June 16, 2026 — Finnish beauty group Lumene and Danish cooperative bank Merkur Andelskasse are part of the very first group of companies across Europe and North America that has achieved B Corp Certification under B Lab’s newly revised global standards, the most significant overhaul of the certification in its history. The framework requires companies to meet independently verified performance thresholds across seven Impact Topics, from Climate Action to Human Rights.
“That two Nordic B Corps are among the very first to meet B Lab’s most ambitious standards to date shows that Nordic businesses are stepping up to the challenge,” says Gitte Rosholm, Manager at B Lab Nordics. “They understand that taking responsibility for their impact on all of the stakeholders that are impacted by their activities is not just needed, it is good for business too. And that what others call administrative burdens, they call future proofing their businesses!”
A movement built by trailblazers
The B Corp movement has always been built by those willing to blaze a trail for others to follow. Its founding companies were a small, determined group; within a year, their number had grown to 81, and the community has expanded every year since. This cohort is the leading edge of that same story under the new standards, setting a marker for the businesses, sectors, and markets certifying behind them.
Today, the B Corp community spans over 10,800 Certified B Corporations across 102 countries and 163 industries, collectively employing more than one million people. They exemplify a growing movement that has spent two decades proving business can operate differently.
The new B Lab Standards were published in April 2025, following four years of consultation with businesses, civil society, academics, and policymakers. They represent the most significant update to B Corp Certification to date, with companies now meeting minimum performance requirements across a range of social and environmental criteria, verified by third-party auditors. Impact improvement is built in, with mandatory milestones at three and five years.
Designed with shifting regulatory and consumer landscape in mind and aligned with the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT), the new standards reflect the direction of travel across markets as expectations of business—from regulators and consumers alike—continue to grow.
From Finland to USA and beyond – Initial cohort spans seven countries
This initial cohort is headquartered in seven countries, but its reach extends well beyond them: together, the brands operate across more than 20 countries in Europe, North America, and Asia. Their products and services reach customers far more widely still, across over 50 countries globally and range from small, independent companies to family-owned businesses founded as far back as 1870.
The group pairs Bolsius, a Dutch family candle maker, with Enharmonic Encounters, a Black-owned interpretation business in the United States; Xenia, a publicly listed Italian hotel group with Ricola, a family-owned Swiss confectioner; and Lumene, a Finnish beauty group with Rituals, the global Dutch cosmetics brand, and Merkur Andelskasse, a Danish cooperative bank that directs lending to sustainable, socially responsible enterprises.
That spread, more than any single name, makes the point argued over B Lab’s 20-year history: that how a company treats its workers, community, and the planet is a vital question for every business, and every leader.
At a moment when many companies are growing quieter about their sustainability efforts, this cohort has chosen the opposite: independent verification and the visibility that comes with it.
“Achieving B Corp Certification across all our brands under the new standards is a proud milestone,” says Adrian Innergård, Chief Executive Officer at Lumene Group. “It reflects our Nordic roots and our commitment to creating beauty that is both effective and responsible, continuously working to make a positive impact on people, communities, and the environment.”
“We are proud to continue being part of the B Corp community. Being among the first to be recertified only makes us even prouder,” says Helene Vad Bredo, ESG Manager at Merkur Cooperative Bank. “B Corp certification is a cornerstone of demonstrating that every day we work to create shared prosperity: considering not just profits, but also people and our planet.”
The test of this decade: to raise the bar together
“Great leadership is not defined by what a company says, but what it is willing to be held accountable for,” says Clay Brown, Chief Standards Officer at B Lab. “As B Corps, these companies are demonstrating that higher standards, independent verification, and continuous improvement are achievable in practice. Yet the challenge ahead is bigger than any one company. The defining test of this decade is whether businesses can move beyond individual action and raise the bar collectively on the issues that matter most to people and the planet.”
“European businesses in this first cohort are making a deliberate choice: to have their social and environmental performance independently verified against B Lab’s new global standards, and to be held to mandatory improvement milestones over the years ahead,” says Juliette Caulkins, Managing Director at B Lab Europe. “Their presence among the first companies certified worldwide is exactly the kind of credible and visible market signal Europe needs — that accountability is something businesses are willing to be measured on, not just talk about.”
Learn more about the B Lab Standards at bcorp.com.
Learn more and join the movement at www.bcorporation.dk
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For more information, please contact: eskylare@bcorporation.eu
Background information
The companies certifying in this early cohort are headquartered in seven countries, operate across more than 20, and reach customers in more than 50 countries globally:
- Bolsius (Netherlands): Family-owned home-fragrance maker, founded in 1870; moving to plant-based wax and recycled packaging; Europe’s market leader, sold in +50 countries.
- Ricola (Switzerland): Family-owned maker of Swiss herb drops, founded in 1930; herbs sourced from a network of Swiss farmers; sold in more than 40 countries.
- Lumene (Finland): Nordic beauty group, founded in 1970; uses Arctic ingredients upcycled from forest- and food-industry side streams, and a renewable-powered factory.
- Merkur Andelskasse (Denmark): Socially responsible cooperative bank, founded in 1982; customer-owned; lends to socially and environmentally beneficial projects.
- Xenia (Italy): Hospitality group, founded in 1992; a publicly listed benefit corporation on Euronext Growth Milan; operates the Phi Hotels chain across Italy.
- Rituals (Netherlands): Home and body cosmetics brand, founded in 2000; offers refills across its collections; present in more than 30 countries.
- Nativa (Italy): Regenerative design consultancy, founded in 2012; helps businesses adopt sustainable and regenerative models; operates in Italy and Brazil.
- Wanderlust Life (United Kingdom): Woman-owned jewellery studio, founded in 2013; handmade pieces produced on the Devon coast from recycled gold and silver.
- Enharmonic Encounters (United States): Black-owned sustainability-services business, founded in 2022; provides translation and interpretation; member of 1% for the Planet.
B Lab™ is the nonprofit organization behind the B Corp movement. B Lab creates standards, policies, tools, and programs to reimagine capitalism, and build a new economic system that benefits people and the planet.
Certified B Corporations™, or B Corps, are companies verified as meeting standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. To date, the B Corp community spans over 10,000 B Corps across more than 100 countries and over 160 industries, collectively employing more than 1 million people. Around 300,000 companies proactively manage their impact with B Impact™.
B Lab Nordics is responsible for growing a thriving and inclusive B Corp community in the region, working with key stakeholders in the ecosystem, delivering the strategy, fostering new partnerships and initiating activities that create value to B Corps and the movement across the Nordics.
There is a growing interest in the B Corp movement in the Nordics with 190+ B Corps headquartered in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Iceland and nearly 400 more B Corps operating in the Nordics market.
