Bcorp V6 FINAL Public Document

FINAL
Overview of Changes in Version

6 of the BIA
This document provides a list of the key topics that have been approved for changes from
Version 5 of the B Impact Assessment to Version 6, scheduled for launch in January 15th, 2019.
While this document does not provide an exhaustive list of all changes in V6, it does highlight
the most material changes.
● Executive Summary (p. 2) ● Other Environment Changes (p. 26)

● New Goal Structure ( p. 5) ● Customer Stewardship (p. 28)
● Governance Changes (p. 7) ● Impact Improvement Impact Business Model (p.
● Independent Contractors in the Workers 32)
Section (p.10) ● Impact Business Models Specific Impact,
● Workforce Development Impact Business Measurement, Management and Outcomes (p. 33)
Model (p.12) ● Adjustments to Practices and Output Questions to
● Other Workers Changes (p. 13) be more tailored for small and large companies
● Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (p. 15) (p.36)
● Local Economic Development Impact ● Governance and Management of Social and
Business Model ( p. 18) Environmental Impacts for Multinational and
● Other Community Changes (p. 20) Large Companies (p.38)
● Supply Chain Environmental Impact (p.22) ● Deletion, Consolidation, and Contingency (p. 41)
● Services with Operational Environmental
● Environmentally Innovative Process
Footprint (p. 45)
Impact Business Model (p. 23)
● V6 Scoring Model (p. 46)
● Resource Conservation Impact Business
● Overview of V6 Development Process (p. 59)
Model (p. 25)
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August 2018Edition
Dec 2018 Edition
V6 Changes to the BIA: Executive Summary
Executive Summary
The key changes for V6 highlighted in this document include:
New Goal Structure

For Version 6 of the B Impact Assessment, B Lab and its Standards Advisory Council have developed a
new goal structure intended to make the BIA more consistent, more outcomes aligned, and more
clearly articulate how a company performs.
Governance Changes
Notable revisions in the Governance Impact Area of the B Impact Assessment include improved
questions about stakeholder engagement and identifying and managing material social and
environmental issues, and improved questions around internal governance, ethics, and
anti-corruption.
Independent Contractors in the workers section

Starting in Version 6, in certain circumstances where there are substantial working relationships
between a company and individuals as independent contractors, those independent contractors will
be assessed as workers in the worker section.
Workforce Development IBM

The Workforce Development IBM has been revised to more clearly and appropriately differentiate the
degree to which a company’s program is designed to actively recruit and support particular
chronically underemployed groups.
Other Workers Changes

Other notable revisions in the Workers Impact Area of the B Impact Assessment include new and
wider coverage of the topic of paying a living wage, worker voice, and a re-orientation of how
significantly a company’s bonus program in the spirit of distributing financial success with
employees.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

More detailed questions have been added around inclusive workplace practices and quantitative
diversity questions have been disaggregated to create a more detailed, consistent, and globally
relevant set of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion performance metrics.
Local Economic Development IBM

The Local Economic Development model has been restructured to clarify which companies the model
applies to and to be more aligned with other Impact Business Models featured in the B Impact
Assessment. Companies wishing to earn the model must be (1) locally and independently owned, (2)
have a written policy commitment focused on local development that includes either purchasing from
local suppliers or serving local customers.
2
Executive Summary
Other Community Changes
Other notable revisions in the Community Impact Area of the B Impact Assessment include the
addition of “Community Investments,” more nuance in measuring quality job creation and supporting
low income areas, and financial relationship with suppliers.
Supply Chain Environmental Impact

A broader life cycle approach has been adopted to questions about managing the environmental
impact of a company’s supply chain, with new elements of environmental impact like biodiversity
explicitly included
Environmentally Innovative Process IBM

The Environmentally Innovative Process Impact Business Models (for Manufacturing, Wholesale /
Retail, and Agriculture) has been restructured to clarify which companies the model applies to and to
be more aligned with other Impact Business Models featured in the B Impact Assessment. Companies
wishing to earn the model must be (1) having an environmental management system to track and
verify their environmental performance, (2) having identified the material environmental impact of
their industries practices, and (3) substantively reduced the environmental impact of their material
issues through a process.
Resource Conservation IBM

For the first time the Resource Conservation IBM will explicitly capture products that are designed to
be “GHG minimizing” products along with energy efficient and other environmentally efficient
products.
Other Environment Changes

Other notable revisions in the Environment Impact Area of the B Impact Assessment include featuring
renewable energy in general, not just low impact renewable energy, as well as more specific questions
for companies who sell products about how they manage the environmental impact of packaging.
Customer Stewardship
As part of the B Impact Assessment’s new structure, a new goal focusing on Customer Stewardship has
been added to the Customers Impact Area.
Impact Improvement IBM

Further distinction has been made in the Impact Improvement Impact Business Model to distinguish
between companies whose services provide cultural / engagement improvements in a workplace
compared to specific operational improvements, comprehensive impact improvements, and
transformational (e.g. impact business model) impact improvements for an organization.
3
Executive Summary
Impact Business Models Specific Impact Measurement, Management and Outcomes

In collaboration with the Impact Management Project, more nuanced questions have been
incorporated as follow up questions in each into Impact Business Models to evaluate how a company
is managing the impacts of their business model .
Adjustments to Practices and Output Questions to be More Tailored for Small and Large Companies
Adjustments have been made in the number of questions to improve and make more meaningful the
assessment for small companies, as well as to make the assessment more nuanced and aspirational
for large companies.
Governance and Management of Social and Environmental Impacts for Multinational and Large
Companies
Per feedback from B Lab’s Multinational and Public Markets Advisory Council, questions have been
strengthened and added to address key practices essential to evaluating the performance of large
companies, including stakeholder engagement, addressing material social and environmental issues,
tax and government affairs transparency, human rights, and supply chain management.
Deletion, Consolidation and Contingency

In order to improve the experience of users, reduce the total amount of questions a user needs to
complete, and provide more comparability across different tracks of the assessment, efforts have been
made to remove and consolidate questions where possible without reducing the rigor or
comprehensiveness of the assessment.
Services with Operational Environmental Footprint

First introduced in Version 5 of the assessment as the “Services with Significant Environmental
Footprint,” the “Services with Operational Environmental Footprint” track will now further
differentiate between companies whose operational footprints are product based versus facilities
based.
Version 6 Scoring of the B Impact Assessment

In conjunction with the new goal structure of the B Impact Assessment, a more accessible and
standardized scoring model has been developed, and the 90 point “cap” on points earned from Impact
Business Models has been removed.
Overview of V6 Development Process

Since the launch of Version 5, B Lab has gathered feedback from users and stakeholders on how the B
Impact Assessment can be improved, and with the support of its Regional Advisory Groups and
Standards Advisory Council, developed a draft of Version 6 that has been tested, made available for
public comment and approved.
4
V6 Changes to the BIA: New Goal Structure
New Goal Structure

For Version 6 of the B Impact Assessment, B Lab and its Standards Advisory
Council have developed a new goal structure intended to make the BIA more
consistent, more outcomes aligned, and more clearly articulate how a company
performs.
B Lab and its Standards Advisory Council identified a few challenges with the V5 structure of
“Operations” section of the B Impact Assessment:
1. Goals were not standardized in all tracks of the assessment. Those goals highlighted above
with red circles, for instance, only appeared in some tracks of the assessment. This produced
challenges with consistency and comparability.
2. Goals were defined by functional areas rather than values or outcomes. This means there were
less insight into the performance of a company and what the BIA was actually trying to
measure.
3. The number of goals per impact area was imbalanced. While not as significant a concern as the
others, this imbalance Imbalanced numbers of goals created challenges communicating the
structure of the BIA and comparable scoring across topics.
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V6 Changes to the BIA: New Goal Structure
New Structure
In order to address these concerns, V6 features a new goal structure that is standardized (equally
applies across different types of companies), outcome and value oriented, balanced, and more aligned
with other relevant standards like the Sustainable Development Goals and Global Reporting Initiative.
While the Operations section of the B Impact Assessment focuses on measuring the social and
environmental performance of the company’s day to day operations (and thus applies to all
businesses), the B Impact Assessment still features sections that individual companies can opt in to
that measures their “Impact Business Models” - whether and how a company may be designed to
deliver a specific, material, positive impact to a particular stakeholder group.
Note that, as part of the new goal structure, a new “Operations” goal has been added to the “Customers”
section. This new goal is a recognition that Customers, as a stakeholder group, ought to be
represented in the B Impact Assessment even for companies that do not have a customer focused
“Impact Business Model” such as selling vaccinations, educational products, or serving underserved
populations.
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V6 Changes to the BIA: Governance
Governance Changes
Notable revisions in the Governance Impact Area of the B Impact Assessment
include improved questions about stakeholder engagement and identifying and
managing material social and environmental issues, and improved questions
around internal governance, ethics, and anti-corruption.
Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality
While the previous version of the question focused on the methods a company used to conduct
stakeholder engagement but did not address the depth or quality of the engagement process, this topic
has been revised in V6 to more adequately capture the extent of stakeholder engagement conducted
and how it is used1. Furthermore, the assessment covered whether a company is measuring social or
environmental key performance indicators or outcomes, it did not specify or focus on whether the
company is measuring indicators or outcomes that are most relevant to measure. Both of these topics
have been revised and included in more tracks of the assessment.
Stakeholder Engagement
Has your company done any of the following to engage stakeholders about your social and environmental
performance?
● We have an advisory board that includes stakeholder representation.

