In July 2024, four Havas agencies, Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York and Havas Immerse, had their B Corp status revoked by B Lab owing to Havas’ work with the oil and gas giant Shell. Even though the agencies didn’t directly work with Shell, only the parent company did, B Lab cited a breach of “core community values” and insisted the brand association was enough to pull the plug.
The fallout was electric; a watershed moment for communications and advertising firms. It sent a clear message: performative eco-credentials won’t cut it. Fast-forward 12 months and the picture couldn’t be more different. Two high-profile B Corp exits at the start of 2025 have renewed the debate about whether B Lab is sticking to its original purpose. And questions have again started circling about the future of B Corp.
Dr. Bronners, the organic soap company widely considered the highest-scoring B Corp globally, announced that it would not renew its certification. It criticised B Lab for not strengthening standards for multinationals such as Unilever, Nespresso and Nestlé, which have all come under fire in recent years for greenwashing. Scrumbles, a UK pet food brand, also stepped away at the start of the year, claiming that the certification had become a “marketing badge… rather than a true mark of an ethical business”.
Has B Corp lost its way?
At its heart, B Corp was created to redefine business success and prove that companies can prioritise people and planet alongside profit. That commercial principle is absolutely true but, as the community has grown, so too has the complexity of certification. Today, the B Corp landscape includes everyone from scrappy, climate-first startups to global conglomerates with huge supply chains. That diversity is a strength, but it’s also proving to be a challenge.
B Lab is battling competing priorities. On one hand, it must stay open and inclusive and welcome legacy businesses that are genuinely trying to transform. On the other, it must take steps to ensure its certification remains meaningful and does not become a tool for corporate virtue signalling. As soon as the badge loses credibility, the movement risks unravelling.
This risk is compounded by the structure of B Corp scoring. To achieve certification, a company must score at least 80 points on the ‘B Impact Assessment’, a holistic tool that measures impact across five categories: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. Businesses don’t need to perform strongly in all five areas. A high score in one category can offset weaker performance in another, which creates inconsistencies in defining what it means to be a B Corp. This tension isn’t new, but it has reached a boiling point in recent months – and the risk now is existential.
New framework, new hope?
B Lab is not blind to these issues. A major overhaul of the certification framework is underway, with the existing points-based system being phased out. Companies will instead be assessed against minimum standards across seven core areas, from environmental stewardship to human rights.
The hope is that this shift will produce more consistent standards for B Corps by creating entry barriers for businesses that have major weaknesses in particular areas, including large firms with complex operations. “These new standards serve as a roadmap for companies that want to lead. This isn’t merely an update, it sets a new bar for positive impact”, said B Lab UK’s CEO, Chris Turner.
But even the most robust framework won’t save B Lab if it can’t get its community on side. The success of this transition hinges on communication. It must be transparent, honest and proactive. B Lab must clearly explain how the new standards work, how they’re enforced and what happens when companies fall short. Case studies, third-party audits and impact reports must become central to the story, not buried in footnotes.
Equally, certified businesses have a role to play. They must embrace the spirit of the B Corp movement, not just its branding. That means telling richer, data-driven stories about their sustainability journeys. The public is no longer swayed by vague commitments or glossy marketing. They want substance and proof.
If B Corp members feel their concerns are ignored or their efforts undermined by laxer standards, more exits will follow. That fragmentation could open the door for rival accreditations, diluting the market and weakening the B Corp brand just when it most needs consolidation.
A critical juncture
This is a pivotal moment for B Corp. The task is to rebuild trust and engage openly with criticism to show a willingness to evolve without eroding its core values.
For certified companies, it’s about turning certification from a static label into a living commitment. That means reporting progress, welcoming scrutiny and collaborating across the community to raise collective ambition.
B Corp doesn’t need to be perfect. But it does need to be principled and persuasive. In the end, credibility is a communications issue. It’s not just about what B Lab does next, but how well it tells the story of why it matters.
Helen Salvin is the head of sustainability at The PHA Group, a creative agency
In July 2024, four Havas agencies, Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York and Havas Immerse, had their B Corp status revoked by B Lab owing to Havas' work with the oil and gas giant Shell. Even though the agencies didn’t directly work with Shell, only the parent company did, B Lab cited a breach of “core community values” and insisted the brand association was enough to pull the plug.
The fallout was electric; a watershed moment for communications and advertising firms. It sent a clear message: performative eco-credentials won’t cut it. Fast-forward 12 months and the picture couldn’t be more different. Two high-profile B Corp exits at the start of 2025 have renewed the debate about whether B Lab is sticking to its original purpose. And questions have again started circling about the future of B Corp.
Dr. Bronners, the organic soap company widely considered the highest-scoring B Corp globally, announced that it would not renew its certification. It criticised B Lab for not strengthening standards for multinationals such as Unilever, Nespresso and Nestlé, which have all come under fire in recent years for greenwashing. Scrumbles, a UK pet food brand, also stepped away at the start of the year, claiming that the certification had become a “marketing badge… rather than a true mark of an ethical business”.
