Once brands have taken the assessment and hit the minimum 80 points, a B Lab team member will connect with a brand rep to go through the questions and ask for documentation that proves what a brand has claimed about itself. The highest point-earning questions are given a special audit to make sure brands can back up their answers.
"Taking that kind of baseline assessment was like, 'Okay, now we can really be aware of where we can be doing better in our business in order to get certification,'" says Nisolo Impact Associate Matt Stockamp on the phone.
One of the benefits that might be less obvious to the average consumer, but that Coupounas thinks is deeply important, is the way that being a B Corp can help founders embed their mission into a company so that it lasts even if ownership changes hands. After B Lab's founders exited And1, they were disappointed to see so many of the values they'd prized stripped from company culture.