Philadelphia, PA, January 22, 2013 – Award-winning web designer YIKES, Inc. is among the first companies to become a Pennsylvania benefit corporation. The company filed its amended articles of incorporation at a ceremony held Tuesday, January 22, 2013, at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia. Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele was on hand to accept YIKES’ registration as a benefit corporation.
“At YIKES, Inc. we believe that business can change the world for the better. We are dedicated to building a more socially, environmentally, and financially sustainable local economy. Becoming a benefit corporation allows us to show our commitment to our values and beliefs as a business,” says Mia Levesque co‐founder of YIKES, Inc.
YIKES, Inc. is a Philadelphia-based, full-service, web design, and development company. YIKES builds smart, effective, creative web solutions for businesses and non-profit organizations. As a company, YIKES has been dedicated to sustainable business practices since 1996. The company is committed to building a more socially, environmentally, and financially sustainable local economy, YIKES is a socially responsible business observing the triple bottom line: people, planet, profit. YIKES is proud to have earned B Corporation Certification and is a member and sponsor of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. YIKES received the 2011 B Corporation Award “Most Inspirational Project,” and the Triple Bottom Line Award at the 2005 Social Venture Institute. The YIKES office is located in a LEED Platinum-certified building and is powered by 100% Renewable electricity. Additionally, YIKES is a certified Woman-Owned Business by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Minority and Women Business Opportunities and City of Philadelphia Office of Economic Opportunity.
Pennsylvania is one of 12 states that have passed legislation creating benefit corporations, which allows sustainably minded companies to adopt a corporate structure that frees them of the traditional corporation’s requirement to maximize profit and shareholder returns. A benefit corporation allows – and requires – its directors to take into account “public benefits” that include the environment, the community and other constituents, some of whom may have no direct connection to the entity. Under the new Pennsylvania law, any corporation that elects benefit corporation status must, in addition to its stated business purpose, also adopt a purpose of creating a “public benefit,” and must also file an annual benefit report and fulfill other requirements of the law in order to maintain benefit corporation status.
“Governor Corbett’s number one priority is having a job available for every Pennsylvanian that wants one,” said Aichele. “The governor is working hard to make Pennsylvania attractive for businesses to locate and expand, and providing companies the option of registering as benefit corporations is one more way of doing that.”
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