Most Innovative Businesses™ Certification

The mark of recognition for businesses transforming their industries.

The Most Innovative Businesses™ certification program recognizes organizations that are driving meaningful change in their industries through bold ideas, creative strategies, and purposeful actions.

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Learn About Certification

Certification Benefits:

Official badge licensing option to showcase your achievement.
Profile on Norgress.com highlighting your innovation.
Exclusive brand assets and professional digital materials.

Earning recognition as a Most Innovative Business™ is not an award. It is certification of leadership, originality and real-world innovation.

The Most Innovative Business™ program recognizes organizations that are not just adapting to change but defining it. This honor celebrates companies that have introduced bold ideas, transformative strategies, or unique initiatives that are helping to shape the future.

Whether you have launched a disruptive product, reimagined the customer experience, or pioneered a new use of technology, this is your chance to showcase how innovation drives real impact for your firm.

Winners receive the option to license the official badge of the program, will be featured across Norgress platforms, and will be recognized among an exclusive community of forward-thinking businesses . This recognition celebrates not only success but also the courage to rethink what is possible and the creativity to make it real.

Why Get Certified?

Innovation deserves to be recognized. The Most Innovative Businesses program helps to celebrate the entrepreneurs, builders, and creators who are redefining what success looks like in today’s business landscape.

Be seen as a leader in innovation.

Certification strengthens your reputation, builds trust, and showcases your company’s forward-thinking approach to clients, investors, and employees.

Boost employee morale and retention.

Show current and future employees that hard work pays off. Recognition through this program can boost morale and enhance your ability to attract talent.

Grow your company's visibility.

Certified businesses are featured on Norgress.com and across our channels, reaching a growing network of professionals and decision-makers.

Celebrate your progress.

You’ll receive the option to license the official badge and certificate to display on your website, marketing materials, and social media.

Recognizing excellence across every dimension of innovation and progress.

The Most Innovative Businesses™ Certification features six recognition categories that reflect the many ways organizations drive progress and impact. From digital transformation and operations to culture, sustainability, and customer experience, each category highlights a unique path to innovation and measurable success.

View Categories

How Certification works and why it’s unique.

The Most Innovative Businesses™ certification program stands apart by combining transparency with rigorous evaluation. Instead of relying on votes or popularity, we assess innovation through measurable outcomes and real-world impact.

The certification process starts with a no-cost nomination.

The certification process begins with an application, open to company founders, employees, or partners who wish to spotlight innovation that deserves recognition. Applications can be submitted year-round for businesses of any size or sector, from early-stage startups to global enterprises.

Applications are free of cost and designed to make recognition accessible and inclusive. Whether you are a team member proud of a groundbreaking project, a partner who has seen innovation firsthand, or a founder seeking validation for your company’s progress, your application marks the first step toward becoming a Most Innovative Business™

Before submitting, please review the eligibility criteria to ensure the company meets the program requirements. We also recommend explore our recognition categories to determine which type of innovation best matches the organization.

Each nominee then undergoes a review and evaluation procress.

Once an application is submitted, it enters the evaluation phase, where our review team carefully assesses each business using a balanced and evidence-based approach. We look beyond surface-level achievements to understand the true impact of each company’s innovation, how it improves processes, enhances customer experiences, creates social or economic value, and demonstrates originality within its industry.

The evaluation process combines both qualitative and quantitative measures. We consider supporting factors such as media coverage, performance metrics, customer testimonials, and project summaries to verify and strengthen each nomination. Our goal is to ensure that recognition is not only credible but also meaningful, highlighting organizations that are genuinely shaping the future through innovation.

Becoming certified affirms your status as a leader in innovation.

After successfully completing the evaluation and review process, businesses that meet or exceed the program’s standards are formally awarded certification as a Most Innovative Business™.

Certification represents more than recognition. It’s validation of a company’s commitment to creativity, progress, and measurable impact. Certified organizations demonstrate not only the capacity to innovate but also the discipline to execute and sustain their ideas in meaningful ways that benefit their customers, employees, and communities.

Upon certification, businesses receive options for an official digital badge license and a customized recognition package from Norgress. This package includes a verified company profile on the Norgress website, visibility across our innovation network, and the opportunity to share their achievement through press release templates, digital assets, and more.

Eligibility

The Most Innovative Businesses™ certification is open to organization that demonstrates a clear and verifiable commitment to innovation, progress and impact within its field. Certification is awarded based on following criteria:

Business Size:

Open to companies of all sizes, including:

Startups (pre-revenue or early-stage ventures)
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
Established corporations and enterprises

Each application is evaluated relative to company size, industry, and available resources to ensure fairness and balanced assessment.

Location:

Open to North American and international companies.
Businesses must be legally registered and actively operating within their jurisdiction.
Global or multi-location firms are eligible provided they can demonstrate innovation impact within at least one primary market.

Innovation Focus:

Applicants must show clear and verifiable examples of innovation, such as:

Launching a new product, service or experience;
Implementing a transformative internal process or technology;
Achieving measurable community, customer, or business impact; or
Advancing progress, creativity, or sustainability within their field.

Supporting documentation (e.g., press releases, customer reviews, testimonials, or metrics) may be requested during verification.

Eligibility Exclusions:

Ineligible entities include:

Government agencies or departments
Political organizations or lobbying groups
Businesses operating in explicit or high-risk industries
Shell or inactive companies
Businesses with unresolved ethical or legal violations

All applicants are subject to independent verification and review prior to certification approval.

Certification Categories

Product or Service Innovation

Celebrates businesses that have launched distinctive, impactful, or technically advanced offerings that solve real-world problems or create new markets.

Customer Experience

For businesses that have reimagined how customers engage with their products or services through personalization, digital transformation, or service excellence.

Operations & Efficiency

Recognizes companies that have streamlined internal processes, leveraged automation, or introduced new systems that improve productivity, sustainability, or cost management.

Sustainability & Social Impact

For organizations making measurable contributions to environmental sustainability, social good, or ethical business practices while remaining commercially strong.

Workplace Culture & Leadership

Honors businesses that are redefining what it means to lead by fostering creativity, inclusion, flexibility, and employee growth in innovative ways.

Digital Transformation & Technology

For businesses leveraging digital tools, data, and emerging technologies to enhance customer value, operations, or market reach.

Program Overview FAQs

Application & Evaluation FAQs

Certification FAQs

Most Innovative Businesses™ is a certification program recognizing organizations that advance their industries through creativity, technology and purposeful innovation. It identifies companies that demonstrate measurable transformation and long-term impact, not simply growth or market popularity.

Unlike traditional award programs, certification is earned through an evidence-based review process aligned with established innovation standards, rather than through competition or judging panels.

Apply for certification — it's free.

Applying for the Most Innovative Businesses™ certification is straightforward and free of charge. There are no fees for submitting an application or undergoing evaluation.

Each submission is reviewed by Norgress using defined criteria focused on originality, execution quality, scalability, and measurable impact. Applicants are encouraged to provide clear descriptions of their innovations and any supporting evidence that demonstrates real-world results.

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