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为什么 SaaS 企业需要 B Corp 认证:ESG 与投资回报率(ROI)指南

作者:Devi Jina
24 March 2025
1 分钟阅读
为什么 SaaS 企业需要 B Corp 认证:ESG 与投资回报率(ROI)指南
B Impact Assessment estimator

Is your SaaS business ready to certify as a B Corp?

Tick the policies you already have. See an indicative B Impact Assessment score, the legal step you cannot skip, and the highest-value gaps to close next.

1. Company size
2. Policies you already have4 of 10 selected
Indicative BIA scoreNot yet ready
67/ 200 (80 needed)
▲ 80

13 points short of the threshold.

Impact areas covered

4/5

Governance, Workers, Environment, Customers

Typical time to certify

9-15 months

Document what you already do (benefits, supplier choices) before adding new programmes.

Highest-value next steps

Employee share scheme and wellbeing (+8 pts)

Broad-based options (for example EMI), health cover and financial wellbeing support.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon accounting (+8 pts)

Measured emissions including suppliers and home working, with a reduction target.

Public annual impact report (+6 pts)

Published data on workforce, governance and emissions, with targets you report against.

Why it matters in enterprise sales

UK central government tenders must give social value at least 10% of the evaluation score (PPN 002), and many enterprise buyers ask for ESG evidence in security and supplier questionnaires. Purple is a certified B Corp and ISO 27001 certified.

Speak to an expert

Method: a typical business scores about 50 before targeted work (B Lab reports a median of 50.9); each policy adds an indicative number of points. Real BIA weights vary by size, sector and market, and B Lab is phasing in new standards that replace the single 80-point score with required topics, so check which applies to your certification date.

Useful? Link to this tool
Interactive readiness toolBased on the legacy BIA 80-point model

SaaS B Corp impact assessment and RFP ROI calculator

Evaluate your software business against the five B Impact Assessment (BIA) impact areas and model enterprise procurement advantages. Point values are indicative. B Lab's new standards, which apply to companies certifying from 2026, replace the single 80-point score with mandatory topic requirements, so treat this as a readiness check, not a score prediction.

Estimated B Impact Score
95.5 / 200 pts
Qualifies (>= 80 pts)
BIA Progress: 95.5 pts80 pt Target (+15.5 pts)

Your SaaS business is currently positioned above the 80.0 point threshold to achieve Certified B Corp status.

Enterprise RFP & procurement advantage
+£35,000 / year
RFP win rate
26.4% (+20%)
Estimated wins
6 deals (1 extra)

In public sector (NHS, local government, higher education) and enterprise tenders, B Corp certification is strong evidence for social value and ESG questions, though tenders still score your written answers, not the badge.

5 BIA impact pillars for software companies

Governance:12.5 pts
Workers:14.0 pts
Community:4.5 pts
Environment:8.5 pts
Customers:14.0 pts
Governance
+7.5 pts
Legal mission lock & charter amendment

Updated articles of association or corporate charter to protect social and environmental commitments alongside shareholder profit.

B Lab requires the legal change: a UK company amends its articles (filed at Companies House); a Delaware company converts to a Public Benefit Corporation.
Governance
+5 pts
Code of ethics & whistleblower protection

Formal written whistleblower policy, anti-bribery framework, and third-party anonymous reporting hotline.

Must be reviewed annually and accessible to all full-time and contract staff.
Governance
+4.5 pts
Financial & operational transparency

Transparent sharing of company performance, strategic objectives, and ESG targets with employees and stakeholders.

Includes quarterly all-hands reviews and public transparency reports.
Workers
+8 pts
Real living wage certification & salary parity

All direct staff and contracted facility workers receive at or above the certified Real Living Wage rate.

Verified via Real Living Wage Foundation or regional equivalent benchmarks.
Workers
+6.5 pts
Broad-based equity or profit sharing (ESOP / EMI)

Over 50% of non-executive employees participate in stock option schemes or company-wide profit-sharing programmes.

Helps align team ownership and significantly reduces SaaS employee turnover.
Workers
+6 pts
Healthcare, mental health & parental leave

Enhanced private medical coverage, dedicated mental health stipends, and gender-neutral parental leave over 16 weeks.

Demonstrates employee care and boosts employer brand rankings.
Community
+5.5 pts
Local & independent supplier preference policy

Formal policy prioritising local, independent, or minority-owned vendors for software tools, legal, and operational services.