● We have a formal stakeholder engagement plan or policy that includes identification of relevant
stakeholder groups
● We have created mechanisms to identify and engage traditionally underrepresented stakeholder groups
or demographics
● We have formal and regular processes in place to gather information from stakeholders (focus groups,
surveys, community meetings, etc.)
● We have formal procedures to address results from stakeholder engagement, with a designated
individual or team responsible for appropriate follow ups
● We report the results of stakeholder engagement on social and environmental performance to the
highest level of oversight in the company, such as the Board
● We publicly report on stakeholder engagement mechanisms and results
● Other
● None of the above
1
As part of the recommendations from the Multinationals & Public Market Advisory Council (MPMAC) work,
more new detailed questions have been proposed specifically for multinationals on topics related to conducting
materiality assessments, stakeholder engagement, and managing and overseeing those material issues. The
questions featured here apply more broadly to businesses of all sizes.
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Management of Material Social and Environmental Issues (for companies from 10+ workers)
How does your company identify, measure, and manage the most material social and environmental issues
relevant to your operations and business model?
● We track impact metrics that we’ve chosen based on company mission or executive decision
● We have conducted a materiality assessment of our company using stakeholder engagement
mechanisms or research
● We have identified and measure metrics based on the results of the materiality assessment we
conducted for the company
● We have set performance targets for all identified material issues and measurements
● We measure the material social and environmental outcomes produced by our performance on our KPIs
over time
Internal Governance
Recognizing that, particularly for small businesses, good governance can entail internal practices as
well as external oversight like an independent board of directors, new questions have been developed
for small companies that specifically identify best practices for internal governance.
Internal Good Governance

How does your company support internal management and good governance?
● We have a formal organizational chart outlining the management and reporting structure of the company
● We have written job descriptions for all employees outlining responsibilities and decision-making
authority
● We have management team meetings to plan strategy or make operational decisions
● Other - please describe
Ethics and Anti-corruption Practices
Revisions have been made to questions regarding ethics and anti-corruption practices and monitoring,
in order to both more clearly articulate best practices and to include the question in more tracks of the
assessment.
Ethics Policies and Practices

What practices does your company have in place to promote ethical decision-making and prevent corruption?
● A written Code of Ethics
● A written whistleblower policy
● We have created internal financial controls
● We have conducted an ethics-focused risk assessment in the last two years
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Monitoring Ethics and Corruption

Does your company do any of the following with regard to monitoring and reporting on your anti-corruption
programme?
● Responsibility for the monitoring has been clearly assigned and resources have been made available
● Mechanisms are in place for continuous monitoring (internal employee self-evaluations, automated
controls monitoring).
● The management of the company (e.g. Board of Directors, Audit Committee) review the results of internal
and external reviews and ensure that required changes are implemented in an appropriate and prompt
manner.
● External independent assurance is conducted to provide further security to management and
stakeholders regarding the effectiveness of the anti-corruption programme.
● Regular reporting announcements about the program are made at least annually to relevant internal and
external stakeholders ( workshops, CEO announcement, newsletter).
Anti-Corruption Practices
Which of the following anti-corruption reporting and prevention systems are in place?
● Written employee whistle-blowing policy with confidentiality policy
● Circulation of whistle-blowing policy to all employees and business partners
● Communication of the anti-corruption system at least annually to the relevant internal and external
stakeholders
● Annual training on the anti-corruption system
● Providing supporting tools and guidance (e.g. self-assessment survey for high-risk departments)
● Anonymous mechanisms to report concerns and grievances
● We take part of a collective action/coalition with governments, community-based organizations, NGOs
and other businesses to act against corruption.
● Individual or department oversight with direct access to Board of Directors
9
V6 Changes to the BIA: Independent Contractors in the
Worker Section
Independent Contractors in the Workers

Section
Starting in Version 6, in certain circumstances where there are substantial
working relationships between a company and individuals as independent
contractors, those independent contractors will be assessed as workers in the
worker section.
Independent contractors have previously been treated as suppliers in the B Impact Assessment, and
while there has previously been a specific question pertaining to practices of the company as they
relate to independent contractors, they have been generally factored into the questions about a
company’s supply chain.
Per feedback from our global users and regional advisory groups, it was acknowledged that in many
circumstances companies consider independent contractors as workers, not suppliers, and the
exclusion of them from the worker section produced an incomplete assessment of whether a company
provides quality jobs - including in some circumstances where companies may have “workforce
development” programs with independent contractors that have barriers to employment (such as
individuals with disabilities). Furthermore, more and more companies have been utilizing labor from
independent contractors and laws have been passed in many jurisdictions to create more flexibility
for companies to do so.
In order to acknowledge the spectrum of labor between payrolled employees and independent
contractors (in which they could both be considered “workers” for the company even if not employees),
in Version 6 independent contractors will be counted in the Worker section if they work exclusively
for the company or work greater than 20 hours per week for the company for longer than a 6 month
period.
Gating question:
Is any of your company’s labor performed by subcontracted organizations or individuals, such as outsourced
staffing services or independent contractors?
● Yes, some of our labor is contracted to third party subcontractors that manage staff on our behalf
● Yes, we hire individual independent contractors who either work exclusively for the company, or work
greater than 20 hours per week for the company for longer than a 6 month period
● While we utilize independent contractors, they do not work exclusively for the company or greater than
20 hours per week for the company for longer than a 6 month period
*If Option (2) is selected, then those independent contractors would be considered in the worker section.
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V6 Changes to the BIA: Independent Contractors in the
Worker Section
Labor contracted to third party subcontractors will be assessed in the questions on reviewing and
screening subcontractors in the Community Question. Independent contractors that do not work
exclusively for the company or not for the time thresholds identified above will continue to be
assessed in the specific independent contractor question featured in the Community section as well.
In order to still distinguish between those companies who go above and beyond to put workers on
payroll, the Emerging Markets version of the BIA Version 6 features a new question that will reward
companies for having their workers on payroll to acknowledge the additional value, protections, and
stability for workers that comes from payrolled employment, in addition to the other benefits of the
worker section that signal overall job quality. With these improvements, companies having a
Workforce Development program with independent contractors will have the opportunity to earn
credit in the Workforce Development Impact Business Model if the other requirements are met.
Formal Employment
What percentage of individuals working for the company are formally employed on the payroll of the company?
● 0%
● 1-24%
● 25-49%
● 50-74%
● 75-99%
● 100%
B Lab will also continue to monitor the topic of independent contractors to identify opportunities to
clarify and identify best practices related to job quality across the employee / independent contractor
spectrum for future developments in the B Impact Assessment.
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V6 Changes to the BIA: Workforce Development IBM
Workforce Development IBM

The Workforce Development IBM has been revised to more clearly and
appropriately differentiate the degree to which a company’s program is
designed to actively recruit and support particular chronically underemployed
groups.
The Workforce Development Impact Business Model is designed to recognize companies that have
programs to hire, provide quality jobs, and professionally develop individuals with barriers to
employment. In order to evaluate whether a company has the impact business model, and to
determine how many points a company earns for their particular model, a few key aspects of the
program are evaluated, including the % of the workforce that would qualify as being from a chronically
underemployed social group (for example, low income, formerly incarcerated individuals, etc.), the
quality of the job provided, the types of significance and training offered to these individuals, and
employee retention / graduation from these types of programs.
In order to more appropriately differentiate between who is hired and to what degree a company is
actively hiring and designing their program for those individuals, a further differentiating question
has been added in V6 regarding the hiring practices that the company has.
Workforce Development Hiring

Which of the following applies to the method in which you target or hire individuals with barriers to
employment?
● We operate in a location where formal employment is rare and workforce development is a
natural part of our hiring (50%)
● Individuals with barriers to employment are directly targeted and hired through our own
program or in partnership with government or non-profit organizations (75%)
● We have an open hiring program that allows any interested job seeker, regardless of past
experiences, to achieve employment on a first come first served basis (100%)
In addition to this gating question, two additional revisions have been made to ensure the quality of
the jobs provided, including:
1) A health and safety training requirement to ensure that workforce development program jobs
appropriately protect the physical well-being of the participants, and
2) Requiring a 10 % payment above the minimum wage for those companies who are operating in a
location without a living wage benchmark
Regarding (2), in locations where a living wage benchmark exists, companies have always been
evaluated based on whether they paid that living wage. In locations where a living wage benchmark
did not exist, however, companies were merely evaluated based on whether they paid above a
minimum wage. The stipulation of 10% above a minimum wage has been designed to create a more
consistent and aspirational evaluation of job quality.
12
V6 Changes to the BIA: Other Workers Changes
Other Workers Changes

Notable revisions in the Workers Impact Area of the B Impact Assessment
include new and wider coverage of the topic of paying a living wage,
worker voice, and a re-orientation of how significantly a company’s bonus
program in the spirit of distributing financial success with employees.
Living Wage
Per living wage benchmarks now available for more markets globally, the topic of paying a living wage
has been added to the Emerging Markets B Impact Assessment in V6. In addition, the BIA now
features two separate questions on living wage, referencing both individual and family living wages.
While previous versions of the BIA focused on a living wage for a single individual, it is globally
recognized best practice to calculate based on a family wage.
% of Employees Paid Individual Living Wage

