In the early 2010s, the B Corp movement emerged as a powerful way to separate true purpose-led businesses from those simply claiming it. It provided a respected framework, a visible badge, and a growing global community united by the belief that business could be a force for good.

A decade later, however, the sustainability landscape looks very different. Reporting regulations are tightening, stakeholders are demanding live data, and companies are expected to show measurable progress, not just past achievements. Sustainability is no longer a set of commitments – it’s become a continuous management process.

This is where IMPACT CERTIFIED by FuturePlus has reshaped the conversation. Instead of waiting years between assessments, it enables organisations to measure, manage and communicate progress continuously, supported by human expertise and transparent data. 

The distinction between B Corp and IMPACT CERTIFIED marks a deeper shift in how organisations approach sustainability, moving from static certification towards continuous, transparent improvement.

Comparison: B Corp vs IMPACT CERTIFIED

From certification to continuous progress

Traditional certification frameworks were designed for a different era – one that valued third-party validation over operational agility. They offered a clear “you’ve made it” moment, often tied to a long, resource-heavy process that ended with a public badge of approval.

That badge still matters. It provides recognition, credibility, and a signal to customers and investors. But for many organisations, the challenge is what happens between those certification cycles. How do you maintain momentum when the framework doesn’t measure change in real time?

FuturePlus was developed to answer that question. The platform combines live data, quantified goals, and expert advisory support so that sustainability becomes part of the organisation’s daily operations rather than an occasional reporting event. It measures both current performance and future ambition, creating a feedback loop that turns sustainability from a one-time milestone into an evolving roadmap.

This is exactly how Soho House uses FuturePlus to drive long-term sustainability progress.

“FuturePlus has been integral to our ESG work at Soho House. The platform allowed us to set goals and define a roadmap to get to them, which we update year-on-year to ensure we’re making progress across sustainability and social impact. It helps us keep our stakeholders updated, from members to investors, with a clear format that keeps us focused on the future.” – Min Shrimpton, Director of House Foundations Communications, Soho House

This shift mirrors how other areas of business already operate. No company would measure its financial performance once every three years or only check customer satisfaction at the end of a contract. Sustainability needs the same cadence: responsive, data-informed, and continually improving.

BCorp: the foundation of responsible business

The BCorp movement, created by B Lab, has played an extraordinary role in elevating sustainability to the boardroom.

What is B Corp certification?

• Certified B Corps are for-profit companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
  
• The certification applies to the whole company across all product lines, not just a single initiative
• The process includes the B Impact Assessment (BIA) – an online questionnaire covering governance, workers, customers, community and the environment, which companies complete to qualify.

How it works

• Companies must score at least 80 out of 200 points to be eligible for certification
• They then submit supporting documentation, undergo review, and must integrate stakeholder governance commitments into their governing documents.
• Certified companies pay an annual fee (based on revenue/region) and must recertify every three years.

Why it matters

• The B Corp badge carries weight: it signals credible external validation, access to a community of like-minded businesses, and a framework for responsible business practices.
• B Lab’s mission is broader than certification: it aims to change the economic system to benefit all people, communities and the planet.

Recent evolution & limitations

• In April 2025, B Lab published a major revision of its standards requiring companies to meet minimum performance thresholds across seven core impact topics and to build a roadmap for ongoing improvement rather than rely solely on past scores.
• The certification process remains resource-intensive and follows a multi-year cadence, which can limit agility.
• Because the scoring system allows companies to pass by excelling in some areas while lagging in others, critics argue it may enable “badge over substance” behaviour.

In short, B Corp remains one of the most respected benchmarks globally. But organisations increasingly ask: what happens after certification? How do you track and communicate real-time progress rather than just a milestone?

IMPACT CERTIFIED: ambition and action in one place

IMPACT CERTIFIED by FuturePlus approaches sustainability from a different starting point. It focuses not just on what a business has achieved, but also on what it intends to achieve next.

What is IMPACT CERTIFIED?

IMPACT CERTIFIED is a recognition awarded through the FuturePlus sustainability platform, designed to help organisations measure, manage, and improve their impact continuously.

It evaluates both a company’s current performance and its future ambitions, transforming sustainability from retrospective reporting into forward planning.

Through the platform, organisations assess themselves across five interconnected themes:

• Climate
• Environment
• Social impact
• Economic impact
• Diversity & inclusion

Each theme includes measurable indicators that capture outcomes and intent, creating a holistic picture of where a business is and where it’s heading.

How it works

• Businesses complete an online assessment covering the five FuturePlus themes.
  
• Each area receives two scores: one for current performance and another for ambition, showing how far a business aims to progress.
• Members receive a detailed report highlighting strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• A dedicated sustainability advisor works alongside each organisation to interpret results, set targets, and embed actions into operations.
• Data can be updated at any time, creating a live, evolving profile of progress that leaders can use for reporting and communication.

Recognition is earned through the IMPACT CERTIFIED badge, which signals continuous, transparent improvement verified by the FuturePlus team.

For Cornerstone Healthcare, partnering with FuturePlus brought valuable clarity and direction:
“Working with FuturePlus gave us that clarity, and it was a bit of a wakeup call…It showed us where we were already strong and where we needed to improve, and from there it was really about setting realistic goals, small goals to start with.” – Paul Hayes, CEO, Cornerstone Healthcare

That focus on continuous progress culminated in Cornerstone’s 2024/25 Impact Report, where the organisation celebrated achieving IMPACT CERTIFIED status. The milestone, highlighted in their press release, reflects how sustainability has become a core part of their operational culture, with measurable goals, transparent reporting, and tangible progress across social and environmental performance.

