As Pioneers Post was preparing this story, news reached us this week of the death of B Lab co-founder Andrew Kassoy (pictured, left).
Thanking Coen Gilbert and fellow co-founder Bart Houlahan, Fran Seegull, president of the US Impact Investing Alliance, commented on LinkedIn: “What you built and are building is a fundamental paradigm shift in the nature of value. We in the impact investing field, in the B Corp movement and more broadly are indebted to your collective leadership, vision and courage. Andrew was my dear friend and close colleague and I am mourning his loss deeply alongside you, his family and our community.”
B Corp awareness peaks in the UK, as death announced of co-founder Andrew Kassoy
B Lab UK reveals new data from their 2024 Brand Awareness Survey that reports 51% of the UK public is “aware” of B Corp Certifications.
- Note from the editor: As Pioneers Post was preparing this story, news reached us of the death of B Lab co-founder Andrew Kassoy. Find out more about his legacy and reactions from the impact community.
Just over half of the UK public is “aware” of B Corp Certifications – the highest awareness level in the world – according to new data from B Corporation certification provider, B Lab UK.
Released on 25 June, the survey conducted for B Lab UK by B Corp research agency Fors Marsh, reports that out of a representative sample of 1,791 UK adults, 51% had heard of B Corp or seen the B Corp logo before.
The major increase in awareness reflects… a fundamental shift in how consumers interact with and evaluate businesses
B Corps are companies that have been certified by B Lab as meeting high standards of social and environmental performance while also maintaining transparency and accountability.
Some examples of the over 2,500 UK B Corps include GiffGaff, The Guardian, Innocent Drinks and ELEMIS.
- Read more: What is a B Corp?
According to data from B Lab UK, 51% was the highest public “awareness” of B Corps in any country surveyed. Separate studies published this year were conducted in Europe, US and Canada, and Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
From highest awareness to lowest awareness for countries involved in the B Corp Brand Awareness Study in 2024:
- UK: 51%
- US and Canada: 37%
- Portugal: 30%
- Spain: 29%
- Ireland: 25.6%
- Italy: 25%
- Switzerland: 24.5%
- Belgium: 23%
- Aotearoa New Zealand: 22%
- Denmark: 21.9%
- Netherlands: 21.8%
- Australia: 21%
- France: 19.2%
- Germany: 17.8%
The UK’s B Corp awareness figure increased from 38% in 2023 to 51% in 2024, with England at 52%, Scotland at 45%, Wales at 38% and Northern Ireland at 35%. Every region of the UK has B Corps in operation.
And within London, the survey found that 70% of the public knew of B Corps. London is the city with the most B Corps in the world, with over 1,000 companies certified.
Rosalind Holley, director of marketing, communications and campaigns at B Lab UK, said: “The major increase in awareness reflects not just our community’s efforts but a fundamental shift in how consumers interact with and evaluate businesses.”
The web-based survey, which claims to be representative of the UK’s population, was “drawn from a pool of non-random panel members” across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and weighted to represent age, gender, country and education.
63% of the UK public responded that they use certifications to make decisions on businesses and 66% agreed that the government should “encourage all companies to behave like B Corps.”
We’re looking forward… to continue building understanding of what it means to use business as a force for good
But becoming B Corp certified is becoming increasingly difficult, with new B Lab standards requiring companies to meet seven “impact topics.” They are: purpose and stakeholder governance; climate action; human rights; fair work; environmental stewardship and circularity; justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; government affairs and collective action.
Holley said: “As we launch new, more rigorous standards for B Corp Certification, we’re looking forward to working with our community to continue building understanding of what it means to use business as a force for good in society today.”
- Read More: B Corp launches new standards as ‘complete reimagining’ of certification of businesses for good
The survey also reports that younger generations have stronger awareness of B Corps. 63% of the participants aged 25-34 and 61% of the participants aged 35-44 recognised B Corps.
While the study reports high “awareness” levels, it identified “knowledge gaps” in terms of understanding what a B Corp truly is. When asked to assess how knowledgeable they were about B Corps on a scale from 1 to 7, 58% of respondents self-reported themselves between 3-5.
Most respondents were also not aware that B Corps are assessed on both environmental and social criteria.
But, the report from B Lab UK said, that despite misconceptions and “knowledge gaps”, the public trusts B Corp Certification, with 80% of the 51% aware of B Corps reporting “some”, “a lot”, or “a very high level” of trust in the certification.
Holley said: “It’s great to see that, in an era where consumers have reason to scrutinise corporate claims, the B Corp movement has achieved genuine public recognition and trust.”
| B Corp community mourns death of Andrew Kassoy
In our 2022 Pioneer Interview with him, Kassoy described the B Corp movement as “my life’s work”. Posting a video conversation with Kassoy that he described as “a ‘last lecture’ message for all those who see themselves as business leaders”, Jay Coen Gilbert, one of his co-founders, wrote on LinkedIn: “Friends – after a courageous two-year battle with cancer, on Sunday morning, June 22nd, our fellow co-founder, our partner, and our best friend of 37 years, Andrew Kassoy died peacefully in his bed, listening to the birds mixing with his favorite music, holding hands with his beloved wife, Margot. In the coming weeks and months, there will be time for all of us to memorialize Andrew, to honor his impact on the world, and to reflect on his immense legacy. But today we prefer to let Andrew speak for himself.”
Shamini Dhana, founder of Dhana Inc., a 10-year-old Certified B Corp, commented: “Andrew Kassoy planted a vision of business rooted in care, equity, and interdependence—and that vision continues to grow in all of us.” Photo: B Lab co-founders (l-r) Bart Houlahan, Jay Coen Gilbert and Andrew Kassoy |
Top image: A celebration event for the UK reaching 1,000 certified B Corps held at the Natural History Museum in London
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