Since 2023, we’ve undertaken annual brand awareness studies to understand how the B Corp movement is showing up in the public consciousness.
Conducted with nationally representative samples across both countries, and complementing similar research from across the B Lab network, these insights are valuable because systems change doesn’t happen without awareness and understanding.
To redefine the role of business in society, we need to understand how people engage, identify what’s cutting through, and locate where deeper storytelling is needed.
Over the past three years, we’ve been tracking a steady and meaningful shift in how people across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand recognise, understand, and respond to the B Corp movement.
The data is beginning to tell an important story: businesses have a growing opportunity to meaningfully reach more customers and stakeholders.
Images: Elin Bandmann
The ‘B’ logo tells a story
The most recent data from 2025 shows:
- 31% of Australians report awareness of B Corp Certification (a 10% increase since 2024).
- 35% of New Zealanders report awareness (a 13% increase since 2024).
Looking at the data, it’s clear what we’re doing together is working. Familiarity with B Corp Certification continues to deepen, particularly among those who already recognise the ‘B’.
Among respondents who were aware of B Corp Certification, most described themselves as ‘moderately’ to ‘very knowledgeable’.
Nearly half of Australian respondents and a third of Kiwi respondents who recognised the ‘B’ identified as very knowledgeable.
This distinction is important because recognition gets the logo noticed; understanding gives it meaning. Meaning is what ultimately shapes trust, behaviour, and long-term credibility.
What’s causing the shift?
The data reinforces a pattern we’ve seen consistently since our first brand awareness study: as the movement grows, knowledge grows with it, especially where B Corps are visible, vocal, and embedded in everyday life.
The stronger uplift in Aotearoa New Zealand also echoes a trend we’ve observed globally: while the number of B Corps matters more than the size of those companies. In markets with a higher representation of B Corps, visibility compounds faster.
“Occasionally, we hear from B Corps who are needing to explain to their customers or stakeholders what B Corp Certification means. We see this as evidence of a positive shift: the wider community is increasingly interested in the impact of business, and seeking to make better choices with their time and money. We also know that the more frequently people see the ‘B’ logo, the more it comes to mean in terms of awareness and trust. We’re excited about where this is leading.”
— Kira Day, Head of Communications and Advocacy, B Lab AANZ
Growth in awareness reflects sustained investment in storytelling, community-led campaigns, earned media, and moments where B Corps have shown up boldly in public conversation from events like SXSW Sydney to another record-breaking B Corp Month and our first major regional ‘Better Business’ awareness campaign, So Long, Fat Cats.
Last year’s research showed us that company websites appear to be the primary place people seek out impact information but product labels are also an important piece of real estate, with labels being where the largest percentage of respondents reported seeing the logo.
Here’s why that matters, and how B Corps can harness this momentum and insights to drive deeper impact in 2026 and beyond.
From awareness to choice at the checkout
Perhaps the most encouraging shift in 2025 is not just who recognises the B Corp logo, but what they do with that recognition.
According to the latest data, among people who recognise the ‘B’:
- 22% in Australia and 23% in New Zealand say they are actively seeking out B Corp products and services (an increase of 7% in Australia and a remarkable 19% in Aotearoa).
- A further 34% in both countries say B Corp Certification positively influences their purchasing decisions.
This tells us something critical: B Corp is fast becoming a decision-making shortcut; a trusted cue in an increasingly noisy marketplace.
In a world where consumers and citizens are progressively wary of sustainability claims, certifications that are rigorous, independent, and transparent are doing exactly what they’re meant to do: helping people make faster, more confident choices about the kind of businesses they want to support.
Where there’s a gap, there’s an opportunity
Awareness of certifications like B Corp is also likely increasingly correlating to a fundamental market shift towards greater expectation, preference, and demand for all businesses to be more accountable to stakeholders and more transparent about their social and environmental impact.
The most recent data from 2025 tells us we’re entering a new phase altogether. Because while awareness of the ‘B’ logo is rising, something else is rising even faster. It represents a major opportunity for the movement as we approach our 20th anniversary.
The most striking findings in this year’s data sit beyond brand metrics entirely. Across both countries:
- 81% of Australians and 82% of Kiwis agree that businesses should be required to consider the interests of all stakeholders (i.e. people and planet) in their decision-making.
- 87% of Australians and 88% of Kiwis believe company directors and CEOs should be accountable for their social and environmental performance.
What might have been seen as “fringe views” a few decades, and even a few years ago, are now mainstream expectations. What was once considered unusually “progressive” or “purpose-led” is rapidly becoming baseline.
In many ways, this is the real story of 2025.
“Brands are now more trusted than any traditional institution we study. In an environment of economic pain, geopolitical turbulence, and cultural upheaval, consumers are looking to brands they trust to provide stability in their lives.”
— 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report – Brand Trust, From We to Me
The data confirms what we’ve felt across our work this year and what many B Corps have told us: the public appetite isn’t just for better brands, but for better systems of business: systems that prioritise long-term value over short-term extraction, and accountability over empty promises.
Images: Elin Bandmann
2026: growth, change, and opportunity
The latest instalment of B Corp Brand Awareness data tells a story of opportunity. People are paying attention. They’re choosing differently. And increasingly, they’re expecting business to do better, and demanding it with their dollars and voices.
With new B Corp Certification standards being rolled out from 2026, the B Corp movement is poised to show more leadership than ever.
For B Corps and aspiring B Corps alike, the opportunity is clear: keep showing up, keep explaining the ‘why’, and keep showing what better business looks like in practice.
Whether people are encountering the ‘B’ on their bottle lids, toilet paper wrapping, holiday bookings or financial providers’ websites, every instance builds the movement and its capacity to tell new stories, provide much-needed alternatives, and effect change.
For the B Corp movement, awareness has never been the finish line. It’s the starting point of something much bigger.
Are you a B Corp seeking to better tell the B Corp story?
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