At least 30% of non-cloud vendor spend directed to local or independent businesses.
Community
+4.5 pts
Paid volunteering days & civic engagement

Employees receive at least 2 paid days per year dedicated to community service or charitable initiatives.

Tracked annually through corporate volunteer logs.
Community
+5 pts
DEI tracking & inclusive hiring practices

Active monitoring of leadership diversity, blind CV screening, and structured apprenticeship programmes.

Ensures equal opportunity and builds diverse engineering and sales teams.
Environment
+8.5 pts
Cloud data centre renewable energy accounting

Tracking cloud compute Scope 3 carbon emissions (AWS Customer Carbon Footprint, Azure Emissions Impact, or GCP Carbon Footprint).

SaaS companies generate most emissions via cloud hosting; selecting low-carbon regions earns maximum points.
Environment
+5 pts
Certified hardware recycling & circular IT policy

All decommissioned laptops, monitors, and network gear recycled through WEEE-certified circular electronics partners.

Prevents toxic e-waste and supports circular economy supply chains.
Environment
+4.5 pts
Remote work carbon offsets & green travel policy

Subsidised public transit, train-first domestic business travel policy, and home-office energy efficiency stipends.

Reduces operational footprint for distributed and hybrid SaaS teams.
Customers
+9 pts
ISO 27001 / SOC 2 Type II & ethical data privacy

Rigorous information security certifications, GDPR compliance, unbundled guest consent, and zero selling of customer data.

Crucial for enterprise SaaS vendors and verified via independent third-party audits.
Customers
+5.5 pts
WCAG 2.1 AA digital accessibility standards

Customer-facing web applications, portals, and dashboards conform to strict WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines.

Ensures digital tools are usable for people with disabilities and assistive tech.
Customers
+5 pts
Transparent contracts, clear SLAs & customer success

Transparent pricing with no hidden lock-ins, published uptime SLAs exceeding 99.9%, and pro-rated refunds for downtime.

Builds long-term customer trust and strengthens net revenue retention (NRR).
🏆Purple is a Certified B Corporation

See how Purple balances purpose, security, and growth

Read our 2025 Positive Impact Report to see real-world B Corp metrics, ethical WiFi analytics governance, and public sector compliance.

Useful? Link to this tool

在 2024 年夏天,Purple 获得了 B Corp 认证,加入了全球 9,500 多家以及英国 2,500 多家已获得该可持续发展信誉徽章的企业行列。

继续阅读,了解 Purple 首席执行官 Gavin Wheeldon 以及人才与文化高级副总裁 Esther Park 对该认证及其为 Purple 带来的价值的看法。

以下内容为访谈的剪辑版本

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Gavin、Esther,你们最初是如何听说 B Lab 和 B Corp 认证的?是什么让你们对此感到兴奋?

GW: 我经常听很多播客,也阅读很多资料,所以它一直都在我的关注范围内。我当时心想“哦,这很有意思”!此后我时不时就会重新考虑这件事,思考现在是不是争取的合适时机,同时我也清楚这是我绝对想做的事情,但我们需要一个合适的人来推动,那个人就是 Esther。

EP: 在我为以前的机构工作时,就听说过 B Corp,他们当时在问“这是我们应该关注的东西吗,还是不需要?” 我喜欢为关心大局、而不仅仅是为了赚钱而驱动的机构工作,一个关心其对世界产生更广泛影响的机构。

究竟是什么说服了您去争取这项认证?您认为它与 Purple 有什么关联?

GW: 这些事物,无论是 B Corp 还是 ISO 标准,都代表着你是行业翘楚。如果你想有所成就,去了解什么是“行业翘楚”并以此为目标是合情合理的。B Corp 认证本身就承认这是一个持续的旅程,它也是一种将我们与该领域全球最优秀企业进行对标的方式。

EP: 我记得无意中听到关于 B Corp 的讨论时,我立刻提起了兴趣:“这绝对是我非常非常想参与的事情。” 当时我已经在 Purple 工作了大约一年,时间足够让我深入了解公司业务,从而主导这项认证的获取。一切都在合适的时间顺理成章地发生。我很庆幸我们做出了这个决定,因为虽然整个过程非常繁重,但确实让人受益匪浅。

GW: 有意思的是,在我们启动这个流程后,才发现我们已经走得很靠前了。我们开始与我们的投资者 BGF 进行沟通,结果发现他们也正在经历这个旅程,这可以说是某种奇妙的缘分。

对于消费者和企业“用钱包投票”,主动选择从拥有像 B Corp 所代表的高道德标准的商家处购买商品或与之合作,您有什么看法?

