Key takeaways from Bolsius’ B Corp recertification journey:

• Start with reliable data: Bolsius strengthened ESG data systems and greenhouse gas accounting to better understand and manage impact.
• Use materiality to focus: Its Double Materiality Assessment helped identify priority impacts, risks and opportunities.
• Lay the groundwork before recertification: Bolsius’ prior investment in ESG data, governance and impact management meant it could address the Climate Action and Environmental Stewardship and Circularity Impact Topics with greater clarity and confidence.
• Build ownership beyond sustainability teams: Bolsius has integrated impact objectives into its overall company targets, with two out of five company-wide targets related to people and planet. Employee impact objectives also help embed sustainability into everyday work.
• Treat certification as ongoing: For Bolsius, recertification is a framework for continuous improvement, not a final destination.

Who is Bolsius?

Bolsius is a family-owned European candle company with more than 150 years of heritage. Its products are designed to share the magic of the flame, helping people reconnect with themselves and their loved ones.

Today, Bolsius operates across multiple European locations and serves consumers, retailers and professional customers in more than 50 countries. While creating high-quality products remains at the heart of what it does, the company believes its responsibility goes beyond the products it makes. Through its Impact Strategy, guided by the pillars Reduce, Care and Engage, Bolsius works to lower its environmental impact, support people and communities, and collaborate with stakeholders to create long-term positive change.

How did Bolsius prepare for recertification under new B Lab Standards V2?

For Bolsius, the most important lesson from recertifying under the new B Lab Standards was that meaningful impact starts with building the right foundations.

Following its first B Corp Certification in 2023, the company recognised that progress depends on embedding sustainability into everyday decision-making. Before entering the recertification under new standards, Bolsius made a conscious choice to strengthen its ESG systems and governance before accelerating its ambitions.

Over the past years, the company invested in building a stronger ESG backbone. This included implementing an ESG data platform to systematically monitor environmental performance and gain fuller insight into greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas accounting, often referred to as GHG accounting, is the process of measuring emissions across a company’s own operations and wider value chain.

In parallel, Bolsius’ preparation for CSRD helped the company develop a robust Double Materiality Assessment. CSRD, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, requires many companies to report more consistently on sustainability-related impacts, risks and opportunities. A Double Materiality Assessment helps a company understand both how sustainability issues affect the business and how the business affects people and the environment.

For Bolsius, this work gave clearer insight into where its most significant impacts, risks and opportunities sit across the value chain. It also showed how preparation for CSRD and preparation for B Corp recertification can be mutually reinforcing. The emissions data, governance structures and materiality work developed for CSRD can give companies a stronger starting point for V2, while the rigour of the B Lab Standards can help strengthen how sustainability is managed and embedded across the business. One does not replace the other, but preparation for one can support the other.

This changed the way Bolsius approached recertification. The new standards felt less like a compliance exercise and more like validation of a direction already underway. With more reliable data and governance already in place, Bolsius was able to approach the recertification process with greater confidence. In particular, the Climate Action and Environmental Stewardship and Circularity Impact Topics were relatively easy to fulfil because the company had already invested in the systems, data and ways of working needed to support them.

For other companies preparing for certification or recertification under B Lab Standards V2, Bolsius’ experience shows that the work does not begin with the audit. It begins with understanding where the business has the greatest impact and building the systems to measure and manage it. At Bolsius, recertification was mainly led by the Impact team and HR, but the foundations that supported it were built through a broader impact strategy that requires ownership across the organisation, from company-wide targets to STI-linked impact objectives and day-to-day decisions.

How is Bolsius using climate data to support better decisions?

One area where the new B Lab Standards validated Bolsius’ approach was Climate Action Impact Topic.

Bolsius has committed to science-based climate targets. Science-based targets are emissions reduction targets aligned with what climate science says is needed to limit global warming. However, the company quickly realised that ambitious targets alone would not create change. To manage and reduce emissions effectively, it first needed to understand where its impacts occurred and how decisions throughout the business influenced them.

To support this, Bolsius invested significantly in building a reliable greenhouse gas accounting system and improving the quality of environmental data across its value chain. This work helped the company move from broad ambition to a more practical understanding of which actions could make the biggest difference. The result was a shift from reporting towards action. Better data has enabled Bolsius to prioritise the initiatives that matter most, strengthen decision-making and track progress more effectively against its climate commitments.

For Bolsius, the strongest outcome was not a single project, but a different way of working. Decisions are increasingly supported by measurable impact information rather than assumptions. Sustainability trade-offs are discussed alongside cost, quality and growth, helping the company move from ambition to implementation even when choices are complex.

How does Bolsius embed impact into everyday work?

Bolsius also sees its people and culture as central to its impact journey.

The company has anchored its approach to employee engagement in the Great Place to Work framework. This has helped it listen more structurally to employees, translate feedback into concrete interventions and continuously improve its culture.

Beyond formal frameworks, Bolsius aims to make impact part of everyday work. The company has integrated impact objectives into its overall company targets, with two out of five targets linked to people and planet. Employees are also encouraged to set impact-related objectives connected to the company’s Reduce, Care and Engage pillars, and are involved through training, volunteering, community partnerships and innovation projects. This helps make sustainability tangible beyond strategy documents and embeds responsibility across the organisation.