What percentage of employees on an FTE basis are paid the equivalent of a living wage for an individual?
● <75%
● 75-89%
● 90-99%
● 100%
● N/A
% of Employees Paid Family Living Wage

What percentage of employees are paid the equivalent of a living wage for a family?
● <75%
● 75-89%
● 90-99%
● 100%
● N/A
For both questions, where living wage data is not available or has not met B Lab’s criteria as a
sufficient calculation, a company is able to select “Not Applicable,” and thereby not be penalized for
the lack of data in their region.
Worker Voice Practices and % of Employees Covered by Collective Bargaining
Recognizing the importance of empowering and giving voice to employees as part of a positive
workplace, new questions have been added about worker voice, and, for companies who employ a
majority of their employees based on an hourly or monthly wage, participation in collective
bargaining. Answer options include options that get at more proactive input and results from
workers.
13
V6 Changes to the BIA: Other Workers Changes
A collective bargaining question is featured to apply to companies of all sizes (when a majority of
employees are hourly), an N/A was added for companies who have alternative governance structures
that empower workers to recognize that collective bargaining is not the only way to provide
meaningful worker voice in the assessment.
Worker Empowerment
How does your company engage and empower workers?
● We have formalized feedback and complaint mechanisms beyond direct reporting lines to address
concerns and improve company practices
● We have processes in place to provide input from employees prior to operational and/or strategic policy
or practice changes
● Employee complaint / input mechanisms are reviewed at least every other year, with input from
employees themselves into the process
● Company tracks usage of input/ feedback / complaint mechanisms and resolution / implementation
rates
● We have adopted open book management, self-management, or democratic governance (cooperatives)
within the workplace
● Workers have opportunity to elect member(s) to the Board of Directors
Collective Bargaining
What percentage of your employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement?
● <65%
65-80%
81-90%
>90%
N/A - company is a cooperative or have other self-management mechanisms for employee
Significance of Bonuses
While the previous question focused on assessing the significance of a company’s bonus plan as
compared to the company’s salary base, it was recognized that this measure did not completely reflect
the extent to which a company is distributing the success of the company to its employees. The
updated question is instead focused on the overall amount of bonuses paid to non-executives
compared to the profitability of the company
Significance of Bonuses
What is the equivalent percentage of profits that were distributed as bonuses to non-executive employees??
● No bonus payout, or no bonus plan
● <1%
● 1-5%
● 5-10%
● >10%
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V6 Changes to the BIA: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

More detailed questions have been added around inclusive workplace practices
and quantitative diversity questions have been disaggregated to create a more
detailed, consistent, and globally relevant set of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
performance metrics.
Through B Lab’s ongoing Inclusive Economy Challenge program, as well as engagement with its
Regional Standards Advisory Groups, B Lab identified potential improvements to the Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion section of the B Impact Assessment globally. The main aspects flagged as areas of
improvement were the need for more detailed practices related questions in addition to quantitative
metrics, the need for more global resonance for what counts as an “underrepresented group” around
the world, and the need to disaggregate metrics to allow for a more nuanced and intersectional
measure of a company’s diversity equity and inclusion performance. Solving these issues can be very
challenging, as varying cultural and legal norms make it difficult for standardization and
disaggregating metrics could easily expand the number of questions in the section and dilute the
overall value of each of them.
B Lab has developed the following revised definition of underrepresented groups based on
consultations with our global network and regional advisory groups:
Underrepresented groups
Underrepresented groups refer to groups who have traditionally not had equal access to economic
opportunities because of discrimination or other societal barriers. This may vary by context and by
geography. Take into consideration gender, ethnicity, sexual-orientation, age, disabilities, immigration
background and/or low-income status that may qualify an individual as being part of a previously
excluded population.
In addition to adding more detailed questions around inclusive workplace practices such as inclusive
hiring, inclusive work environments, management of diversity, equity, and inclusion, B lab also has
worked to clarify and disaggregate our quantitative diversity questions to create a more detailed,
consistent, and globally relevant set of metrics.
This is done by asking about what demographic groups the company measures, and then
disaggregating questions to get more detail while asking about only those that are relevant to what the
company has indicated they track.
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Question Question Answer Options

Summary
Inclusive Hiring How does your company ● We include a statement in all our job postings with a
Process create an inclusive recruiting commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
and hiring process? ● We don’t ask about incarceration history during our
application process
● We conduct anonymous or "blind" reviews of
applications or resumes without attaching names or
identifiable characteristics
● We actively recruit through organizations or services
that serve individuals from underrepresented
populations
● We conduct analyses of our job description language
and requirements to ensure they are inclusive and
equitable
Inclusive Work How does your ● We have designated an individual or group explicitly
Environments company create an equitable responsible for diversity, equity, and inclusion (e.g.
and inclusive workplace for Diversity Manager, Inclusion Committee)
employees? ● We offer trainings for all employees on topics related
to diversity, equity, and inclusion
● We have voluntary employee resource or affinity
groups
● Our facilities are designed to meet accessibility
requirements for individuals with physical disabilities
● Our facility restrooms are gender-neutral or
gender-inclusive
● We have programs in place to provide mentorship,
apprenticeships, or internships for individuals from
underrepresented groups
● We accommodate learning or emotional disabilities in
work processes and workplace policies
Management of How does your company ● We anonymously survey employees on gender

Diversity, Equity manage and improve your identity, race/ethnicity, disability status, and other
and Inclusion workplace diversity and demographic factors to track the diversity of our
inclusivity? workforce
● We have set specific, measurable diversity
improvement goals that are reviewed by senior
executives or our Board of Directors
● We have conducted a pay equity analysis by gender,
race/ethnicity, or other demographic factors and, if
necessary, implemented equal compensation
improvement plans or policies
● We analyze job categories, satisfaction, promotion,
retention rates, or benefits by different demographic
groups, and if necessary, have implemented corrective
actions for inequitable results
● We specifically analyze diversity, equity, and inclusion
data for individuals who are part of multiple 16
underrepresented groups
Measurement What attributes of a diverse ● Socioeconomic status (as determined by low

of Diversity workforce does your company income residence, education level, etc.)
track, either through anonymous ● Gender
surveys or other methods legal in ● Race and/or Ethnicity
your jurisdiction? Note: In some ● Age
circumstances, collection of this ● Other (religion, incarceration history, immigration
data may be regulated by law. status, etc.)
Consult local regulations to ● None of the above
determine if collection is possible
and do so within the bounds of
propriety and the law.
Based on a company’s answer to the question above, specific questions asking about the % of the
workforce that qualifies will follow. While questions about the diversity Management, Executives, and
a company’s Board of Directors were not disaggregated by every demographic group above, they have
been split to allow for nuanced measure between gender diversity and other underrepresented groups.
17
V6 Changes to the BIA: Local Economic Development IBM
Local Economic Development IBM

The Local Economic Development model has been restructured to clarify which
companies the model applies to and to be more aligned with other Impact
Business Models featured in the B Impact Assessment. Companies wishing to
earn the model must be (1) locally and independently owned, (2) have a written
policy commitment focused on local development that includes either
purchasing from local suppliers or serving local customers.
The Local Economic Development IBM (along with the Designed to Conserve Impact Business Models)
previously featured a list of different qualifying “practices” in which, if a company was doing enough
of those practices (4+), they were qualified for the business model. All practices that were listed were
considered of equal importance, however, even if some of them were not necessarily a part of the
company’s designed business model.
Qualifying Local Practices featured in V5 Local Economic Development IBM
● More than 75% of the company's ownership is located locally to at least 2/3 of the workforce
● Company's headquarters or main production facility is located locally to where 75% of end
product is used
● More than 75% of the company's significant suppliers are independent companies located
locally to the company's headquarters or relevant production facilities
● More than 50% of the company's significant suppliers are independent companies located
locally to where the end product is used
● More than 50% of company's raw materials (in dollar value) are grown or harvested within
200mi / 322km of where the end product is used
● The company banks with a local and independent institution or a local institution that has at
least 50% of their loans/deposits coming from or to local sources (within 3 states if in The U.S.
and within 300km if in another country)
● The company contributes 5% of profits or more to local charities
In order to address these issues and arrive at greater consistency, the model was restructured to be
more aligned with the other IBMs by having specific core requirements to be eligible and focus on
those aspects of the business model that are most impactful for local development.
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V6 Changes to the BIA: Local Economic Development IBM
The core requirements of the model in V6 are:
(1) Be locally and independently owned, AND

(2) Have a formal written policy commitment to either purchase at least 50% of non-labor
expenses from local independent suppliers OR have 75% of their customer base be local
independent customers. It is also necessary to achieve these policies.
By focusing on policy as well as practice, we are more accurately capturing a "model." Companies
could then earn incremental credit in the model for additional above and beyond practices related to
the model.
Additional Local Business Models Practices Featured in V6
What other ways does your company support the local community?
● We use a local and independent bank (including banks that have at least 50% of their
loans/deposits coming from or to local sources (within 3 states if in the U.S. and within 300km
if in another country)
● We contribute 5% of profits or more to local charities
● We provide community space for local organizations
● We have local community investment programs or sponsorships
● We have a written local hiring policy
19
V6 Changes to the BIA: Other Community Changes
Other Community Changes

