The B Corp community is booming: more than 2,400 UK companies, employing over 153,000 people, now hold the certification. But where are the engineering, tech and manufacturing firms among this lot? Industries that build, design and manufacture are underrepresented. Is it because B Corp certification is harder for these businesses to achieve, and are they missing an opportunity to stand out in an increasingly values-driven job market?

At Gerrell & Hard, we’ve been watching the B Corp movement with admiration. It’s an aspirational benchmark but, lately, not without controversy. And is it the right fit for engineering and tech firms?

What is a B Corp?

B Corporations (B Corps) are businesses that have been certified by the non-profit organisation B Lab for meeting exceptionally high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. They are committed to delivering positive long term social impact for their community, customers and supply chain, and have strong environmental credentials.

The certification is intended to recognise responsible businesses, distinguishing them from those who use CSR or greenwashing merely as a marketing tool. To qualify, companies must pass the demanding B Impact assessment, demonstrating rigorous standards in those key areas.

Why aren’t there many engineering B Corps?

Globally, there are B Corps in 162 industries. In the UK there’s a notable cluster in London, though they are, of course, everywhere. The majority of B Corps are in IT, professional services and recruitment.

Certain types of businesses seem to adopt B Corp status more quickly than others. Searching through the B Corp directory, it’s clear that few engineering firms are present. The Energy sector has five B Corps, the design sector has four, the construction sector three and patent-related firms have two. Recruitment is a dominant category. Do service organisations have more to gain by demonstrating their credentials, or is it just easier for them to enter (and pass) the B Labs assessment, given the relative simplicity of their supply chain compared to businesses that build and make things?

There are some major barriers to certification. It’s not a quick win—it can take up to a year for a large company to achieve—and businesses must be committed and fully engaged in the process. For startups, manufacturers, and engineering firms that have high overheads and lean structures, cost and time investment could be barriers to entry.

B Corp controversy

Would the engineering and manufacturing community benefit from B Corp certification, and is it still purely a force for good? We think so, with some caveats. Critics of B Corp say the value of the accreditation has been diluted in recent years. The assessment relies on self-reporting, with high scores in some areas offsetting poor records in others. These flaws have allowed firms with questionable records to gain the certification.

Nestlé-owned Nespresso became a B Corp in 2022, sparking widespread backlash from the B Corp community. Within two months, 30 certified B Corps signed an open letter to B Lab, condemning the decision due to Nespresso’s history of child labour and wage theft on its coffee farms. Fair Trade soap brand Dr Bronner’s—a signatory of the letter and longstanding B Corp—has now announced its intention to drop the certification, due to an erosion of the standard. B Labs is working to address these challenges; a raft of significant changes to its assessment is currently at consultation stage. It was also quick to launch its own investigation of former B Corp BrewDog in response to reports of a toxic culture at the embattled brewer. It revoked the company’s membership in 2022, but Nespresso is still a certified B Corp.

Potential for employers

But despite some troubling controversy, we think B Corp is admirable, and there’s still both a moral and a business case for the standard. An accreditation elevates traditional CSR by requiring measurable impact on the environment, a broad community of stakeholders and purpose. And there’s huge potential here for tech, engineering and manufacturing employers to show they offer a compelling career choice by combining innovation with ethical business practices.

Employees in our sectors are attracted to the opportunity to work on responsible tech and manufacturing, knowing their contributions drive real-world impact. They value the opportunity to be part of mission-driven teams, solving complex challenges while aligning their skills with environmental responsibility and corporate integrity. With a growing focus on decarbonisation, circular economy models and ethical supply chains, B Corps in our sectors will appeal to people seeking meaningful careers that balance innovation with sustainable success.

B Labs must work ceaselessly to ensure its accreditation remains authentic. But the number of B Corps is rising steadily, and the certification still looks like it brings competitive advantage. We’ll be watching this closely.

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What caught our attention this month

The UK government and Aviva Investors have committed a joint £65 million investment in Connected Kerb to expand the country’s on-street EV charging network to 40,000 sockets—a major milestone towards the government's goal of installing 300,000 public chargers by 2030.

Amazon has chosen Darlington in North England as the first UK site for its Prime Air drone delivery service, marking a major expansion beyond its existing operations in College Station and Phoenix, USA.

Lonestar Data Holdings plans to launch the first solar-powered data centre to the Moon in February 2025 aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.