US-based natural soap pioneer Dr. Bronner’s says it will drop its B Corp Certification and not renew with B Lab, the operator of the scheme. The company’s announcement follows what it says has been a multi-year campaign calling on B Lab to “meaningfully improve the B Corp standard”. 

Dr. Bronner’s says B Lab has “failed to fulfill its promise to implement new standards to prevent the dilution of the B Corp mission and protect the certification from being used by companies who might see B Corp marketing as a way to portray themselves as more ethical than they are in practice”.

B Corp was founded in 2006 as a designation that a company meets high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. There are now over 8,000 certified B Corp countries worldwide spanning 196 industries. 

In recent years growing questions have been raised about the scheme’s legitimacy, with some companies and consumers warning that the label is being used in some situations as a form of greenwashing. 

Explaining Dr. Bronner’s decision to exit the scheme, David and Michael Bronner, CEO and President of Dr. Bronner’s respectively, said: “To Dr. Bronner’s and many Certified B Corps, ‘Business for good’ is more than a trendy and profitable marketing strategy. As a purpose-driven company, we do business to model a more just economy, and to demonstrate that a truly constructive multi-stakeholder approach to capitalism could be the norm. The integrity of the B Corp Certification has become compromised and remaining certified now contradicts our mission.

“Sharing the same logo and messaging regarding being of ‘benefit’ to the world with large multinational CPG companies with a history of serious ecological and labor issues, and no comprehensive or credible eco-social certification of supply chains, is unacceptable to us.

“Dr. Bronner’s has long advocated to B Lab that certified companies, especially large multinationals, should be required to certify all major supply chains to credible eco-social certifications in order to be part of the Certified B Corp community. This requirement would prevent companies, who have the resources and ability to certify all their major supply chains yet choose not to do so at all or only in part, from pursuing B Corp Certification for marketing purposes. In terms of agricultural land area, number of workers and farmers involved, and scale of social and environmental impact, the supply chains of large CPG food, personal care, and textile companies dwarf the impact of their operations in the countries where they are headquartered.

“We have not seen adequate, transparent, and timely action from B Lab to update the standards or certification process to address our concerns. Now, our only recourse is to drop our certification. We hope our exit will prompt necessary and overdue action, and that allies who remain B Corp Certified will continue to push to improve the standard from the inside.”

Dr. Bronner’s first became certified as a B Corp in 2015.The company’s score has increased with each recertification, and most recently in 2022, the company achieved what it says is the highest B Corp score globally to-date of 206.7. The median score for all companies that complete the assessment is 50.9, and a score of 80 qualifies a company for certification. 

Dr. Bronner’s says it has begun removing the B Corp logo from branding and marketing materials.

B Lab responds – ‘addressing today’s most urgent social and environmental challenges’
B Lab told Natural Newsdesk: “B Lab’s mission is about shifting capitalism to work for all people, communities and planet to enable economic system change. Our approach is to focus on continuous improvement and progress, as we believe catalyzing business as a force for good is a journey rather than a destination.

“We have been actively engaging with our global community — including purpose-driven businesses, independent experts, advocacy organizations and stakeholders — to strengthen the B Corp standards. We remain focused on ensuring that our certification remains a meaningful and ambitious framework for responsible business.

“As a next step, B Lab will publish the new standards for B Corp Certification. These new standards address today’s most urgent social and environmental challenges, providing clear, impactful requirements that companies must meet in order to deliver leadership and systemic change, in alignment with B Lab’s mission to shift capitalism to work for all people, communities and the planet.”