Northern Village earns B Corp certification

Northern Village is now a Certified B Corporation, a designation that verifies the company meets high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

“We are very proud to be among the growing number of companies in Guelph and around the world that have achieved B Corp certification,” said Arni Mikelsons, founder of Northern Village. “It’s a tremendous honour to become part of this movement using business as a force for good.”

B Corps include major brands such as Patagonia, Hootsuite and Kickstarter and Danone, as well as local companies such as Neighbourhood Group (The Wooly Pub, Borealis Grille & Bar, and Miijida Café + Bistro), Flow Office Wisdom, Lucky Iron Fish and Shared Value Solutions.

Northern Village joins more than 1,200 Certified B Corporations in over 120 industries and nearly 50 countries that are redefining success in business. B Corporations focus on balancing purpose and profit, and are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on the environment and their stakeholders, including workers, customers, suppliers and community members.

Northern Village’s success in achieving B Corp certification is based on the following factors:

• Over half our business is with purpose-driven organizations, including social benefit organizations, charities and educational institutions, with discounts for charities and social benefit organizations.
• Our customers are mainly local, with more than 90% of our business conducted within 80 kilometres of Guelph.
• We use local suppliers whenever possible.
• We are dedicated to paying a living wage to our employees.
• We are dedicated to reducing our impact on the environment.

Achieving B Corp status for the company was a natural progression for Mikelsons, who earned a degree in environmental studies and computer science at the University of Toronto before starting his career helping non-profits in Zimbabwe get on the internet. He founded Northern Village in Guelph in 2002. The company has recently created websites for community organizations such as:

• The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario - Guelph & Wellington Branch (provides education and advocacy for local heritage architecture and landscapes)
• Hopewell Children's Homes (serving children and youth with developmental needs)
• RGC Fund (Rotary Club of Guelph Charitable Foundation)
• Street Health (non-profit community based agency that improves the health of homeless and under-housed people in Toronto).

“The process of documenting our business practices for B Corp certification has deepened our understanding of the good that we have been doing and how we are helping our customers succeed,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to increase our positive impact in the coming years and working with other B Corps to further expand the B Corp movement.”

About Northern Village (www.northernvillage.com)

Northern Village was established in 2002 to provide website development and hosting services in the Guelph area, with a mission to create websites that are easy to update. Northern Village specializes in collaborating on web development projects with creatives (such as designers, marketers and project managers) as well as providing end-to-end web solutions for small businesses, charities, community groups and educational institutions.

 

For more information, please contact:
Arni Mikelsons
Founder, Northern Village
1-519-821-9000
arni [at] northernvillage.com