Other notable revisions in the Community Impact Area of the B Impact
Assessment include the addition of “Community Investments,” more nuance in
measuring quality job creation and supporting low income areas, and financial
relationship with suppliers.
Community Investments
Recognizing that impactful practices related to philanthropy are not limited to making tax deductible
financial contributions to charitable organizations, the civic engagement and charitable giving section
includes new content that more explicitly includes “community investments” more broadly construed.
Relative Input for Community Investments

If you use an independent methodology to measure total commitment to community investment, what is the
equivalent % of revenue contributed in the form of community investment?
● None
● Less than 0.1% of revenues
● 0.1-0.4% of revenues
● 0.5-0.9% of revenues
● 1-1.9% of revenues
● >2%
Job Creation and Facilities in Low Income Areas
In order to avoid the risk of practices related to job creation and operating in low income creating
unintended negative impacts, address the concerns about job quality, additional qualifications have
been added to questions to, in the case of job growth, stipulate that they are well paying jobs, and in the
case of operating in low income communities, that the economic benefits of those operations lead to
job opportunities for local residents in need.
Quality Job Growth Rate

How many of your company's full-time and part-time jobs were newly created over the last twelve months AND
pay a living wage?
● 0% (no growth on a net basis)
● 1-24%
● 25-49%
● 50%+
20
V6 Changes to the BIA: Other Community Changes
Facilities in Low-Income Communities

What percentage of your workforce lives in poor/very poor or low-income areas or does not have a college degree
AND is also employed in company facilities located in low-income areas?
● <10%
● 10-19%
● 20-29%
● 30%+
● Don't know
Financial Relationships with Suppliers (for large companies)
In addition to asking about support and capacity building services that a large company might provide
its suppliers, new content has been added to assess best practices related to payment terms offered to
small scale suppliers, recognizing the significant impact that large scale companies can have, positive
or negative, by purchasing from them and dealing with them fairly.
Support for In Need Suppliers

Does your company do any of the following to support small scale or other in-need suppliers?
● We review suppliers for potential training needs
● We have a formal education or support program for selected suppliers
● We provide small scale suppliers the same contracts, prices and payment terms (such as days payable
outstanding) as other suppliers
● We pay 30 days payable outstanding to small scale suppliers
● A formal mechanism is in place for suppliers to provide us feedback (e.g. supplier satisfaction surveys)
● We have a formal grievance mechanism to address complaints and resolve disputes
21
V6 Changes to the BIA: Supply Chain Environmental Impact
Supply Chain Environmental Impact

A broader life cycle approach has been adopted to questions about managing the
environmental impact of a company’s supply chain, with new elements of
environmental impact like biodiversity explicitly included.
In V5, Supply Chain Environmental Impact Questions focused on the operational performance
suppliers that a company has directly purchased from (Tier 1 Suppliers), including whether those
direct suppliers monitor their environmental impacts and whether they have achieved or
implemented specific performance thresholds and practices. Recognizing the materiality of the
environmental impact of a company’s supply chain beyond its immediate suppliers, and that such
impact is often about choice of materials and other factors beyond individual operational performance
of the supplier, a more holistic life cycle approach to managing environmental supply chain impact
has been adapted. This also enables the B Impact Assessment to more explicitly cover the topic of
biodiversity impacts, which has been flagged as a theme inadequately covered in past versions of the
BIA.
In V6 B Lab recognizes that environmental supply chain impact extends beyond the operational
performance of immediate suppliers, and asks how a company is taking concrete steps to manage it.
in addition to covering the topics that were previously covered in supply chain (Waste, Water,
Chemicals, GHGs), this revision also lets us call out different elements of impact that were not
previously explicitly incorporated such as managing and reducing impact on biodiversity of the
supply chain. Two new questions are featured to identify and differentiate improvement. The
examples of the new questions, for biodiversity, would be replicated for GHG emissions, water, waste,
and hazardous waste in the supply chain.
Supply Chain Biodiversity Management
How does your company track and manage your supply chain's impact on biodiversity?
● We don't evaluate our supply chain impact on biodiversity
● We have conducted an analysis of our value chain, including suppliers, services, and materials, to
identify material risks to biodiversity
● We set targets for reducing impact on biodiversity through our supply chain
● We have verified that our supply chain creates no (or positive) biodiversity impact
Supply Chain Biodiversity Improvement
What practices has your company implemented for a majority of suppliers (on a cost basis) to reduce your supply
chain's impact on biodiversity?
● We collaborate with or require suppliers to collect data and report on biodiversity impact
● We screen suppliers to fit good biodiversity practices
● We provide support or resources for our supply chain in adopting biodiversity-friendly operations (e.g.
online tools, applying questionnaires and surveys, collaborating in industrywide surveys)
● We audit and provide help to suppliers to complete corrective actions
22
V6 Changes to the BIA: Environmentally Innovative Process
Environmentally Innovative Process IBM

The V5 Designed to Conserve Impact Business Models, named in V6
Environmentally (Manufacturing, Wholesale / Retail, and Agriculture)
Innovative Process, has been restructured to clarify which companies the model
applies to and to be more aligned with other Impact Business Models featured in
the B Impact Assessment. Companies wishing to earn the model must be (1)
having an environmental management system to track and verify their
environmental performance, (2) having identified the material environmental
impact of their industries practices, and (3) substantively reduced the
environmental impact of their material issues through a process.
In V5, the Designed to Conserve Impact Business Models (like the Local Economic Development IBM)
was previously featured a list of different qualifying “practices” in which, if a company was doing
enough of those practices (4+), they were qualified for the business model. All practices that were
listed were considered of equal importance, however, even if some of them were not necessarily a part
of the company’s designed business model.
Qualifying Designed to Conserve Practices Featured in V5 Designed to Conserve

Manufacturing Model
❖ Company annually measures and publicly reports energy usage, water usage, carbon emissions, and
waste output
❖ Company has reviewed life cycle impact of 50%+ of products in terms of dollar volume
❖ At least 25% of manufacturing facilities (by square feet) meet comprehensive green building standards
(such as LEED)
❖ At least 15% of the energy is from onsite renewables or 75% of the energy is derived from purchased
renewable sources (including RECs)
❖ The core manufacturing process substitutes a critical energy-intensive manufacturing step that is of
concern in your industry (i.e. steam recycling, sun drying vs. gas oven heating, etc.)
❖ The core manufacturing process of the product substitutes a critical water-intensive manufacturing step
that is of concern in the industry (i.e. water recycling, water reuse, and water substitution)
❖ Core manufacturing process substitutes a critical chemical intensive manufacturing step that is of
concern in the industry (i.e. toxic chemical elimination)
-Efficiencies from a core manufacturing process can demonstrate a significant source-reduction in
inputs (per unit basis) compared to industry average
❖ 50% of solid wastes from the manufacturing process are recycled, reused or composted
❖ Majority of liquid wastes from manufacturing process are treated and returned to water table at same
quality diverted (confirmed by testing on temperature, ph levels, bio-chemical oxygen demands, etc)
23
V6 Changes to the BIA: Environmentally Innovative Process
In order to address these issues and arrive at greater consistency, the model was restructured in V6 to
be more aligned with the other IBMs by having specific core requirements to be eligible and to focus
on those aspects of the business model that are core elements of what it means to design a process for
environmental conservation. In addition, the model was renamed to better reflect the intention of
rewarding innovation in the production process and to avoid any confusion.
The core requirements include:
(1) having an environmental management system to track and verify their environmental
performance,
(2) having identified the material environmental impact of their industries practices, and
(3) substantively reduced the environmental impact of their material issues through a process
innovation.
Therefore, the intent of the model will be focused on innovative practices within an industry that
significantly reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing process compared to others.
Companies can then earn incremental credit in the model for additional above and beyond practices
and outcomes such a achieving science based environmental targets.
Additional Environmentally Innovative Practices Featured in V6

● We have substantially reduced the amount of source material required for our product compared to
industry norms
● We have implemented methods that include the recycling or re-use of at least 50% of materials
● We have a water recycling or closed-loop recycling system
● We have replaced a water-intensive process with a process that requires a significantly reduced amount
of water usage
● We have implemented a water treatment system that treats all waste water to return it to the water table
at aquality as high as the water was received
● We have substituted a chemical-intensive process with a process that requires a significantly reduced
amount of chemicals used
● We have substituted an energy-intensive process with a process that requires little to no energy
● We have implemented a program to use on-site renewable energy for our process
Environmental Management Outcomes
What results has your company seen from your environmentally-focused manufacturing processes?
● We have achieved carbon neutrality

● We have achieved zero waste or a closed loop material process
● We can confirm that water is used only in accordance with the local watershed needs
● We have eliminated all harmful chemicals from our manufacturing process
24
V6 Changes to the BIA: Resource Conservation IBM
Resource Conservation IBM