This shared ownership is one of the practices Bolsius believes other businesses can learn from. Sustainability experts can guide the process, but lasting impact only happens when responsibility becomes part of everyday decision-making across the organisation.

Explore Bolsius’s 2025 Impact Report.

What challenges is Bolsius navigating?

Bolsius operates in a product category that is not traditionally associated with sustainability leadership. As a candle manufacturer, a significant part of the company’s environmental footprint sits within its value chain, including raw materials such as waxes, as well as packaging and transport.

This means that meaningful progress depends not only on what happens within Bolsius’ own operations, but also on collaboration with suppliers, customers and industry partners. For example, improving product-related emissions may require working with material suppliers to better understand the footprint of waxes, explore lower-impact alternatives and improve the quality of supplier-level data. The company has chosen to set science-based climate targets and integrate sustainability into product innovation, sourcing decisions and governance processes. This requires balancing environmental ambitions with product quality, affordability and business realities.

The trade-offs are real. More sustainable materials are not always available at scale. Customer expectations evolve at different speeds across markets. Some technologies necessary to achieve long-term emissions reductions are still developing. Maintaining momentum also requires investment, leadership commitment and active engagement from employees. For Bolsius, this is precisely where the value of the new standards lies. They encourage companies to address systemic challenges rather than focusing only on the easiest improvements. That perspective has helped the company become more ambitious while remaining pragmatic and transparent about the journey ahead.

Why does collective action matter for Bolsius?

Bolsius believes that accelerating progress requires change across entire value chains, not only within individual companies. Many businesses face similar challenges around emissions data, sustainable materials, circular design and responsible sourcing. Greater transparency, harmonised methodologies and stronger collaboration between suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and policymakers could help companies move faster and make more informed decisions.

The company also sees an important role for the B Corp movement. By sharing practical solutions, lessons learned and examples of what works, B Corps can reduce duplication of effort and raise expectations across sectors. For Bolsius, collective action will remain an important part of the journey. The company wants to continue engaging suppliers, customers, employees and industry organisations on climate action, stakeholder governance and responsible business practices. Challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and social wellbeing cannot be solved by individual companies acting alone.

What can other companies learn from Bolsius’ recertification journey?

Bolsius’ experience shows that preparation for recertification under B Lab Standards V2 is not only about gathering evidence. It is an opportunity to strengthen how a company understands, manages and improves its impact. For companies preparing for certification or recertification under the new B Lab Standards, the lesson is clear: start with data, focus through materiality and build responsibility across the organisation. Reliable impact data creates the foundation for credible targets, informed decision-making and meaningful improvement. Without it, it becomes difficult to know whether efforts are addressing the most important impacts. Materiality helps companies decide where to focus first. The new standards are comprehensive, and companies can make more progress when they understand where their biggest impacts, risks and opportunities lie.

Shared ownership helps turn strategy into action. Sustainability experts can guide the process, but lasting impact happens when responsibility becomes part of company-wide priorities and everyday decision-making. For Bolsius, this includes integrating impact into overall company targets, with two out of five targets related to people and planet, as well as encouraging employees to translate these priorities into their own work.

Bolsius’ recertification journey points to several practices other companies can adapt:

1. Build reliable ESG data systems before accelerating new ambitions.
2. Use materiality to decide where to focus first.
3. Connect climate and environmental commitments to operational decision-making.
4. Integrate impact into overall company targets and translate these priorities into employee objectives.
5. Treat evidence collection as part of better management, not only certification preparation.
6. Be transparent about trade-offs and areas where progress depends on wider value-chain change.
7. Use related sustainability frameworks, such as CSRD and B Corp Certification, in a mutually reinforcing way without assuming that progress in one automatically guarantees success in the other.

FAQs

What can other companies learn from Bolsius’ V2 recertification journey?

Other companies can learn that preparation for V2 starts with strong foundations: reliable impact data, clear materiality, governance and shared responsibility beyond the sustainability team.

Why was ESG data important for Bolsius?

ESG data helped Bolsius better understand its environmental performance, including greenhouse gas emissions. This supported more informed decisions across the business and helped the company prioritise actions linked to its climate commitments.

What is a Double Materiality Assessment?

A Double Materiality Assessment helps a company identify both how sustainability issues affect the business and how the business affects people and the environment. For Bolsius, this helped clarify priority impacts, risks and opportunities across the value chain.

How can CSRD preparation support B Corp recertification?

CSRD preparation can support B Corp recertification by helping companies strengthen sustainability data, governance and materiality assessment. These foundations can provide a stronger starting point for B Lab Standards V2, although CSRD compliance does not automatically mean a company will meet B Corp requirements.

How does Bolsius approach continuous improvement?

Bolsius uses its Impact Strategy, guided by Reduce, Care and Engage, to connect environmental action, employee engagement and stakeholder collaboration to everyday decision-making.

Why is recertification important for Bolsius?

For Bolsius, V2 recertification confirmed the importance of credible data, governance and strategic focus. It also reinforced that B Corp Certification is an ongoing commitment to improvement, not a one-time achievement.