, industry and geographical location, ranging from 20 to 124 requirements to be certified. Companies must also meet Foundation Requirements, including eligibility, legal accountability, and risk assessment tailored to their profile.

From 2026, certification on the new standards will take a phased approach across 5 years, with companies required to demonstrate continuous improvement — meeting new milestones at 3 and 5 years post-certification.

B Corp Certification is a significant process requiring multiple stages of assessment and verification. During the initial stages of the process, certifying companies may not achieve the minimum number of points needed to certify. This is by no means the ‘end of the road’; when businesses choose to improve their processes and practices in order to certify, it has a tangible impact on their business and positive flow-on effects for people and planet. For companies committed to continuous improvement and creating benefit for people and planet, B Corp Certification is always within reach.

VRG GRL scored 81.4 points on the B Impact Assessment. The minimum score for certification is 80. Points are earned through a range of questions that reflect the positive impact a company has through its operations and business model.

Governance: 15.0

Workers: 22.2

Community: 20.3

Environment: 20.8

Customers: 3.1

On background:

While a company can earn its highest score in one Impact Area relative to other sections, it does not necessarily make it a ‘high performer’ in that area. 

The B Impact Assessment is scored to measure a company's social and environmental performance, both overall and within key impact areas. Scoring evolves with each version of the B Impact Assessment, and is complex and customised based on a company’s specific track (e.g. industry and size).

Scoring in the B Impact Assessment is based on five key themes. It is:

• Objective: Determined by B Lab’s independent Standards Advisory Council
• Normalised: All companies can earn the same total points in the assessment
• Materiality Based: Determined by relative materiality of a particular topic to a company’s sector
• Outputs/Outcomes Oriented: More heavily weighted towards direct indicators of “impact”
• Balanced: Comparable scoring for Operational Impact and Impact Business Models, and across different Impact Business Models

A company may have more points in a specific impact area because of its relative materiality, and because they demonstrated direct indicators of impact. Read more here.

VRG GRL pursued B Corp Certification to embed accountability into the way the business operates as it scales. As the company has grown, it has become increasingly important to move beyond informal commitments and internal standards and to be independently assessed against a consistent, external framework.

B Corp provides structure across governance, people, and environmental impact, allowing us to measure performance, identify gaps, and prioritise improvement in a way that is transparent and repeatable. It also ensures responsibility is built into decision-making as the business grows, rather than addressed retrospectively.

VRG GRL’s strengths in the B Impact Assessment are most evident across people practices, community contribution, and governance systems that support accountability as the business scales.

Internally, we have established progressive people policies, including paid parental leave and paid volunteering leave, which support employee wellbeing, retention, and long-term engagement. These policies are embedded rather than discretionary, providing consistency as the team grows.

From a community perspective, we support organisations focused on women and families experiencing hardship, aligning our contribution with the communities most closely connected to our customer base and workforce.

Across our supply chain, we have established Tier 1 transparency supported by clear ethical trade standards, defined expectations for safe and respectful working conditions, and independent third-party verification across manufacturing partners. This provides a structured foundation for deeper supply chain visibility as we work towards future improvements.

Collectively, these areas reflect where formal systems are already in place and performing well, rather than relying on ad-hoc or informal practices.

In recent years, VRG GRL’s most meaningful social and environmental impact achievements have focused on building durable foundations rather than one-off initiatives.

Socially, we have strengthened workplace benefits and formalised long-term community partnerships, including our ongoing support of Friends With Dignity. These partnerships are structured to provide sustained support to women and families experiencing hardship, rather than short-term or transactional contributions.

Environmentally, we have reduced operational emissions through the installation of solar at our headquarters and improved freight planning to minimise reliance on air freight where possible. Importantly, we have also completed Scope 1–3 emissions measurement, establishing a verified baseline that now informs reduction priorities and decision-making across the business.

Together, these achievements reflect a shift from informal actions to structured systems that enable accountability, measurement, and continuous improvement over time.

We recognise there is significant work ahead and that many of our largest impacts sit beyond our direct control.

Priority areas for improvement include increasing supply chain visibility beyond Tier 1 and Tier 2, expanding the use of lower-impact and certified fibres, and strengthening circularity and end-of-life pathways for our products. These areas require deeper supplier engagement, longer-term planning, and changes to how materials and products are specified.

We also recognise that the majority of our emissions fall within Scope 3. As a result, emissions reduction actions are increasingly being embedded into sourcing, planning, and logistics decisions rather than treated as standalone initiatives. This includes trade-offs between speed, cost, and environmental impact as we work towards more responsible outcomes over time.

Yes, VRG GRL did need to make improvements in order to certify. While many of the right practices were already in place, the B Corp process highlighted gaps in how those practices were documented, measured, and governed.

A significant portion of the work involved formalising existing approaches to ensure accountability and consistency as the business grows. As part of this process, we introduced formal carbon accounting, establishing a quantified Scope 1–3 emissions baseline where this had not previously been in place.

While the introduction of a structured Environmental Management System (EMS) schedule did not contribute to our final assessment score, it was identified as an important area for future improvement and has since been implemented to strengthen environmental oversight.

In addition, although supplier auditing was already underway, the certification process prompted us to go deeper by strengthening expectations, verification processes, and follow-up. Overall, B Corp has provided a clear framework and direction for continued improvement beyond certification, rather than serving as an endpoint.

VRG GRL will keep customers informed through regular Impact Reporting supported by ongoing updates across our website, social channels, and customer communications. Our website will act as the central source of truth, housing our impact reports, progress updates, and key commitments.

Impact reporting will provide structured, periodic insight into our social and environmental performance, while broader channels such as social media and EDMs will be used to highlight progress, milestones, and areas of focus. Together, these channels ensure transparency is consistent, accessible, and grounded in measurable outcomes rather than one-off announcements.