Purpose-led businesses thriving and outperforming UK peers, new data shows
Widespread impact of the UK B Corp movement made public for the first time
LONDON, 10th NOVEMBER: A landmark report from B Lab UK — the non-profit behind the UK B Corp movement — details the outperformance of UK B Corps across multiple metrics, including growth, investment and resilience, alongside creating significant positive impact on the environment and for employees.
The report, released to mark the 10-year anniversary of B Corps in the UK, shows B Corps have the potential to drive sustained economic growth whilst delivering broader positive impact, demonstrating that profit and purpose go hand in hand.
Between 2024 and 2025, UK SME B Corps saw 20 percent turnover growth (almost 7 times higher than the 3 percent for all UK SMEs) and 11 percent employee headcount growth (compared to just 2 percent for all UK SMEs).
This follows 23 percent turnover growth for UK SME B Corps, compared to 17 percent for all UK SMEs, between 2023 and 2024, showing that B Corps have outperformed and sustained stronger growth even as the wider market has slowed.
UK B Corps may be more attractive to investors who seek well-governed, high-impact businesses. Over the past decade, B Corps received a median of £1.5 million in growth funding from external investors, 18 percent more than other UK businesses (£1.3 million).
The report also underscores the greater resilience of B Corps, revealing that they are significantly more likely to have weathered the Covid-19 pandemic; 93 percent of B Corps have remained active since 2020, compared to just 84 percent of UK businesses.
B Corps’ positive environmental impact is also clear. Since 2022, UK B Corps have saved over 20 billion litres of water, equivalent to over a week of the UK’s non-household water use. They are also nearly twice as likely to use 100 percent renewable energy compared to ordinary businesses.
Employee treatment remains integral to the B Corp movement. Compared to ordinary businesses, UK B Corps are 26 percent more likely to pay family living wages to all workers and 31 percent more likely to limit wage gaps between the highest and lowest earners to less than 5:1. Moreover, 14 percent of UK B Corps are now employee-owned, compared to less than 1 percent of all UK businesses.
The thriving UK B Corp community of over 2,600, the largest in the world, now employs over 200,000 people and has a combined annual turnover of £38 billion across 120 different industries.
Chris Turner, CEO of B Lab UK, said: “Over the past decade, our community has shown that a more human approach to business is both possible and profitable. With real momentum, B Corps are demonstrating the leadership we need at a time of uncertainty by creating lasting impact and demonstrating what’s possible when companies lead with purpose.”
Simon Rogerson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Group, added: “In the ten years since B Corp began, my own opinion on the accreditation has changed. At the beginning of our own journey, we saw it as being a bit like a rubber stamp of approval. But it has been far more impactful than that. It has changed the way we run our businesses and how we measure success.
The interests of our employees, customers, communities, and the environment are now considered alongside our shareholders every time we make a decision. In a world where buzzwords surrounding sustainability and ESG have reached the point of saturation, B Corp stands out.”
The impact detailed in B Lab UK’s report comes as the influence of the UK B Corp movement is increasingly felt across the UK, extending beyond 2,600 certified companies.
Between 2022 and 2024, public awareness of the B Corp brand increased from 34 percent to 51 percent, while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) now uses B Corp Certification standards to illustrate sustainability disclosure requirements.
Also included in the report are perspectives from investor and entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, alongside other leading figures, including Professor Colin Mayer of Oxford University, high streets tsar Mary Portas, Channel 4 CCO Rak Patel, and Katherine Chapman, Executive Director of the Living Wage Foundation. This is in addition to case studies from pioneering B Corps such as Octopus Group, COAT Paints, Faith In Nature, Olio, Fluid IT and PANGAIA.
The report's publication comes as B Lab's new standards, developed over four years and incorporating over 26,000 pieces of feedback, are set to take effect in 2026.
Under the new standards, all certification assessments and decisions will be conducted entirely through third-party verification, increasing credibility and ensuring future-proof compliance with changing EU regulations.
The changes will also see B Corps move from cumulative point scoring to new minimum requirements that all B Corps must meet across seven impact topics, increasing transparency for the public.
ENDS
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Notes to Editor
The full 'Take 10' report will be released at 09.00 GMT on Monday, 10th November. Please email media@bcorporation.uk to receive the access link once available.
Methodology
The report draws on B Impact Assessment data from UK B Corps and ordinary businesses—UK companies that have engaged with the BIA but demonstrate a lesser focus on impact management—covering the period 2019 to 2025, as well as national statistics from 2023 to 2025. All comparisons between B Corps and ordinary businesses are statistically significant. Business resilience analyses, which controlled for factors including company age and sector, identified a significant difference between B Corps and other UK businesses. Full methodological details are available in the report appendix.
About B Lab
B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies, known as B Corps, who are leading the way. To date, our community includes over 10,000 B Corps across 102 countries and 160 industries. To learn more and join the movement, visit www.bcorporation.net.
About B Lab UK
As part of this global non-profit B Network, B Lab UK’s purpose is to redefine success in business through building a community of engaged businesses, raising awareness of the B Corp movement and influencing change in the UK economy. Find out more.
About B Corp Certification
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified to meet B Lab’s standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Based on stakeholder input, research, and established best practices, B Lab’s standards are the basis for B Corp Certification requirements and B Lab’s impact management tools, and they inform the network’s programs and collective action initiatives.