This B Corp Month, we’ve been reflecting on how our certification shapes not just who we are, but how we work. As consultants, our “product” isn’t something you can touch—it’s influence. It’s insight, strategy, and problem-solving. And that presents a powerful opportunity: to shape the decisions that shape the world.
The B Corp movement began with tangible goods—ice cream, clothing, furniture—companies with visible supply chains and measurable environmental footprints. Patagonia, for example, became California’s first B Corp in 2012, emphasizing both sustainability and product excellence. These were businesses where impact could be quantified and traced.
But now, more service-based companies—consultancies included—are entering the B Corp space, expanding the definition of ethical business. In an industry where “consultant” has often meant ambiguity or opportunism, B Corp certification signals something different: a commitment to transparency, accountability, and shared progress.
The question is no longer “Can consultancies be B Corps?”. The real question becomes: What does it mean to be a B Corp when your business is ideas?
Unlike product companies—where impact can be tracked through supply chains, carbon footprints, or material inputs—consultancies operate in a more intangible realm: decision-making, strategy, and problem-solving. Our work isn’t something you can see or hold, yet its influence can be far-reaching. It shows up in the ideas we help shape, the strategies we set in motion, and the systems we support in transforming.
The best consultancies don’t just advise from the sidelines; they embed within teams, filling critical gaps in talent, knowledge, and direction. But this close integration often means our contributions remain behind the scenes. That invisibility makes it difficult to publicly demonstrate the value of our work, to quantify our impact, and to hold ourselves to the same rigorous standards that define B Corps in product-based industries.
For consultancies truly committed to positive change, measuring impact requires going beyond traditional metrics. It demands a new lens—one that can account for complexity, acknowledge influence without ownership, and reflect the depth of strategic contribution at the heart of systems change.
While our impact may be harder to measure, it often begins earlier—and travels further.
Consultancies have a unique position at the source of decision-making. We’re brought in at moments of change—when organizations are setting new strategies, rethinking structures, or navigating uncertainty. We sit at the table with leaders, funders, and policymakers as they shape ideas that will ripple out across teams, communities, and entire systems.
This early-stage influence is powerful. It means we’re not just responding to change—we’re helping to define it. And when we carry B Corp values into those conversations, we have the opportunity to embed equity, regeneration, and long-term thinking into the very foundations of what’s next.
Instead of simply drafting a sustainability plan, we help reframe how sustainability shows up in every part of an organization’s operations. Instead of designing a one-off equity initiative, we work with leadership to rewire policies, culture, and hiring practices for lasting, systemic inclusion. Instead of offering a deliverable and stepping away, we act as a force multiplier—expanding a team’s capacity to think bigger, move faster, and drive deeper impact.
In a world where resources are constrained and timelines are tight, consultancies are often the shared infrastructure for innovation. And while most of the organizations we support aren’t B Corps themselves, they benefit from our principles in practice. Our perspective becomes a conduit for spreading values like transparency, interdependence, and responsibility—whether or not they’re formally codified in the organizations we serve.
By harnessing this upstream influence, B Corp consultancies can help shape decisions that lead to more just, regenerative, and resilient outcomes—amplifying impact well beyond any single engagement.
With upstream influence comes downstream responsibility.
If you have the power to shape decisions, you have the responsibility to ensure they’re shaped with integrity, intention, and care. For consultancies, B Corp certification isn’t just a badge—it’s a blueprint for how we show up in moments that matter.
As more consultancies join the B Corp movement, we must challenge ourselves to lead with transparency, act as stewards of influence, and stay accountable to the broader systems we aim to improve. That means asking:
Consultancy should no longer be seen as a transactional service working quietly in the background. It’s time to embrace the role of consultancy as a catalyst—one that unlocks bold thinking, accelerates purpose-driven action, and steers decisions toward lasting impact.
