If you’re working towards B Corp certification (or re-certifying soon), you’ve probably noticed that Climate Action is now a mandatory part of the certification process. 

B Lab’s updated B Corp standards (first launched in April 2025, with a clarified v2.1 update in August 2025) replace the old points-based model: there’s now minimum requirements across seven Impact Topics, including Climate Action. The requirements vary depending on organisation size, but the foundations are the same. 

This article is here to take you through the requirements step-by-step. We will lay out the practical building blocks you need, so that you can respond confidently, build a plan you can stand behind, and avoid last-minute scrambling.

The new B Corp standards: what’s changed 

Under the new standards: 

• Minimum requirements, not points – you can’t balance a low score in one area, with a high score in another, so it’s now more important than ever that one topic doesn’t drag you down. 

• Requirements phase in over time – at Year 0, Year 3, and Year 5, with expectations increasing each year. 

• The requirements depend on company size – small & medium businesses follow one path, whilst large businesses have additional requirements from Year 0.  

How B Corp’s Climate Action topic is structured 

B Lab organises the Climate Action topic in two ways: 

1. When requirements apply: Year 0 – Year 3 – Year 5 

1. What the requirement is, using codes: 

• CA1.x = Measure & disclose (your emissions inventory & public reporting) 

• CA2.x = Plan & targets (decarbonisation plan and Net Zero commitment) 

• CA3.x = Implement & report (deliver your plan, just transition, ongoing disclosures)  

You don’t need to know the codes inside-out, but it helps to understand why B Corp now expects more than good intentions. 

How to get Started with B Corp’s new Climate Action Topic: Step-by-Step Guide 

Step 1: Work out which ‘size path’ you’re on 

B Lab assigns company size by workers (FTEs) or revenue, whichever is higher.  

Most digital agencies will fall into small or medium, but it’s worth checking early, because the ‘large’ path has a meaningful jump in requirements. 

You can read B Lab’s guidance on company size categories here.  

Quick takeaway: 

• Small & Medium: publish a Climate Action Plan (more details in Step 2) at Year 0, then publicly show progress by Year 3.  

• Large: from Year 0 (or the fiscal year before it), measure and publicly disclose a complete Scope 1-3 inventory every year and obtain independent third-party verification annually. Then add science-based targets and a Climate Transition Plan by Year 3.  

 Step 2: Small and Mid-Sized businesses 

For small & medium businesses, the standards are clear on the Year 0 deliverable: publish a Climate Action Plan that ‘commits to supporting the global ambition to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees’. 

In practice, a strong plan is usually made up of the same few components (and this is where agencies can keep it simple and credible): 

• SMART targets (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound)  

• Resourcing (who owns each target, and where the budget will come from)  

• Governance (how leadership reviews progress, and how often)  

• Stakeholder engagement (how you will engage employees, suppliers, business partners, etc.)  

• Senior sign-off and a public home (a consistent place on your website)  

You’ll need to draft a plan you’re happy to share publicly. 

Here’s the awkward part of the new standards for small & medium organisations: 

B Corp doesn’t mandate a full Scope 1-3 footprint at Year 0, but it does expect you to demonstrate and publish progress by Year 3. Some argue it can be tricky to decide which reduction actions are relevant, and make measurable progress, without first building a baseline footprint and identifying hotspots. 

That’s why some B Corps opt to measure emissions, even when it isn’t strictly required. A full Scope 1-3 footprint is widely considered the most credible way to understand emissions, prioritise reductions, and report progress in a way that stands up to scrutiny (from B Lab and those outside of the world of B Corp, like your clients).  

For agencies, getting to a sensible baseline usually means pulling together data like: 

• office energy use (or your share of a co-working space) 

• homeworking and commuting habits 

• business travel 

• cloud services / hosting / key software 

• significant suppliers and freelancers  

The goal isn’t perfect data, but a structured, GHG-Protocol-aligned view of your emissions, so you can pick sensible reduction actions that prioritise high impact areas, demonstrate progress in terms of CO2e, and talk about your plan and progress with confidence.  

 Step 3: Large businesses and above 

For Large B Corps, Climate Action becomes a structured, multi-year compliance journey. 

Before Year 0 (i.e. right from the start), large companies must already have the basics of credible carbon reporting in place: 

• They measure Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions every year 

• They publicly disclose those results 

• Their inventory is verified annually by an independent, accredited third party 

By year 3, the focus shifts from just reporting to formal decarbonisation commitments and planning: 

• The company adopts science-based emissions reduction targets (validated or independently verified) 

• It develops a Climate Transition Plan – a clear roadmap for how it will actually reduce emissions over time 

• It must also show it has considered the social side of transition (consulting workers/stakeholders on a just transition) 

• Climate targets should start being linked to executive remuneration, where relevant 

So Year 3 is about moving from ‘we measure’ to ‘we have a governed, accountable plan to cut emissions.’ 

By Year 5, he emphasis is on delivery and accountability: 

• The company must show progress against its Climate Transition Plan 

• It evaluates whether the plan is working 

• It publishes updates on progress 

• It continues taking action in support of a just transition 

So in simple terms: 

Year 0 – Measure and verify
Year 3 – Set science-based targets and create a transition plan
Year 5 – Prove the plan is working and report progress publicly

Step 4: Publish once, and reuse everywhere 

B Corp explicitly recognises public disclosure as a website page or report accessible without logins/paywalls. A lot of the stress around B Corp, and climate reporting more broadly, comes from the feeling that you need to create carbon reports as a one-off for separate use cases. From B Corp, to public sector reporting, to client requests, it can feel like you’re being asked for a lot of different things when it comes to carbon.  

In reality, the underlying data is the same, with slight changes in reporting format. Keeping your data and reports in one shareable place means it’s easily accessible, whether that’s for B Corp submissions, bid teams, or new business questionnaires. 

A great example is a simple public Climate Action page. Set it up to be accessed through a consistent URL on your website that you keep up to date on an annual basis.

A quick note on ‘quiet credibility’ (and avoiding greenwashing) 

Handled well, carbon reporting can be more than a B Corp checkbox. It can help agencies stay eligible for opportunities, and build trust with values-led clients. 

The key is to do it without overclaiming. A few principles worth following: 

• Be honest about where you are (it’s fine to be at early stages – just be clear on next steps, and don’t overstate).  

• Be specific (measures, timeframes, owners – not general intent).  

• Be transparent (data beats narrative).  

What to do next 

If your agency is aiming for B Corp under the new standards, your next steps are: 

1. Confirm size category (so you know which requirements apply) 

1. Build a plan and decide what metrics you’ll measure to track progress versus baseline year 

1. Publish in one place, and keep it up to date 

Seedling helps growing teams translate the new B Corp requirements into a clear, credible, Climate Action Plan (and the measurement behind it), without creating unnecessary workload for busy teams. If you want to see what a completed Climate Action Plan looks like, our in-depth B Corp guidance includes a complete example – take a look here.

“Seedling have been the ultimate professionals and have created a system that is easy to use, so now I have the knowledge to make informed decisions in line with our B Corp status.” – Sian Eddy, Head of Ops @ Modern B2B Agency

About Seedling | Carbon Footprinting

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