What is a BCorp Pending?

The BCorp Certification is given by the worldwide B Lab. Global B Labs are transforming the global economy to benefit all people and the planet. Across Europe and the globe, B Lab’s international network develops and sets standards, policies, tools, and programs for businesses to shift the behavior, culture, and structure of capitalism. Certified B Corps lead the way in addressing society’s most critical challenges.

Okay, but what's the Pending?

Many start-ups want a way to signal to stakeholders that they are on track to certifying as a B Corp. Pending B Corp status helps those early-stage companies to make that commitment.

The full B Corp Certification is based on the verified practices and policies of a company over the past year. Only firms that have been in operation for at least one year can therefore go for the full-on B Corporation Certification.

The B Corp Pending status is thus designed to give start-ups and smaller companies time to prepare for the rigorous process of full B Corp Certification. That's why PLAN3T is currently BCorp Pending certified and does not have the full BCorp certification yet. This journey still lies ahead of us.

How many BCorps exist?

4.475 companies globally

745 in Europe

153 industries represented

In Germany, we count 40 BCorps up to this date representing 12 different industries. PLAN3T will be part of this community as soon as it certifies as full BCorp. Some great examples among our Partner Brands are Organic Basics, MUD Jeans and Seepje.

What's the path to becoming a BCorp?

For the certification as a BCorp Pending, PLAN3T went through the full online questionnaire about its sustainability practice imagining the firm a year from now. Where do we consider our start-up to be in one year and more importantly, how will we consider, live and operationalize sustainability at that point? This was not always easy, especially given our early-stage and all the changes and pivots that lie on our way. On the other hand, the assessment was a wonderful way to reflect, plan, and set targets for our journey to being a strong impact start-up.

In a year's time from now, PLAN3T will finally be old enough and thus eligible for the full certification. For that, we need to go through the so-called BImpact Assessment consisting of 245 questions in five different areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers.

Based on our answers, the B Impact Assessments calculates a preliminary score. To become a BCorp, companies must reach at least 80 points. As a comparison: 50.9 is the median score for ordinary businesses.

What does this mean for PLAN3T, our users, and partners?

Certifications help us find our way in the jungle of companies that claim to be sustainable. For sure, there are many great intentions, impactful business models, and revolutionary ideas to make this world a better place and rethink our system. However, it is not always easy to tell them apart from the usual 'we-are-super-green' non-sense. High-quality certifications, such as the BCorp certification help us all to tackle this challenge.

This is also a challenge we, as a platform for sustainable brands, are facing, every day. Big parts of our sustainability depend on the sustainability of the partners we collaborate with through the PLAN3T App. In the near future, you will find more information on the sustainability of our partners in the app, ultimately making it easier for you to understand why certain brands are in our network.

For our partner brands, this means, that each and every single one of them is required to go through our own screening process and deliver on the standards we set.

Officially becoming BCorp certified, therefore, means more trust in our approach to sustainable consumption, more clarity about our procedures on screening our partners, and more certainty that what PLAN3T stands for, is actually and truly sustainable.

This is what we want to deliver to you by certifying PLAN3T as a BCorp.

What's next?

Step-by-step, you will see more transparency flowing into our app, especially into our rewards section. Our full BCorp certification is due in December 2022. Until then, we will keep you updated about our baby steps as well as pivots and leaps towards creating more and more impact with what we do.

Stay tuned.