What:
B Corps are businesses that have been certified by the non-profit network, B Lab. To gain certification, businesses must provide evidence that they adhere to specific social, environmental, and governance practices. This is with the ambition of accrediting businesses that achieve high standards of social and environmental responsibility. The assessment reviews and scores a business’s impact in five key areas: workers, suppliers, community and the environment, and a business must gain a score of at least 80 to gain B Corp status. Reviews are ongoing, and businesses must update their score every 3 years to remain accredited.
Examples:
The relationship between B Corps and deep tech is still emerging, but there are some examples. The organisation Pangea Bio uses computational metabolomics and generative AI to discover therapeutic molecules from plants, turning these into potential new drugs. They became B Corp certified in 2024. The company stated in a press release that they had sought certification to demonstrate their commitment to environmental and social impact, alongside their wider mission to create value beyond traditional business objectives.
Considerations for Deep-Tech:
- A benefit is that becoming B Corp certified demonstrates that a business is committed to responsible innovation. It offers validation that the business is meaningfully engaging with social and environmental impact. In the context of deep tech ventures, this may be of value to multiple stakeholders, such as investors, partners, employees and customers.
- Having this kind of accountability can also be useful if a business is seeking to scale-up. As a framework, it may help an organisation keep sight of its values, particularly during the process of translating research findings into commercially viable outputs.
- However, applying for B Corp certification and ensuring a company is adhering to its framework is demanding. This may be challenging for some deep-tech ventures if they have limited time and resources to complete the certification process.
- There could also be potential tension with balancing social commitments with commercial pressures – such as balancing commitments to stakeholders with expectations of investors seeking rapid growth and profitability.
More information:
B Lab UK (n.d.) What is a B Corp? Available at: https://bcorporation.uk/b-corp-certification/what-is-a-b-corp/ (Accessed: 10 August 2026).
Diez-Busto, E., Sanchez-Ruiz, L. & Fernandez-Laviada, A. (2021) The B Corp Movement: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 13(5), 2508. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052508.
Travers Smith (2021) To B or not to B? An introduction to B Corporations. Available at: https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/to-b-or-not-to-b-an-introduction-to-b-corporations/ (Accessed: 10 August 2026).