Impact Management Review
JA/EN
B Impact Assessment
To measure & compare

B Impact Assessment

The comprehensive assessment of a company’s social and environmental performance that underpins B Corp certification.

Overview

The B Impact Assessment (BIA) is a tool developed by B Lab (the B Corp certifying body) to evaluate a company’s social and environmental performance. By answering 200+ questions across five areas—governance, workers, community, environment, and customers—it scores a company’s overall impact. A score of 80+ qualifies a company for B Corp certification. More than 8,000 companies across 90+ countries are currently certified.

When to use it

  • When obtaining or applying for B Corp certification
  • When you want to comprehensively self-assess social and environmental performance
  • When structurally organizing ESG/sustainability efforts
  • When objectively demonstrating a company’s “integrity” to recruits, suppliers, and investors

How to use it

1
Access the assessment tool

Start the BIA for free from B Lab’s website (bcorporation.net). Questions are tailored to your company’s size, industry, and location.

2
Answer the questions in five areas

Answer about 200 questions across governance, workers, community, environment, and customers—honestly reflecting the current state.

3
Review the score and identify areas to improve

Check each area’s score and the total. If below 80, analyze which areas to improve to get closer to certification.

4
Apply for certification (optional)

Once you reach 80+, proceed to B Lab’s official certification review—document review, interviews, and more.

5
Reassess periodically

B Corp certification must be renewed every three years; use it as a cycle of continuous improvement.

◎ Pros

  • ·Comprehensively evaluates five areas, making the “gaps” in impact management easy to see
  • ·Lets you obtain the internationally recognized B Corp brand
  • ·Functions as a differentiator in recruiting, procurement, and investment
  • ·Available for free as a self-assessment tool

△ Cautions

  • ·Certification requires fees (annual certification fee) and considerable effort
  • ·Because the criteria are globally common, some questions do not fit Japanese regulations and practices
  • ·Since the score is a “company-wide average,” specific strengths can be hard to see

Use cases

Danone (France): obtained B Corp certification group-wide, combined with becoming a mission-driven company for governance reform
Patagonia: used the BIA to set improvement guidelines for supply-chain management and employee welfare
In Japan, companies such as “Hokuohkurashi no Dougeten” have obtained B Corp certification