B Corporations: the certification record, the score, and who owns the company
A B Corp logo on a package is a claim, and B Lab keeps a public record behind it. Every company here has a page on B Lab's register showing when it certified, which version of the standard it met, and for most, a score split into five areas. This guide shows you how to read that page, what the score leaves out, and why ownership needs its own look.
The short answer. Check the register, not the packaging. B Corp certifies a whole company: it starts with the company's own self-assessment, which B Lab says is then audited by a third party. On the older standard most companies here hold, 80 points qualified, against a median of 50.9 for ordinary businesses that take the assessment. Patagonia's page shows 166.0, Ben & Jerry's 96.0. The score says nothing about the owner: Ben & Jerry's board approved Unilever's takeover offer in 2000, while King Arthur Baking says it is 100% employee-owned. There is no single best B Corp. Decide whether you weigh verified practice, the owner, or the price, and look each one up.
Ownership, scored separately from certification:
What the register page shows you
| Field on the page | What it tells you | Example from the register |
|---|---|---|
| Certified since | How long the company has held it | King Arthur Baking and Seventh Generation: May 2007 |
| Standards version | Which rulebook it met | Most here: 1.6. Nespresso Global: 2.2 |
| Overall B Impact Score | Points across five areas, older standard only | Patagonia 166.0 against a median of 50.9 |
| Area scores | Where the points came from | Patagonia: Community 79.2, Environment 40.4, Workers 23.7, Governance 17.8, Customers 4.7 |
| Previous scores | The record over time | Patagonia: 107.3 in 2011, 151.4 in 2020, 166.0 now |
What a B Corp score measures, and what it leaves out
It measures company practice across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers, each shown on older-standard pages. A total can sit on uneven areas: Patagonia's 166.0 includes 79.2 for Community and 4.7 for Customers. If one area matters most to you, read that line.
It does not certify a product. The certification belongs to the legal entity that applied, such as "Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc." or "Danone USA PBC". Check that the entity matches the brand you are buying.
New certifications carry no single score. Nespresso Global's page shows Version 2.2 and certification year 0, and explains that companies meet Year 0 requirements to certify, then add more in Years 3 and 5. Its old-system scores, 84.3 in 2022 and 105.4 in 2025, remain in the page data but do not convert. Our certification figure halves each register score to fit a 0 to 100 scale, so read Nespresso's cell with its note.
Complaints have a narrow door. B Lab's public complaints process investigates intentional misrepresentation during certification and breaches of the community's core values. It generally will not take up refunds, shipping delays, or a company skipping a practice certification does not require. Outcomes run from certification upheld to revoked.
Ownership is a separate question
| Company | Register score | Who owns it, per the record |
|---|---|---|
| Patagonia | 166.0 | A purpose trust holds the voting stock (2%); the nonprofit Holdfast Collective holds the rest (98%) |
| King Arthur Baking | 116.4 | "100% employee-owned", per its own site |
| Klean Kanteen | 110.9 | "a family-owned B Corp", per its register description |
| Tony's Chocolonely | 125.0 | After outside investment, 51% of voting rights stayed with "our very own Henk Jan"; 15% of shares with Team Tony's |
| Divine Chocolate | 114.9 | Companies House lists Papa Paa GmbH with 75% or more since 29 May 2020, the day the Kuapa Kokoo farmers' union stopped being listed with significant control |
| Seventh Generation | 100.6 | Its site serves "products and services of Unilever United States" |
| Ben & Jerry's | 96.0 | Board approved Unilever's offer in April 2000, valued at $326 million |
| Nespresso Global | none (Version 2.2) | "Wholly-owned subsidiary", on its register page |
Certification travels with the entity that applied, so a certified company can be a wholly owned subsidiary, as Nespresso Global's page shows. The owner is who has the final say when the mission and the profit pull apart.
If you care most about...
| Your priority | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Verified practice across the company | The register page | It is B Lab's record, not the brand's summary |
| Who keeps the profit and the final say | Steward-, employee- or family-owned companies | A score says nothing about the owner |
| One issue, such as climate or workers | The area score, not the total | Totals hide uneven areas |
| Spending less | Keeping what you have, or buying it used | See secondhand and resale |
A two-minute check before you buy
- Find the company on B Lab's register and match the certified entity to the brand on the label.
- Note the standards version, the certified-since date, and the area you care about.
- Look up the owner separately: a filing, a company registry, or the company's own page.
What we are not telling you
We do not audit these companies; we report what B Lab's register and the ownership records say. B Corp certifies a company, not a product's ingredients or materials. We hold prices for only four of the thirteen companies, so cost is mostly not scored yet. Scores change at each recertification.
How we made this
Nobody paid to appear here. We opened every register page and ownership source below on 29 September 2026. Corrections are welcome and get applied with their source.
Sources
- B Lab register: Patagonia, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: Ben & Jerry's, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: Tony's Chocolonely, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: Seventh Generation, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: King Arthur Baking Company, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: Divine Chocolate, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: Klean Kanteen, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: Danone USA, checked 2026-09
- B Lab register: Nespresso Global, checked 2026-09
- B Lab: B Corp Certification, checked 2026-09
- B Lab: public complaints process, checked 2026-09
- Patagonia: Earth is now our only shareholder, checked 2026-09
- King Arthur Baking: who we are, checked 2026-09
- Tony's Chocolonely: Verlinvest and JamJar invest in our mission, checked 2026-09
- Companies House: Divine Chocolate persons with significant control, checked 2026-09
- Seventh Generation: about us, checked 2026-09
- SEC filing: Unilever tender offer for Ben & Jerry's, April 2000, checked 2026-09