GW: 我认为这不仅是消费者用他们的钱包投票,也是员工用他们的选择投票。我认为人们希望在一家使命驱动型的企业工作。有大量的研究表明,你可以给予金钱奖励,也可以给予其他奖励,但如果人们相信自己所做的事情,他们会付出更多,工作更努力。他们对自己在做的事情感到兴奋,并觉得这正在改变世界。我认为这同样重要。回到“为什么 SaaS 企业会想成为 B Corp”这个问题,这其实不仅关乎人们选择向我们购买产品,更关乎人们想要与我们一起工作,并因他们每天所做的事情而受到激励和驱动。

而且,虽然我们是 B2B 企业,但也有点 B2C 的性质,因为全球有数百万用户登录 Purple WiFi。尽管我们目前还不是一个他们能立刻认出的品牌,但我们希望未来能做到这一点。如果客户能够看到我们是为了正确的理由在做正确的事,那就是一件好事。

寻求 B Corp 认证的计划反响如何?有遇到任何阻力吗?

GW:大家都非常支持,这实际上还引发了一场相当健康的辩论。董事会会议通常只关注数据,但当 Esther 加入董事会时,每个人的步伐都变得轻快起来,成为认证 B Corp 的想法成了一个非常鼓舞人心的议题。

EP: 每个人都非常支持这项工作,这太棒了。我需要克服的主要挑战是证明这项巨大的任务和投资在长期内是值得的。很高兴看到我们已经能够证明这一点。因此,我们提出了商业案例,表明这将吸引投资者,帮助我们吸引和留住员工,并对客户和合作伙伴产生吸引力。我们已经在现实生活中看到了这一点,客户和员工对此感到兴奋,并开启了关于除创造利润之外的使命的更高层次的对话。

GW:这不仅从道德角度来看是正确的事情,它还能带来真正的商业利益。

在 SaaS 领域有一些 B Corp,但该认证与 Purple 有何关联?

GW: 我 think 这又回到了我之前说的话。我可以理解为什么面向消费者的企业会想要获得 B Corp 认证,因为他们想要吸引那些用钱投票的特定类型买家。但员工同样也会用他们的努力来投票,他们会因为在一家使命驱动型的企业工作而受到激励。但这只是众多投资回报率(ROI)益处之一,并不是我们选择经历这一过程的核心原因。在我看来,如果你能同时做好生意并做有益的事,为什么不呢?

EP:这就是您开始这项工作的出发点,不是吗?您希望这家企业能做到最好,那么我们如何才能以最好的方式开展业务?

GW: 确实如此。我认为,如果你抱着“我们只是想在网站上放一个标志,或者在复选框上打个勾”的想法,那就走错了方向。但如果你是为了表明“我们想成为最好的,而这是一个衡量标准”而去做,那就好得多。当我们进行最初的诊断时,我们发现自己已经处于一个相当不错的起点,这太棒了;但即使我们没有达到那个起点,做这件事也是正确的选择。

EP: 一旦我们开始着手这件事,连我自己都感到惊讶。我曾想过,“我们不是慈善机构,也不是社会企业,我们真的能获得 B Corp 认证吗?”。但我学得越多,就越发现你可以在很多方面成为一家带来积极影响的优秀企业,而 B Corp 运动的核心就是关于每种类型的企业如何产生积极的影响。Gavin 谈到,作为雇主,我们可以选择成为最好的雇主,也可以不这样做。从环保的角度来看,我们处理大量数据,因此我们可以选择关注并为此做点什么,也可以选择忽视。对我来说,一件非常值得的事是,我们很早就决定以不同的方式与慈善机构和非营利组织客户合作。执行团队做出了一个爽快的决定,为他们提供优惠价格,因为我们希望支持这些组织取得成功。

在整个过程中,我了解到成为 B Corp 从根本上就是我们作为一个组织的本质。这真的让我感到高兴,因为这感觉很真实。我们就是一家 B Corp,我们没有在伪装。

GW:正是如此。我们本来就是一家 B Corp,只是以前我们自己不知道而已。

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