What is the B Impact Assessment (BIA)?

Introduction

The B Impact Assessment (BIA) is a free, confidential, online public framework that B Lab offers to help organisations implement positive ideas for change. It can be used by any organisation, whether or not they are a business.

Whilst there are about 6,000 B Corps, there are over 300,000 organisations using the BIA. That is not a pass rate, that is just reflective of the fact that most organisations use it just to think and improve

But that BIA is also the way B Lab assesses whether or not a company has reached "B Corp" standard as the BIA allocates points for implementation. If the using organisation is both an eligible business and has accumulated 80 points plus it can submit its assessment for certification review: if successful, it can refer to itself as a "B Corp".

How bespoke is it?

It allocates particular questions on the basis of your sector, size and geography which creates a reasonably targeted framework. It then further tailors itself to your context by opening and closing questions depending on the answers you provide. Some sectors are provided specific addenda as well, such as investing and real estate.

What does it cover?

Two Question Types

One of the things that separates the BIA from other assessments is that it is concerned with operational and strategic concerns, or what B Lab calls "Impact Business Models."

Operational Impact

This covers the day-to-day running of the enterprise and applies to virtually all companies, regardless of their design or functionality.

The BIA is not a sustainability review, which tend to be focused on environmental issues; the BIA is more holistic than that. However, all the traditional and forward thinking sustainability questions would fall within this category.

Impact Business Models (IBMs)

IBMs are unique to the BIA in that it takes the framework beyond the traditional governance and sustainability reviews to cover the strategic intent of the business.

For example, you could be a responsible business and be a B Corp; for example, a coffee shop chain. But you could also be a responsible coffee shop chain that intentionally hires ex offenders to retrain them for the workplace.

As such, the IBMs separate even the B Corps from one another: most B Corps do not earn many points by way of the IBMs.

You can unlock IBMs across a range of concerns and across all five impact areas, such as giving commitments, ownership structures, environmental innovation etc.

These IBMs should be seen as bonus point sections that take you way above the 80 points, not as a way of reaching 80 points. B Lab will be suspicious of a company that 

bonus

FAQ: What are the Impact Business Models?

Five Areas + Disclosure

Whilst there are two question types, the assessment is divided across five areas: governance, workers, environment, community and customers. Each with a range of questions.

There is also additional area called "Disclosure" which is focused on asking questions for purposes of transparency around more controversial issues, covering everything from alcohol to arms.

Here is some example content:

Governance	Workers	Environment	Community	Customers
Mission	Ownership	Inputs	Localisation	Recourse
Ethics	Engagement	Outputs	Giving	Commitments
Transparency	Benefits	Resources	Advocacy	Feedback
Structure	Training	Distribution	Distributors	Collaboration
Decision making	Compensation	Suppliers	Diversity	Support

"Taking the B Impact Assessment has been useful as a management tool, creating a real structure and sincerity to the process of doing the best."

Kristofer Lofgren, Owner, Bamboo Sushi