Oregon Benefit Company
Vernier Software & Technology is a registered Oregon Benefit Company, as provided for in Oregon ORS 60.750-ORS 60.770 A Benefit Company is a corporate status for companies that strive to make a positive impact on society and the environment, in addition to earning a profit. The Oregon statute gives clarity to the managers of a company that their fiduciary duty includes creation of a public benefit and consideration of non-financial interests. The purpose is to create a general public benefit, which is defined as “a material positive impact on society and the environment, taken as a whole, from the business and operations of the company.”
The specific public benefit of Vernier Software & Technology, as stated in our operating agreement, includes
- Creation of an innovative technology-based array of products for science, math, and engineering education
- Assisting educators in increasing students’ critical-thinking skills through hands-on learning
- Encouraging a healthy, team-oriented workplace where active and sustained responsibility for our environment is a high priority.
As a Benefit Company, Vernier is required to “assess the extent to which the Benefit Company provides a general public benefit and any specific public benefit identified in the Benefit Company’s articles of organization against a third-party standard.” For this assessment, we used the B Impact Assessment, revision 5. This is an assessment tool provided by B Lab, a nonprofit organization that promotes and encourages benefit companies. We thank B Lab for making this assessment tool publicly available to companies such as ours.
In an unofficial completion of the assessment in November 2019, we scored 95.9 points out of a possible 200 points. The points by impact area were:
- Governance 11.7
- Workers 23.6
- Community 18.3
- Environment 12.9
- Customers 29.2
According to the B Lab website, most businesses score between 40 and 100. They label the range 50 to 100 as “great”. 80 points are required to be a B Corp.
The assessment is broken down into several sections. Here is a summary of our results by section:
| SECTION | OUR SCORE |
|---|---|
| Workers | 23.6 |
| Customers | 29.2 |
| Community | 18.3 |
| Environment | 12.9 |
| Governance | 11.7 |
Note that this was a self assessment, not verified by B-Labs.
Some details as to how we are meeting our goals as an Oregon Benefit Company are as follows:
Workers
Vernier is committed to providing a great place to work for our employees. The company has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in Oregon” for over twenty years, including 2023.
Some of our employee benefits:
- Health and dental insurance: Company pays 100% of premiums for full-time employees and their families.
- Life insurance, disability insurance, and vision expense reimbursement are all provided.
- An S125 Plan is offered to employees for dependent care and medical reimbursement.
- Employees are provided with a one-month (four calendar weeks) paid sabbatical after seven years of continuous employment.
- Paid tuition assistance up to $5,250 per year is available.
Our company encourages a healthy, team-oriented workplace for all employees through a variety of wellness initiatives. We emphasize creating a working environment that is positive, professional, and yet fun for all employees.
Vernier has been on the “Healthiest Employers in Oregon” list for fourteen years, including 2023. Some of our health-related benefits:
- Onsite fitness center
- Onsite shower facilities with private locker rooms
- Weekly soccer, volleyball, basketball, yoga, kickboxing, and ADAPT exercise activities
- Yearly wellness contests for employees with lots of prizes
Customers
Vernier has been providing easy-to-use and affordable science interfaces, sensors, graphing/analysis software, and curriculum for over 42 years. With world-wide distribution to over 130 countries, our products are used by educators and students from elementary school to college. Focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), Vernier is dedicated to developing creative ways to teach and learn using hands-on science.
We have the best customers in the world—educators. Vernier was founded by a former physics teacher and our technical support and product development group has over 100 years of combined teaching experience. Teachers constantly tell us that we offer the best technical support in our field when compared to other technical businesses.
We love our customers and we strive to provide products that will help teachers teach and students learn.
Community
- The company donated over $100,000 to non-profit organizations in 2023.
- In 2023 Vernier Software & Technology earned sixth place in the Portland Business Journal’s list of Top Philanthropic Companies (for medium size companies).
- The company donated more than $260,000 in Vernier software and hardware products in 2023
- Four hours of paid volunteer time per month is available to each employee to use at a nonprofit in the community. In 2023 Vernier employees and owners volunteered 855 hours.
- Vernier matches employee contributions to nonprofits (up to $1,000 per employee, per year).
- For 16 years, Vernier has provided sponsorship and volunteers to pack and deliver backpacks to all students at a local school.
Read more about Vernier philanthropy »
Environment
Our goal is to provide an environmentally responsible and healthy workplace for our employees.
Vernier has been named one of the “Best Green Companies in Oregon” for fourteen years, including 2023. In 2015, our building, with its new addition, was awarded a LEED Gold designation. As part of pursuing that designation, we reviewed our processes and purchasing, and we are documenting what we do more closely so we can track our progress.
There are a number of innovative environmental features at our building, including photochromic glass, a bike room, and 17,000 watts of solar panels. A light rail station is about 200 meters or yards from our office, and we provide $75 per month to employees who regularly take public transportation. We have a worm composting bin, a bee hive, bat houses, and two bioswales. We have blueberry bushes and fruit trees to provide fruit for employees during the summer.
As a LEED-qualified company, we maintain purchasing guidelines, and our policy puts an emphasis on purchasing material with high post-consumer content and buying products and equipment that have an Energy Star rating. Our green building efforts have earned us an Energy Star performance rating of 90.
The company places a strong emphasis on providing stellar customer service with a generous warranty and repair policy for our customers that can lengthen the life of our products for educators. We strive for our customers to not only have success right out of the box, but we work to provide continued support as they utilize our products in their classrooms for years to come. We design and purchase all products to have the least amount of environmental impact possible.
We use packing material with high recycled content, use soy-based print ink, and guide customers to our website for software and documents rather than including plastic CDs.
We have an active Green Team, led by our on-staff certified Metro Master Recycler. The Green Team members continually look at our practices, educate employees, and reward and recognize efforts for keeping our company lean and green.
Governance
The company was founded in 1981 by David and Christine Vernier. For many years, the Verniers were gradually selling shares of the company to long-time, key employees. In 2023 there were 11 active partners, including our CEO, John Wheeler who has been with the company for almost 30 years.
In 2024 the company is transitioning to a Perpetual Purpose Trust.
We think this transition will allow the company to keep providing the same great products and technical support to teachers and provide good jobs for our employees for many years to come.