For the first time the Resource Conservation IBM will explicitly capture products
that are designed to be “GHG minimizing” products along with energy efficient
and other environmentally efficient products.
While the B Impact Assessment has an Impact Business Model focused on the renewable energy
products and the Resource Conservation IBM that captures energy efficient, water efficient, and waste
reducing products, there has not been an impact business model that more broadly captures “GHG
efficient” that might not fall in the two categories above. These types of products could include: vegan
alternatives to meat products, refrigerant alternatives, and carbon sinks like alternative cement and
biochar.
Within the Resource Conservation IBM, “GHG minimizing” products will be able to receive credit along
with other energy efficient products.
Resource Conservation Description
Which of the following most accurately describes how your product or service conserves or diverts resources?
● Product or service uses resources or minimizes carbon more efficiently than market alternatives (e.g.
energy-efficient appliances, low-flow shower heads)
● Product or service uses recycled, used, or compostable input materials (e.g. recycled paper, used
furniture, compostable bags)
● Product or service is designed to share resources efficiently in order to minimize overall resource
consumption
● Product or service creates systems for resource conservation (e.g. recycling programs, composting
services, energy or water assessment software, water recycling systems)
● These descriptions do not apply to our company's product/service (Skip the remainder of this section)
This includes companies that are producing plant-based alternatives to meat products and other GHC
reducing products, as long as they are able to demonstrate through documentation that they are a
clear alternative to another product and that their type of product has substantially reduced emissions
(for instance, through independent research or a life cycle analysis).
25
V6 Changes to the BIA: Other Environment Changes
Other Environment Changes

Other notable revisions in the Environment Impact Area of the B Impact
Assessment include featuring renewable energy in general, not just low impact
renewable energy, as well as more specific questions for companies who sell
products about how they manage the environmental impact of packaging.
Renewable Energy Sources
While previous assessments focused only on awarding “low impact” renewable energy (including wind
and solar, but not necessarily large scale hydro power) as the best practice in different types of energy
use, a new question has been added so that companies can earn incremental credit for using
renewable energy sources that are not necessarily "low-impact” but nonetheless do not emit
greenhouse gas emissions (i.e. hydropower). This is particularly relevant in Emerging Markets, where
hydropower is frequently used.
Renewable Energy Use

What percentage of energy use is produced from renewable sources?
● 0%
● 1-24%
● 25-49%
● 50-74%
● 75-99%
● 100%
● Don't know
Low Impact Renewable Energy Use

What percentage of energy use is produced from low-impact renewable sources?
● 0%
● 1-24%
● 25-49%
● 50-74%
● 75-99%
● 100%
● Don't know
Environment Impact Packaging
While the environmental impact of a product’s packaging has been previously included in questions
about the overall environmental impact of products, a new question has been added to acknowledge
packaging as a topic that should be measured separately and entails different best practices.
26
V6 Changes to the BIA: Other Environment Change
Environment Impact Packaging

How does your company minimize the environmental impact of the packaging of your products?
● We have conducted a formal assessment of our packaging design and materials to identify opportunities
to minimize environmental impact
● We have source-reduced packaging within the last two years
● Our packaging materials are certified to meet independent standards for environmental impact
● Our packaging is recyclable and provides instructions on how to recycle it correctly
● Our packaging is non-toxic
● Our packaging materials are designed to have less overall environmental impact than common
alternatives
● N/A - our products do not have packaging materials
27
V6 Changes to the BIA: Customer Stewardship
New Section of the BIA: Customer Stewardship

As part of the B Impact Assessment’s new structure, a new goal focusing on
Customer Stewardship has been added to the Customers Impact Area.
In V5 companies taking the B

Impact Assessment only received
credit in the Customers Impact
Area if they had a product or
service specifically designed to
produce a positive social impact
for its customers or consumers
(i.e. vaccines, educational
products, etc.). In order to
acknowledge that Customers are
a core stakeholder impacted by all
businesses, and in the spirit of
aligning with other standards, a new customers section has been introduced to assess how all
companies produce and manage value and impact for customers and consumers.
New Questions

Summary
Quality Do you use an established third party methodology to

Assurance manage quality assurance for your products or services ● Yes
● No
Accreditations What % your products or services have been reviewed ● 0%

and and certified by an accreditation body focused on ● 1-9%
Certifications quality? This can include process certifications like ● 10-24%
ISO9000 or industry specific quality accreditations. ● 25-49%
● 50-74%
● 75-99%
● 100%
28

Summary
Feedback and Are any of the following ● Products and/or websites feature customer service contact
Complaint true regarding information
Channels mechanisms for ● Product / service reviews are made available in their
customers to provide entirety to public
feedback, ask questions, ● Company responds to all direct inquiries or complaints
or file complaints? within a month of receipt
● Company offers live time support to customers
● Other
Monitoring Which of the following ● Company monitors customer satisfaction

Customer are true of your company ● Company shares customer satisfaction internally within the
Satisfaction and with regards to customer company
Retention or client satisfaction ● Company shares customer satisfaction publicly
and/or retention? ● Company has specified targets for customer / client
satisfaction
● In the last year, company has achieved specified targets for
satisfaction
Product Impact For what percent of your ● 0%

Assessment products has your ● 1-9%
company conducted a ● 10-24%
formal assessment of the ● 25-49%
positive and/or potential ● 50-74%
negative outcomes ● 75-99%
produced for your ● 100%
customers? ● N/A
Managing Product Does the company do any ● Company regularly monitors customer outcomes and
/ Service Impacts of the following with well-being
regards to managing the ● Company has formal program to incorporate customer
potential impact their testing and feedback into product design
products have on ● Company has formal programs in place to continuously
customers / improve outcomes produced for customers (including
beneficiaries? reducing negative effects or increasing positive effects)
● Other
29

Summary
Managing Does the company have any ● Company makes transparent potential risks and
Marketing and of the following practices negative impacts of products, including, when
Advertising with regard to ensuring appropriate ingredient lists
accurate, ethical, and positive ● Company has formal policies to review the accuracy
marketing and advertising? and ethics of marketing and advertising
● Company complies with independent marketing and
advertising standards relevant to their sector or
industry
● Company has programs in place to promote social and
or environmental causes through its marketing and
advertising
● Company gets input of the communities that are
featured on the company’s messaging and advertising
campaigns and is inclusive of the culture of those
communities.
● Other
Data Usage and Does the company have any ● Company has a formal publicly available data and
Privacy of the following to address privacy policy
data usage and privacy ● Company makes all users aware of information
issues? collected, length of time it is preserved, how it's used,
and whether and how it is shared with other entities
(public or private)
● Customers have option to decide how their data can be
used
● Company is transparent on how it tracks its customers
data (website asking for an explicit opt-in for the use of
cookies and other user-tracking technologies)
● Company’s email list building and email marketing
strategies are GDPR compliant
● Other
● N/A - Company does not collect sensitive data
Data Security Does the company have any ● Data privacy is included in company wide risk
Management of the following practices to management compliance processes
ensure security of private ● All employees are trained on data privacy policies
data? ● Company has a formal code of conduct that defines
unauthorized uses of data
● Internal audits of data security
● External audits of data security
● Simulated hacks on data security
● Other
● N/A - Company does not collect sensitive data
30
Many topics related to customer stewardship have already been featured in the BIA and have
just been moved to the new section. To inform new content, B Lab referred to pre-existing
standards and resources including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Global Reporting
Initiative, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the Roundtable for Product Social
Metrics, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the ICC framework, European Advertising Standards
Alliance (EASA) and USA and Canada Marketing Associations.
31
V6 Changes to the BIA: Impact Improvement IBM
Impact Improvement IBM

Further distinction has been made in the Impact Improvement Impact Business
Model to distinguish between companies whose services provide cultural /
engagement improvements in a workplace compared to specific operational
improvements, comprehensive impact improvements, and transformational (e.g.
impact business model) impact improvements for an organization.
The impact improvement model was designed to award companies that provide business to business
services that are designed to improve the impact of organizations, i.e. sustainability consultants.
While the model has previously distinguished between the extent to which a company’s services
implement or indirectly support impact improvement, it has not distinguished between the type and
degree of the impact that is being created.
In V6 new options have been added to more appropriately differentiate the degree of impact that is
being created by asking the type of product that a company provides and adding a follow up question
to further differentiate the magnitude of the impact created by the services:
Type of Impact Improvement
What type of product or service does your company provide that improves the impact of your clients?
● Our product or service contributes research, measurement, data collection, or reporting that
supports impactful decision-making
● Our product or service provides consulting or implementation that improves the operational
practices of our clients
● Our product or services provides consulting or implementation that transforms the culture or
business model of our clients
Extent of Impact Improvement
Can your company verify that, based on your product or service, any of the following types of impactful
improvements were made by the majority of your client organizations?
● We have evidence of operational improvements made by our clients based on the

products or services provided
● We have evidence of transformational improvements (either adoption of impactful
business models or substantive changes to the company's overall impact) based on the
products or services provided
● We do not have evidence of the either of the above implementations
32
V6 Changes to the BIA: Impact Business Models Specific
Impact
Impact Business Models Specific Impact

