What is a B Corp — And Why Should It Matter to How Women Travel?

Featured image: Travelling with a B Corp certified tour company manifests women’s economic power into action | Photo by Image-Source via Envato

Why travel with a B Corp-certified business? 

by Claudia Laroye

B Corps are having a moment. 2026 marks the 20-year anniversary of a movement that began as a radical idea – that businesses, workers and stakeholders can transform the economy to benefit people and the planet. That it was time to use people’s collective power to embed change in the culture and structure of our worldwide economy. For the conscientious traveller wanting to make a positive impact in how she chooses to travel, signing on to a trip with a B Corp-certified tour company manifests economic power into action with benefits that go beyond the individual. 

What is a B Corp?

As defined by the non-profit certifier network B Lab, “certified B Corporations are leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.”  Some well-known examples of B Corps include outdoor clothing company Patagonia, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and footwear company TOMS. The B Corp Movement estimates that it positively impacts more than 1 million workers at over 11,000 companies across 160+ industries in 104 countries.

Unlike other accreditation programs, B Corp (short for “Benefit for All” Corporation) certification is unique in measuring a business’s entire social and environmental impact. The goal for a B Corp-certified company is to make business purposeful beyond profit margins – to operate businesses as part of a holistic human system, not separate from it.

The five main Impact Pillars of B Corps include; Governance (a company’s ethics and transparency), Workers (their financial security, health and wellness), Community (diversity, inclusion, civic engagement), Environment (management practices impacting the natural realm) and Customer Stewardship (quality of products, services, data privacy).

B Corps should be accountable not only to shareholders but to the people who are employed by them, and those who wish to interact, hire or work with them. These companies must demonstrate stewardship of the environment in which they operate.   The B Corp website has a complete listing of certified B Corporations searchable to industry and country.

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How a company gets B Corp certification

The effort to get B Corp certification is involved and lengthy. In short, it’s no small deal, especially for new or small-sized tour operators. The process can take years and involves a lot of data collection and information gathering.

Dawn Booker of Durham, North Carolina, is working through the B Corp certification process for her tour company, Pack Light Global. As someone who believes strongly in the power of travel to be personally meaningful and a source of greater social and economic well-being for local communities, it’s an important step in her company’s evolution.

“Being a value-driven travel company means we are intentional about who benefits from our presence,” says Booker. “Working with local partners and supporting locally owned businesses not only strengthens the economic impact of tourism within those communities; it also creates a deeper, more authentic experience for our travellers.”

B Corp certification determines a business’s accountability through a rigorous evaluation process measuring governance, transparency and responsibility. Every aspect of business performance is quantified, from the state of employee benefits to supply chain practices, governance and charitable giving.

During the assessment phase of a B Corp application, a business must provide B Lab with comprehensive and credible impact standards to support economic systems change. Benchmark criteria need to be met before the process begins, and companies can use a free self-assessment tool provided by B Lab to determine those baselines.

For Jools Sampson, founder of UK-based Reclaim Yourself Retreats, a woman-owned, certified B Corporation known for yoga retreats and wellness adventures in extraordinary places, the process and designation help to foster a values-driven approach with regenerative benefits to communities in the destinations it operates.

Recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the Best Yoga Retreats in the World, Reclaim Yourself  “creates experiences that positively impact the communities we visit,” including in Mongolia, Bhutan, Iceland and the Galápagos.

How traveling with a B Corp makes a positive impact

JourneyWoman’s “Invisible No More: The Ageless Adventuress” global study, conducted in partnership with Collette Travel, Intrepid Travel and Aurora Expeditions, highlighted that women over 50 travellers are savvy travel decision-makers, not easily influenced and keen to seek out trustworthy recommendations.

B Corp certification helps travellers find trusted tour companies around the world, as they go through a rigourous and lengthy vetting process; one that provides confidence for consumers that their values align and that social, regenerative and environmental standards will be met.

Creating a positive impact was on the mind of fellow Canadian, Meredith Eudovic, on an unforgettable trip to India with B Corp Intrepid Travel in 2024. “I chose to travel with a B Corp as I knew the Women’s Expedition would create a meaningful and positive impact on the communities I was visiting and learning from,” recalls Eudovic.

While she was in Jaipur, the group had the chance to go on an e-rickshaw food trail tour with Pink City Rickshaw. This social enterprise empowers women and provides work opportunities that would not normally be available to women from low-income households.

“When we stopped to try some katchori from the roadside shop, we chatted with the women, who beamed with pride and joy thanks to the positive impact this opportunity has had on both them and their families,” she says.

Travel can be life-changing in many ways. In choosing a trip created by a B Corp certified travel company, travellers can ensure that benefits resonate beyond themselves to positively and quantifiably impact the people and places visited.

How you can find a B Corp Certified Travel Company

JourneyWoman host the world’s largest ​Women’s Travel Directory as a free service to readers, spotlighting vetted women-friendly companies, most of which are small tourism businesses. Women can also find a B Corp label on individual company listings.

One example is Australia-based Aurora Expeditions, which is the only small expedition ship company that is B Corp certified. Founded by Greg and Margaret Mortimer in 1996, the certification highlights for potential customers that the company meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance. This is especially important given that Aurora operates in the High Arctic and Antarctica, two of the most sensitive ecosystems on earth. Other B Corps in JourneyWoman’s Directory include Adventure Tours UK, Exodus Adventure Travels, Explore! Worldwide, and Rebecca Adventure Travel.

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