Recognition through the IMPACT CERTIFIED badge represents verified, ongoing improvement, a public commitment to progress in motion.

Why it matters

• It moves sustainability beyond static certification into active management.
• The dual scoring system gives visibility over ambition, ensuring future goals are part of the conversation.
• Regular updates and advisor support keep the momentum between major reporting cycles.
• Live dashboards provide evidence that’s ready for scrutiny by investors, procurement teams, or regulators at any time.
• By combining software and human expertise, IMPACT CERTIFIED ensures sustainability becomes a daily practice, not a periodic exercise.

Recent evolution & advantages

• Since its launch, FuturePlus has verified thousands of ambitions across diverse sectors, demonstrating the value of measurable, ongoing improvement.
• Organisations like Arena Group, Grind Coffee, and Soho House have used the platform to align sustainability goals with global standards and embed them into decision-making.
• The model adapts easily to new regulations and reporting frameworks such as CSRD and TNFD, helping businesses stay ahead of compliance changes.
• It provides the infrastructure to manage impact dynamically,  turning sustainability into a living system of progress rather than a single badge of achievement.

Why continuous measurement matters

Sustainability is becoming inseparable from core business strategy. Investors, regulators, and customers all expect reliable, up-to-date information. Yet, under traditional certification, companies may wait years before a formal reassessment.

That gap creates risk. A three-year cycle can mean misalignment between evolving strategy, stakeholder expectations, and regulatory change. It can also make it harder to prove progress to customers or investors who expect real-time accountability.

IMPACT CERTIFIED closes that gap. Organisations can update their data whenever new initiatives are introduced or targets achieved. Dashboards and progress reports refresh in real time, enabling leaders to make evidence-based decisions and communicate impact proactively.

For Atlas Hotels, FuturePlus provided that missing structure and focus:

“Our biggest hurdle was deciding where to focus and how to bring together all our sustainability initiatives into a single programme with clear targets.” 
“The FuturePlus platform, alongside their expert guidance, has played a significant role in bringing clarity, structure and a useful external perspective. The innovation at FuturePlus means their tools develop with new legislation and emerging trends so that we’re never caught off guard.” – Claire Waddington, Head of Projects, Atlas Hotels

Continuous measurement also builds trust. True transparency shows the direction of change as clearly as the results themselves.

Complementary, not competitive

B Corp and IMPACT CERTIFIED each play a distinct role in advancing sustainable business. Both aim to strengthen accountability, transparency, and measurable impact, though they approach it in different ways.

B Corp certification offers an established global benchmark for responsible business. It validates that a company meets rigorous social and environmental standards and signals commitment to a global movement of purpose-driven organisations.

IMPACT CERTIFIED, on the other hand, provides the tools and data to manage those commitments continuously. It focuses on live measurement, goal-setting, and transparent reporting between formal certification cycles.

Viewed together, the two frameworks illustrate how sustainability practice is evolving, from static certification toward continuous management. Each offers value in different contexts: B Corp establishes a standard of performance, while IMPACT CERTIFIED enables ongoing measurement and improvement aligned with that standard.

The strategic questions that shape the decision

Before deciding how to approach sustainability measurement, every organisation should ask:

1. What outcome are we aiming for?
   Is the goal recognition, transformation, or both? Understanding whether certification or continuous improvement drives the most value helps prioritise investment.
   
2. How frequently do stakeholders need updates?
   If customers, investors, or regulators require quarterly data, continuous measurement may be essential.
3. Do we have internal capability?
   Teams with limited ESG resources often benefit from the advisory support built into IMPACT CERTIFIED.
4. How do we define ambition?
   Measuring ambition formally makes it easier to align long-term sustainability goals with financial planning and strategic growth.
5. How adaptable do we need to be?
   With regulations and expectations changing quickly, flexibility can make the difference between compliance and leadership.

Together, these questions shape both the choice of framework and the design of a sustainability strategy that can evolve over time.

Continuous improvement as a competitive advantage

Sustainability is increasingly tied to competitive positioning.

• Procurement teams are prioritising suppliers who can demonstrate credible impact data.
• Consumers are rewarding transparent brands.
• Financial institutions are embedding ESG metrics into lending criteria.

Continuous measurement provides a decisive advantage in this landscape. It allows companies to stay ahead of reporting requirements, respond faster to stakeholder demands, and make informed strategic adjustments.

As FuturePlus members like Soho House, Cornerstone Healthcare, and Atlas Hotels have shown, the results have shown better sustainability performance and stronger commercial outcomes.

The future of measuring impact

The direction of travel is unmistakable. Certification models like BCorp are evolving to include more dynamic expectations, while technology-driven systems like IMPACT CERTIFIED are redefining how those expectations are met.

The future belongs to businesses that can demonstrate progress in motion, organisations with data-led stories of improvement that unfold in real time.

This future is transparent, collaborative, and accountable. It values ambition as much as achievement and recognises that sustainability is not a finish line but an ongoing practice.

By pairing technology with expert human support, IMPACT CERTIFIED is helping to build that future today, offering a model that turns sustainability from a reporting obligation into a competitive strength.

Progress you can prove

BCorp changed how the world recognises responsible business. IMPACT CERTIFIED is changing how the world measures it.

Where credibility depends on evidence and adaptability, continuous improvement has become the new standard. Through FuturePlus, organisations are proving that sustainability can be measurable, transparent, and achievable, not as a static badge, but as a living reflection of progress.

Thousands of ambitions set. Thousands more achieved. Each step verified and communicated with clarity.

This represents a turning point for sustainability, where transformation becomes the true measure of impact.

Ready to strengthen your sustainability strategy?

Explore how FuturePlus can help you measure, manage and communicate your impact with confidence.

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