Measurement, Management and Outcomes
In collaboration with the Impact Management Project, more nuanced questions
have been incorporated as follow up questions in each into Impact Business
Models to evaluate how a company is managing the impacts of their business
model .
As part of the identification and evaluation of a company’s impact business model, the B Impact
Assessment asks a series of questions intended to identify the stakeholders that primarily benefit
from the company’s model, the positive outcome that is produced for them, the magnitude of the
business model relative to the company as a whole, and the extent to which the company is
measuring, verifying, and managing the impact that the business model creates (both positive and
negative).
In addition to identifying how the current structure of the B Impact Assessment and its impact
business models align with the five key dimensions of impact identified under the Impact
Management Project, new and more detailed questions about how a company is measuring, verifying,
and managing their impact according to these dimensions have been added to each Impact Business
Model in the B Impact Assessment in V6. This creates alignment with the Impact Management Project,
provides more detailed differentiation of companies with Impact Business Models, and educates
companies with Impact Business Models about how best to manage their impact.
33
Impact
Impact Management Project Dimension Alignment with Impact Business Models

of the B Impact Assessment
Who Who experiences an effect and how IBMs are identified by the relevant stakeholder
underserved? group, in this case, Customers and Serving In
Need Populations
What What outcome(s) an effect relates to The Impact Business Model itself indicates
“what” the impact or outcome produced is, for
instance “improved health.”
How Much How significant an effect is in a given The “Intensity” dimension of the BIA aligns
time period2. with the Depth Component of “How Much,”
while the “How Many” dimension is linked with
the Reach dimension of the BIA. Length and
quickness are less apparent in the current IBM
framework, with quickness being difficult to
broadly apply across business models.
Risk Which risk factors are significant and Most closely aligns with the Efficacy dimension
how likely the outcome is different of the IBM Framework, although while “risk” is
from the expectation a leading indicator, the BIA focuses on the
actual performance of whether the outcome has
actually occurred
Contribution How the effect compares and makes a While more indirect, we believe that both
contribution to what is likely to occur Efficacy and Serving In Need Populations are
anyway related measures of contribution, by
recognizing pro-active efforts to actually
determine whether your product created the
impact that is seen, and serving “underserved
populations” as a proxy for serving groups that
traditionally would not be served.
2
The “How Much” dimension is itself broken down into component parts that measure different things, including
“depth” of impact, scale (how many people affected), quickness (how quickly does the impact manifest), and
duration (how long does it last).
34
Impact
Measurement, Verification, and Management Follow Up Questions
New follow up questions for Impact Business Models begin with a general questions covering various
practices related to impact measurement, verification, and management. Based on a company’s
answers, more detailed follow up questions will appear.
Management of Impact Business Model Outcomes

How does your company measure and manage the results, outcomes, effects, or impact of your product or
service?
➢ We have formally defined the outcomes sought by our product or service and have developed a
theory of change for them
➢ We have based our impactful product or service business model on established secondary
research that demonstrates potential impact
➢ We have directly and formally engaged stakeholders in understanding their desires and needs
when developing, refining, and or delivering our products or services
➢ We are verified to meet third-party standards for impact (e.g. we have impact-related product
certifications)
➢ We measure near-term outcomes of the product or service to determine whether it is meeting
the needs and expectations of our beneficiaries
➢ We measure long-term outcomes in order to assess whether the results of our product produce
lasting positive impacts for our beneficiaries
➢ We have identified and measure and manage the unintentional or potential negative impacts of
the product or service in addition to intentional positive effects
➢ We have identified and managed potential causes that could lead to a failure to deliver the
positive outcome, to do so less efficiently than possible, or to produce other negative effects
➢ None of the above
Efficacy of Impact Business Model Provisions

For what percentage of your beneficiaries can you verify your positive impact on the outcome stated above?
➢ 0%
➢ 1-25%
➢ 26-49%
➢ 50-74%
➢ 75-99%
➢ 100%
➢ Don’t know
Long-Term Outcomes
Does your outcome measurement demonstrate that your company is creating long-term or permanent
outcomes for your beneficiaries?
➢ Yes
➢ No
35
V6 Changes to the BIA: Adjustments to small and large
companies
Adjustments to Practices and Output

Questions to be More Tailored for Small and
Large Companies
Adjustments have been made in the number of questions to improve and make
more meaningful the assessment for small companies, as well as to make the
assessment more nuanced and aspirational for large companies.
Per feedback of small companies and data analysis conducted through our testing and public
comment period, a number of questions have been merged, tailored, or adjusted to make them more
reflective of the best practices and opportunities of small businesses, including topics like inclusive
workplaces, governing body characteristics, management of social and environmental issues, and
environmental management systems.
Similarly, the reverse effort was conducted to focus the scoring of large companies more on the scope
and outputs of the practices that they have in place to make the assessment more nuanced and
aspirational for large companies. This was done primarily by, in circumstances where a practice
question is followed by a question that asks for the % of the company the question applies to, making
the following question heavily weighted as the more important overall indicator of performance.
For Small Companies:
One example of these adjustments relates to the highest level of oversight of the company, in which
questions related to having a Board of Directors has been limited for the smallest businesses. This
adjustment was made by the Standards Advisory Council under the belief that even for small
businesses, a formal and external governance body is still an aspirational best practice.
Governing Body Characteristics

Which of the following apply to your company's advisory board or Board of Directors?
Advisors / members meet at least annually
Advisors / members review company social and environmental impact
Advisors / members represent or provide expertise from specific stakeholder groups (clients, community
members, environmental experts, etc.)
At least 50% of advisors / members are women or individuals from underrepresented social groups
Advisors / members are made transparent on company website
None of the Above
N/A - no Board of Directors or advisory board
36
V6 Changes to the BIA: Adjustments to small and large
companies
Another example is related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace - where three questions
have been merged into one specifically designed for small businesses:
Creating and Managing Inclusive Work Environments

Which of the following practices your company has in place around diversity, equity and inclusion?
-We include a statement in all our job postings with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
-We conduct anonymous or "blind" reviews of applications or resumes without attaching names or identifiable
characteristics
-We conduct analyses of our job description language and requirements to ensure they are inclusive and
equitable
-We offer trainings for all employees on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion
-We have set specific, measurable diversity improvement goals
-We have conducted a pay equity analysis by gender, race/ethnicity, or other demographic factors and, if
necessary, implemented equal compensation improvement plans or policies
-None of the above
For Large Companies:
One such example for the adjustment for large companies relates to having a supplier code of conduct,
where the follow on question referring to the percentage of suppliers has been made more heavily
weighted than the general “practice” question before it.
Practice question (Equally Weighted):
Supplier Code of Conduct

Is there a formal written Supplier Code of Conduct policy that specifically holds your company's suppliers
accountable for social and environmental performance?
● Yes
● No
Follow up question (Heavily Weighted) :
% of Suppliers Accountable to Code of Conduct

What % of your suppliers (on a currency basis) are accountable to the formalized code of conduct or requirements
described in the previous question?
● 0%
● 1-20%
● 21-49%
● 50-74%
● 75-99%
● 100%
● N/A
i 37
V6 Changes to the BIA: Multinational and Large Companies
Governance and Management of Social and

Environmental Impacts for Multinational and
Large Companies
Per feedback from B Lab’s Multinational and Public Markets Advisory
Council, questions have been strengthened and added to address key practices
essential to evaluating the performance of large companies, including
stakeholder engagement, addressing material social and environmental issues,
tax and government affairs transparency, human rights, and supply chain
management.
Recognizing that the current standards and certification processes for B Corp Certification were not
designed for large companies, B Lab convened the Multinational and Public Markets Advisory Council
(MPM AC), comprised of leading companies, assurance providers, and stakeholder organizations, to
advise on creating a meaningful and manageable path to B Corp Certification. Among the
recommendations made by the MPM AC was to develop revised and new metrics designed to reflect
the aspirational best practices specific to large companie and their overall potential impact and
influence. Among the topics revised and added include highlighting stakeholder engagement of
stakeholders directly affected versus those indirectly involved, a focus on identifying root causes of
supply chain risks rather than merely conducting “audits,” and determining materiality based
exclusively on stakeholder input and overall impact rather than financial materiality or interest of the
business, among others. A sampling of questions designed for large companies through the MPM AC
process and incorporated in V6 include:
Commitment to Stakeholder Engagement

Which of the following is true regarding your company’s stakeholder engagement policies and practices?
● Company has a written policy documenting commitment to and processes regarding stakeholder
engagement, including procedures and responsibilities to address results from engagement
● Company has stakeholder consultation / engagement process designed to solicit feedback on social and
environmental performance and needs for improvement, not just identification of material issues
● Company has stakeholder consultation / engagement process for development of any new material
projects
● Company has conducted a stakeholder mapping to identify relevant groups and individuals to engage
● Company has pro-active strategy to receive input from stakeholders who are traditionally
underrepresented
● Company keeps complete records of all formal stakeholder engagement activities
● Company has transparent mechanisms for external review and feedback on stakeholder engagement
plans and results
● Senior executives and /or the Board of Directors oversee process and results of all stakeholder
engagement
38
Materiality Assessment of Social and Environmental Issues

In what ways does your company identify the most material social and environmental issues related to its
operations and business models (including its value chain) to report on and manage?
● We have a stakeholder engagement process designed to identify the most material issues from the
perspective of stakeholders
● Our process to identify material issues is conducted or overseen by a third party independent from the
company
● Our process to identify material issues is overseen and approved by the Board of Directors
● Material issues are identified independent of the effect of the issue on financial performance (i.e.
company materiality matrix is organized by importance to stakeholders and social and environmental
impact)
Human Rights Accountability and Results

