I had the opportunity to sit down with Steve O’Rourke VP Business Development, and Chad Schubert Director of Internal Operations, both of Microgrid Energy. In the 3 episodes with them, we discuss Triple Bottom Line, B Corporations, and how both these affect the day-to-day at this solar and energy management company.
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Here are a few of the notes I took while editing the episode.
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What is a B Corp. Certification for sustainable businesses. Seeking a Triple Bottom Line approach.
Benefit Corporation – Legal business organization as compared to B Corp Certification for companies that can’t/don’t want to change their legal structure. However, even with a certification, you have to change your operating agreement.
Will take into consideration how their decisions affect stakeholders and shareholders alike.
Getting the certification is tough to come by, and if you earn it, Chad believes it means something. Chad chose to work with them because they were triple bottom line and were looking to get B Corp Certification.
A job applicant said to them, “You had me at Triple Bottom Line.” So this can help in recruiting.
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Links and Resources
Steve O’Rourke has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Missouri State University, and is a NABCEP-Certified PV Technical Sales Professional who has taught about the business case for solar at St. Louis Community College’s Center for Workforce Innovation. He brings thirty plus years of experience in consulting, sales, marketing and information technologies, including ten years in the renewable energy industry. Steve has been able to leverage these skills to promote energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy as key parts of a sustainable energy management strategy to a variety of commercial and nonprofit organizations with Microgrid Energy since 2010. He currently serves on the board of the Missouri Gateway chapter of US Green Building Council, and is a board member and treasurer of the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association. His published articles can be found atIntelEfficient.com
Chad Schubert is currently pursuing an MBA at St. Louis University while working full time at Microgrid Energy as their Director of Internal Operations. Chad is a NABCEP Certified PV Technical Sales Professional and spent a year and a half living off the grid in Zambia before joining Microgrid Energy in 2013. Chad leads Microgrid’s Triple Bottom Line efforts and oversees their B Corp Certification. He has a passion for social entrepreneurship and using business to make the world a better place. More information can be found at www.chadschubert.com.
B Corp – https://www.bcorporation.net/
B Impact Assessment – http://bimpactassessment.net/bcorporation
John Elkington coined the phrase, Tripe Bottom Line – See his story in this pdf (long, but interesting reading) – http://www.johnelkington.com/archive/TBL-elkington-chapter.pdf
John Elkington’s website – http://johnelkington.com/
Microgrid Energy Triple Bottom Line statement – https://www.microgridenergy.com/about/triple-bottom-line/
Microgrid Energy site – https://www.microgridenergy.com/ (Their cool intro video on their website aligns perfectly with my music, LA All Night.)
Namaste Solar – Holy cow they have some cool resources in this company. http://www.namastesolar.com/