B Lab: Deepening impact with our strategic partnership

B Lab has grown rapidly in recent years, with more companies eager to join the B Corp movement. Since 2020, the number of Certified B Corps has doubled, placing a heavy strain on B Lab’s certification processes and technical infrastructure. Keeping up with the rising demand became increasingly difficult, stretching both B Lab’s internal teams and its global partners.

B Lab was maturing their digital capability, but lacked a clear digital strategy, making it difficult to deliver and align expertise effectively. Workflows were fragmented, making collaboration inefficient, while decision-making cycles caused delays. A culture that valued specialized expertise over cross-functional collaboration further contributed to operational bottlenecks, creating silos that slowed progress.

"B Corp has evolved around a community of analysts at the centre– evaluating companies based on their impact. We embarked on a partnership to help the organisation become more customer-centric and purpose-driven in everything they do, and provide the ongoing capability, tools and methods to keep on maturing."

-- Futurice project team

At the heart of B Lab’s operations is the B Impact Assessment platform, a critical tool for companies seeking certification. Businesses input key data – such as company size, risk factors, and impact metrics – which are then measured against B Lab’s standards. However, the process was complex and often frustrating, leading to high drop-off rates and companies abandoning certification before completion.

To support companies on their certification journey, B Lab needed to transform into a technology-driven, customer-focused organization. This meant streamlining processes, modernizing digital tools, and rallying its entire global network around a shared vision for change.

Futurice joined B Lab on what they have called their biggest transformation in 17 years. The collaboration took a holistic approach, combining strategic & service design, customer-centric service models, change leadership, digital development, and managed services. The goal was to help B Lab maximize the value of its technology investments while improving customer experience, operational efficiency, and employee satisfaction.

B Lab operates across six locations, including B Lab United States & Canada, where demand for certification was particularly high. To transition toward a more customer-centric model, B Lab first needed a deeper understanding of its audience. The needs of businesses in the United States & Canada were different from those in Europe, Africa, Asia or South America, with some companies questioning whether the renewal process and annual fees provided enough value.

Our first piece of work together was to rapidly design and deploy a site to support the second round of standards consultation. Part of this work involved combining AI and human review to roll out the site in six languages quickly while maintaining a high quality of translation.

After that, we moved on to one of the most critical areas for transformation, the B Impact Assessment platform. We redesigned and supported the development of a new version of the platform, focusing on removing friction from the certification process. The new intake system allowed for dynamic, individualized pricing, improving transparency and reducing manual effort for both businesses and B Lab analysts. The result was a more user-friendly and intuitive experience for all stakeholders.

To enhance self-service capabilities, we restructured the intake process to help businesses assess their eligibility early on. This ensured that companies aligned with the standards for B Corp Certification before they committed to the certification journey. For those not yet eligible, we provided clear alternative pathways through B Lab’s other services.

Futurice worked also closely with the B Lab US & Canada Customer Experience team to assess and improve the impact of their services. Through workshops, stakeholder interviews, and in-depth research, we mapped out their offerings, surveyed employees, and conducted customer interviews to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.

Beyond product improvements, our work focused on redesigning B Lab’s product development processes from the ground up. We introduced agile methodologies, upskilled teams, and implemented governance structures that empowered teams to make independent decisions. We brought design teams closer to developers, leadership closer to employees, and teams closer to customer realities, fostering a more connected and empathetic organization.

Instead of relying on large-scale, disruptive platform updates, B Lab adopted a culture of controlled experimentation. This allowed them to continuously refine their tools and processes while maintaining quality and efficiency. We also coached leadership on the important role they play in empowering and enabling agile teams.

The most significant digital transformation centered around the B Impact Assessment platform. By automating company scoping, we reduced the need for manual intervention while maintaining high accuracy. The new track assignment system improved both customer and employee experiences, making certification smoother and more transparent. The redesigned platform now accommodates different user types across multiple countries, supporting B Lab’s global operations more effectively.

The impact of this transformation speaks for itself. Automation now handles 70% of company scoping decisions with a 95% accuracy rate. Track assignments operate at 72% accuracy, with continuous improvements built into the system. During the pilot phase, 85% of users reported a very positive experience.

With B Lab US & Canada, we created a clearer view of customer needs and improved operational effectiveness through better insights. By mapping customer journeys, identifying key friction points, and segmenting user groups, we provided strategic recommendations that shaped future improvements. This included an evaluation framework for assessing program value and a pricing tool to better estimate the cost of future initiatives.

Beyond this, our collaboration with B Lab created a foundation for lasting change. The customer journey we designed remained intact throughout implementation. The automated decision-making framework we introduced led to new policy changes that reduced inefficiencies. The role of a dedicated scoping process owner was created, reinforcing the value of strategic research and automation for future growth.

By transforming its digital capabilities and customer experience, B Lab is now better equipped to scale its impact and support mission-driven businesses worldwide. The shift toward a more agile, efficient, and user-friendly certification process will help more companies become B Corps, accelerating the movement toward a more sustainable and equitable economy.

About B Lab

B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, the global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies — known as B Corps — who are leading the way. To date, the B Corp community includes over 900,000 workers in over 9,000 B Corps across 105 countries and 160 industries, and more than 300,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. B Lab has created and led efforts to pass over 50 corporate statutes globally that enable stakeholder governance.