Method and B Corp: Best for the World, Two Years in a Row

Sustainability sits at the heart of how we run Method, so it was a real honour to be named a Best for the World B Corp in both 2021 and 2022. The recognition placed us in the top 5% of B Corps worldwide in the environment category for businesses of our size. B Lab has since retired the programme, but those two lists remain a milestone in our B Corp journey.

What is a B Corp?

B Corp is a certification for companies that meet high standards of impact, transparency and accountability across five areas: governance, workers, environment, community and customers. B Lab, the non-profit behind the certification, assesses every part of a business.

Under the standards we first certified against, a company needed at least 80 points on the B Impact Assessment, while the median score for an ordinary business was around 50.9. We first certified in November 2019 with a score of 93.4, becoming the 27th Certified B Corp in New Zealand. It was demanding for a small business, and worth every hour.

What was Best for the World?

Best for the World was B Lab's annual list of B Corps scoring in the top 5% of companies their size in one of the five impact areas. We made the environment list in 2021 and 2022, alongside other New Zealand companies including Ethique, Banqer, Chia Sisters and Raglan Food Co.

The 2022 list turned out to be the last. B Lab discontinued the programme from 2023 while it rethought how to recognise its highest-impact companies.

Why B Corp certification matters to Method

We wanted a framework that would test whether we were living our values. B Corp fitted who we already were: purpose-driven, sustainability-minded, using design and education to push for change.

A meaningful share of our score came from our impact business model. That is B Lab's recognition that Method's core economic activity is designed to benefit the environment, rather than sustainability being bolted on. We have never claimed to be perfect; the point is to show that business can be a force for good.

Recertification, and what has changed since

B Corps recertify on a three-year cycle, which keeps the certification honest. We recertified in 2022 with a score of 119.7, lifted by work such as the Method Twenty, our 20L bin made with 80% recycled polypropylene. Our most recent recertification, in 2025, scored 116.9.

Scores like these are on their way out. In 2025 B Lab published new certification standards that retire the 80-point model in favour of minimum requirements every company must meet across core impact topics. Recertifying companies move across from 2026, so our next assessment will be judged the new way. That suits us. The point of certifying was never the number.

Common questions

Is Method still a certified B Corp?

Yes. We certified in November 2019 and have recertified every three years since, most recently in 2025 with a score of 116.9.

What was a Best for the World B Corp?

B Lab's annual recognition of B Corps scoring in the top 5% of companies their size in an impact area. Method made the environment list in 2021 and 2022; the programme ended in 2023.

Do B Corps still receive a score?

Not under B Lab's new standards, published in 2025. Companies now meet defined requirements across impact topics instead of earning a single score.