Does the company have any of the following practices to address stakeholder grievances and/or human rights
allegations?
● Company issues a public report identifying cases surfaced from grievance mechanisms (and other
human rights related allegations), along with company responses
● Company has evidence of successful remedy (to the satisfaction of the stakeholder affected) for all
grievances in the last year
● Company has implemented or revised company practices, and publicly reported those changes, to
mitigate concerns raised via grievance mechanism in the last year
● Human rights policies, reviews, and diligence mechanisms are overseen by the Board of Directors
Managing Supply Chain Impact

Which of the following are true regarding how your company manages your supply chain impact?
● We embed social and environmental supplier performance into the job descriptions and performance
evaluations of their procurement departments (distinct from their sustainability or CSR departments)
● Senior management team members have written responsibility for social and environmental supply
chain performance
● We aggregate the results of supply chain social and environmental assessments to identify and report on
trends in performance and breaches internally
● We use trends in supply chain performance to identify and remediate root causes of supply chain
performance issues and breaches (including contractual requirements posed by the company itself,
inadequate management or human resources processes, capacity constraints within suppliers, etc.)
39
Tax Management Policies

Does the company do any of the following in regard to tax management and transparency?
● Company tax strategy, including governance, risk management, transparency, and approach to dealing
with tax authorities is overseen and approved by the Board of Directors
● Company publishes its tax strategy including details of governance arrangements, tax risk management,
transparency, and approach to dealing with tax authorities
● Company publishes overall effective tax rate
● Company publishes annual information on the taxes they pay at a country level, together with
information on their economic activity in each country
● Company provides narrative supplements to tax information describing how they were derived
● Company disclosures explain why any subsidiaries, branches or joint ventures operate in low tax
jurisdictions
● Company endorses other third party best practices (ie UK Fair Tax Mark or The B Team Responsible Tax
Principles)
More information about the MPM AC process is available on www.bcorporation.net, and certification
requirements for multinational companies are to be released soon after the launch of Version 6.
40
V6 Changes to the BIA: Deletion, Consolidation and
Contingency
Deletion, Consolidation and Contingency

In order to improve the experience of users, reduce the total amount of questions
a user needs to complete, and provide more comparability across different
tracks of the assessment, efforts have been made to remove and consolidate
questions where possible without reducing the rigor or comprehensiveness of
the assessment.
The B Impact Assessment is tailored to a company based on its size, sector, and geographic market,
with more than 78 different combinations available in Version 5 of the BIA. Furthermore, in its effort
to be a comprehensive measure of a company’s social and environmental performance, the BIA has
increased in the overall length and complexity from version to version in order to add new topics that
have emerged as important issues to stakeholders. Simultaneously, it is necessary to focus on the
most material topics to a given company and its performance, as well as ensure an overall level of
comparability and standardization across different types of companies.
In its development of Version 6, B Lab reviewed what opportunities existed to make the assessment
more efficient, consistent, and focused on more material questions. This was accomplished by (1)
deleting some questions that were deemed less material or of questionable impact compared to other
questions on related topics, (2) consolidating questions either across tracks or when multiple
questions covered similar topics, and (3) designing questions so that more advanced and detailed
questions only need to be answered by those companies for whom the questions are relevant to.
Sample of Questions That Have Been Deleted
❖ Paying Above the Minimum Wage: Because two questions previously existed, one asking about whether a
company paid above the minimum, and one about the % above the minimum wage that the company
pays, the first question has been deemed less material and removed.
❖ Market Compensation Comparison: In V5, this question had a high amount of incorrect responses from
companies that did not formally conduct compensation benchmarking. It was also unclear how to
answer when compensation comparisons could vary significantly by employee type.
41
Contingency
❖ Employee Ownership (including Executives): Several questions assess the extent to which the company
has broad-based ownership opportunities for its employees, including two questions asking about the %
of the company owned by employees including executives, and another asking about the % of the
company owned by employees excluding executives. The second question was deemed less material and
removed.
❖ Average Tenure: As an indicator of overall job satisfaction, average tenure is also related to questions
about satisfaction and attrition rates. It has been removed because it is less of a differentiator for young
companies, and because the other questions are more focused on the current state of job satisfaction at
the company at the given time.
❖ Increasing Renewable Energy: Because a separate question asking about the current % of renewable
energy used by the company is also featured in the BIA, this question was deemed less material and
removed.
Sample of Questions That Have Been Consolidated
WORKERS
Health Care Eligibility for Part Time Workers: In V5, two separate questions existed for when part time workers
are eligible for healthcare benefits - one based on their tenure at the company, and another based on the amount
of hours that need to be worked to be eligible. This topic has been consolidated into one multi-pick question that
assesses both types of eligibility criteria.
When do part-time workers become eligible to participate in healthcare plans offered by your company?
● Part-time workers are eligible to participate within 6 months of employment
● Part-time workers are eligible to participate at time of hire
● Part-time workers are eligible if they work more than 20 hours a week
● Part-time workers are eligible if they work less than 20 hours a week
● Part-time workers are not eligible to participate in company-sponsored insurance plans
● N/A - We don't have part-time employees
COMMUNITY
Community Service Policies and Practices: This question consolidates V5 questions about volunteer service
policies and volunteer hour monitoring/targets into a single multi-pick question.
How does your company manage employee community service?

● We have hosted or organized company service days in the last year
● We have a policy that allows less than 20 hours paid time off for community service
● We have a policy that allows more than 20 hours paid time off for community service
● Our company monitors and records total volunteer hours
● Our company has set community service or pro-bono targets
42
Contingency
ENVIRONMENT
Monitoring and Managing Water Use: This question, like other monitoring questions, has been consolidated to
more consistently reflect best practices across tracks. It has also been consolidated with reference to context
based sustainability.
Does your company monitor and manage your water usage?

● We do not currently monitor and record water usage
● We regularly monitor and record water usage but have not set any reduction targets
● We monitor and record water usage and have set specific reduction targets relative to previous
performance (e.g. a 5% reduction of water usage from baseline year) \
● We regularly monitor and record emissions and have set science-based targets necessary to achieve
sustainable usage linked to our local watershed
● We have met specific reduction targets set during this reporting period
Sample of Questions that Have Been Designed So Companies Only Answer When Relevant
GOVERNANCE
Social and Environmental Decision-Making: Beginning with a general question about the different ways a
company can embed social and environmental considerations in their decision making, follow up questions will
appear to ask about more detailed aspects of each selected answer option.
How does your company integrate social and environmental performance into decision-making?
● Employee training that includes social or environmental issues material to our company or its mission
● Manager roles with job descriptions that explicitly incorporate social and environmental performance
● Performance reviews that formally incorporate social and environmental issues
● Compensation and job descriptions of executive team members that include social and environmental
performance
● Board of Directors review of social and environmental performance
● We measure our externalities in monetary terms and incorporate them into our financial balances
For example, if the company selects the first answer option about employee training, only then will the company
see this follow up question:
Social and Environmental Performance Training: How are social or environmental performance principles and
practices incorporated into employee training programs? Please check all that apply.
● Only included informally in orientation, training, or instruction
● Specific, formal training is integrated into new employee and new manager training
● Specific, formal training is integrated into ongoing employee and manager training
● Workers articulate goals and achievements related to social and environmental metrics as an individual
or part of a workplace team
● All supervisors and managers receive training on how to communicate social and environmental goals to
employees and implement accountability for results
43
Contingency
Company Transparency: Beginning with a general question about different elements of transparency for a
company, follow up questions will appear to ask about more detailed aspects of each selected answer option.
What information does the company make publicly available and transparent?
● Beneficial ownership of the company
● Financial performance (must be transparent to employees at minimum)
● Social and environmental performance (e.g. impact reports)
● Membership of the Board of Directors
For example, selecting the third answer option about social and environmental Performance has the follow up
question:
Impact Reporting
Does the company produce a public-facing annual report detailing its social and environmental performance
that includes any of the following?
● We seek input from relevant stakeholder groups to help determine what information to report
● We provide clear descriptions of our mission-related activities
● We share quantifiable targets related to our company's mission
● We share quantifiable results from our mission-related activities (e.g., lbs of carbon offset)
● We use consistent variables of measurement which allow comparisons to previous years
● Our report is in compliance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) or equivalent disclosure level based
on a third-party voluntary reporting standard
● A third party has validated the information we share
● Impact reporting is integrated with financial reporting
● We don’t produce a public-facing mission-related annual report
44
V6 Changes to the BIA: Service with Operational
Environmental Footprint
Service with Operational Environmental

Footprint
First introduced in Version 5 of the assessment as the “Services with Significant
Environmental Footprint,” the “Services with Operational Environmental
Footprint” track will now further differentiate between companies whose
operational footprints are product based versus facilities based.
In Version 5 of the B Impact Assessment, B Lab created a “Services with Significant Environmental
Footprint” track of the assessment, aligned with companies in the wholesale/retail sector, in order to
recognize that there were certain types of service companies, such as restaurants, hotels, co-working
spaces, and universities, whose environmental impact is more material and distinct from other service
companies. In Version 6, however, it has been identified that alignment with the Wholesale / Retail
sector is not appropriate for some types of service companies with significant operational footprint.
While the environmental footprint of some service companies is based on the physical products that
are bought or sold, others are more based on the use of their facilities to deliver the impact (for
instance college campuses, or coworking spaces).
For the new Services with Significant Operational Footprint track of the assessment, a gating question
will ask about the majority of purchases of the company:
Majority of Non-Labor Expenses

Are the majority of your purchases from suppliers services or physical products?
● Physical products
● Services or non-physical products like software
If the majority of expenses of the company are based on physical products, then the company will be
assessed according to questions focused on their physical products and supply chain. For other
companies, those questions will not apply and they will be assessed on facilities management of
environmental impact.
45
V6 Changes to the BIA: Scoring Model
Version 6 Scoring of the B Impact Assessment

In conjunction with the new goal structure of the B Impact Assessment, a more
accessible and standardized scoring model has been developed, and the 90 point
“cap” on points earned from Impact Business Models has been removed
A More Standardized Scoring Model
In previous versions of the B Impact Assessment, where different goals existed for different tracks of
the assessment based on a company’s size, sector, and geographic market, it was necessary to
customize the scoring model for each track to accommodate those differences. This led to many
different scoring permutations that increased the complexity of the assessment and limited
comparability across companies. With a new, more consistent, goal structure, Version 6 created the
opportunity to identify potential areas of consistency to make a more elegant, comparable, and
straightforward scoring model across the different tracks of the assessment.
In Version 6, Impact Area and Goal weightings will be standardized across company sizes and
geographic markets, making the sector of the company the primary determinant of the relative
materiality of the different topics featured in the BIA. Importantly, questions within each of those
areas are still customized by size and sector to make sure that performance is contextualized to a
company. This approach creates a more comparable and elegant model, whereas customizing based
on all factors, in addition to customized question content and weightings, significantly adds to the
complexity and limits the overall comparability of the standard.
46
The final Version 6 Goal weightings were calculated in an effort to minimize scoring discrepancies
between Version 5 and Version 6 of the BIA. Data analysis indicated that, for those questions that
exist in both versions, companies would experience an average score change close to zero (-1.15% in
percent of points earned). In addition, results from beta testing indicated that the new Version 6
questions were slightly more challenging than questions that had existed previously. Therefore, the
average score change from Version 5 to Version 6 of the BIA is predicted to be only slightly negative.
IBM Scoring Cap and Total Points Available
In V5 the overall scoring of the B Impact Assessment was based on a 200 point scale that consisted of
140 total points available in the Operations section (available to all companies), with an additional 90
points available for companies who had above and beyond “Impact Business Models.” The final 30
points available as Impact Business Model points exceed the 200 points available and were
themselves considered additional bonus points for companies that had multiple Impact Business
Models, although no company has ever earned a final score of more than 200 points on the
assessment.
Unlike the points available in the Operations, which were fixed and available to all companies, there
were many different types of Impact Business Models that a company could opt into. In sum, the total
number of points within all different potential IBMs exceeded 90 points, but the total number of
points a company can earn across them is “capped” at 90. While only a handful of companies would
have earned more than 90 points without the cap, this approach to scoring created complications
when communicating scores, limited the assessment’s ability to differentiate the highest performing
companies, and de-incentivized impact business model improvements among those high performers.
For those reasons, in Version 6 the “90 point cap” was removed within the Impact Business Model
section. With this change, the assessment is no longer out of a 200 point scale, and while it will have
no practical scoring implications for almost all companies utilizing the B Impact Assessment, it has
been proposed to remove the total denominator in score reports to reflect the fact that no only are
there many paths to improvement, but also that the opportunity to improve one’s positive impact is
ongoing and so there is no “final score” that a company should be judged against. Instead, it is more
appropriate to frame a company’s performance by their total points earned, and how they compare to
other appropriate benchmarks (such as the required score for B Corp Certification, qualification for
“Best for the World” lists, and performance of other businesses on the B Impact Assessment.
47
Managing Score Changes Caused by New Versions
In any circumstances, B Lab recognizes that new versions of the B Impact Assessment creates scoring
implications for all of our users independent of whether their own performance has changed. B Lab
has created policies to allow for cure periods for Certified B Corporations should a company’s score fall
below the required score of 80 without immediately losing the certification, and also has the ability to
assess the score changes of companies and identify the extent to which they are caused by “standards
changes” in the B Impact Assessment or “performance changes” in the company.
48

Since the launch of Version 5, B Lab has gathered feedback from users and
stakeholders on how the B Impact Assessment can be improved, and with the
support of its Regional Advisory Groups and Standards Advisory Council,
developed a draft of Version 6 that has been tested, underwent public comment
and approved by the SAC.
The B Impact Assessment is independently governed by a Standards Advisory Council, curated by B

Lab, and improved by its community of users and stakeholders. The Standards Advisory Council
reviews and approves all content of the B Impact Assessment before the launch of new versions.
Feedback and Draft Development
In order to identify key areas of improvement within the B Impact Assessment, B Lab receives
feedback from its users and other stakeholders through a variety of mechanisms, including the B
Impact Assessment platform itself. Since the launch of Version 5, B Lab has received and reviewed
more than nearly 9,000 pieces of feedback from within the B Impact Assessment platform.
49
To supplement the feedback from its users and stakeholders, B Lab has Regional Standards Advisory
groups (Latin America, Australia, UK and East-Africa) that convene to also provide targeted feedback
on the assessment in order to improve its local and global relevance.
With the support of these feedback mechanisms and governance bodies, B Lab identified priority areas
to work on, and subsequently developed draft proposals for review by the Standards Advisory Council
and other stakeholders.
The provisional draft of Version 6 was approved by the Standards Advisory Council for testing and
feedback in June of 2018. Beginning in August, select testing of the standards began, prior to a 60 day
public comment period from September 15th to November 16th.
Testing, Public Comment, and Launch
As part of the testing process, B Lab sent out 96 invitations to “Alpha Testers” to provide feedback on
specific substantive changes developed for V6. Simultaneously, 22 “Beta Testers” from all the regions,
completed a draft of Version 6 to inform scoring analysis and standards improvements. In addition, B
Lab conducted consultations with Regional Advisory Groups to get detailed feedback on the draft
relevant to their expertise and market.
During testing and public comment, B Lab received and reviewed 880 pieces of feedback that allowed
to identify additional areas for further clarification and revision. ~900 companies accessed the V6
draft during public comment period. On the whole, this has been the most substantial testing and
public comment period we have had for a new version, and the draft of V6 has been well received.
There was general affirmation of the overall changes, and no significant overall concerns were
expressed. There was however, acknowledgment of areas for ongoing improvement -either for V6 or
for V7- that have yielded ~200 revisions (many minor) and that have been included in the final
version. The Standards Advisory Council reviewed and approved the final version of the B Impact
Assessment in December 5th and 6th 2018.
Version 6 will be launch in January 15th 2019. All new registrants to the BIA will be able to access
Version 6 beginning on January 15th UTC. Current users who have been making progress (greater
than 50% completion) on Version 5 and wish to finish their assessment on that version, they may do so
by finalizing and submitting their assessment by April 15th UTC time. All assessments that have not
yet been submitted at that time will be transitioned to Version 6.
50

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FINAL

Overview of Changes in Version

● Executive Summary (p. 2) ● Other Environment Changes (p. 26)

New Goal Structure

Independent Contractors in the workers section

Workforce Development IBM

Other Workers Changes

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Local Economic Development IBM

Supply Chain Environmental Impact

Environmentally Innovative Process IBM

Resource Conservation IBM

Other Environment Changes

Impact Improvement IBM

Impact Business Models Specific Impact Measurement, Management and Outcomes

Deletion, Consolidation and Contingency

Services with Operational Environmental Footprint

Version 6 Scoring of the B Impact Assessment

Overview of V6 Development Process

New Goal Structure

Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality

● We have an advisory board that includes stakeholder representation.

Internal Good Governance

Ethics and Anti-corruption Practices

Ethics Policies and Practices

Monitoring Ethics and Corruption

Independent Contractors in the Workers

Workforce Development IBM

Workforce Development Hiring

Other Workers Changes

% of Employees Paid Individual Living Wage

% of Employees Paid Family Living Wage

Worker Voice Practices and % of Employees Covered by Collective Bargaining

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Question Question Answer Options

Management of How does your company ● We anonymously survey employees on gender

Measurement What attributes of a diverse ● Socioeconomic status (as determined by low

Local Economic Development IBM

Qualifying Local Practices featured in V5 Local Economic Development IBM

The core requirements of the model in V6 are:

(1) Be locally and independently owned, AND

Additional Local Business Models Practices Featured in V6

Other Community Changes

Relative Input for Community Investments

Job Creation and Facilities in Low Income Areas

Quality Job Growth Rate

Facilities in Low-Income Communities

Financial Relationships with Suppliers (for large companies)

Support for In Need Suppliers

Supply Chain Environmental Impact

Supply Chain Biodiversity Management

Supply Chain Biodiversity Improvement

Environmentally Innovative Process IBM

Qualifying Designed to Conserve Practices Featured in V5 Designed to Conserve

The core requirements include:

Additional Environmentally Innovative Practices Featured in V6

Environmental Management Outcomes

● We have achieved carbon neutrality