Publish Date: May 13th, 2024

Not all solar companies are created equal. While we hope that all are operating in good faith, sometimes it’s hard to be sure. Misleading marketing tactics, aggressive pressure during the sales process, and hidden costs have been known to be present in the solar industry.

Seeing these issues in our industry is something we’re frustrated by. The way we show up in the world, and in business, matters. And it’s something we take seriously at Namaste Solar.

At Namaste Solar, we’re locally owned and operated, a Certified B Corporation, 100% employee-owned, and top-rated on the state. But above all that, we prioritize people in everything we do. This means that we consider how we are creating good for our employees, our customers, and the community at large with every decision. We’re committed to transforming energy and transforming business in a way that benefits people.

In this blog, we’ll share how Namaste Solar has been designed over the years to keep this people-first culture in place.

The Namaste Solar Difference

At Namaste Solar, we work to generate profit, just like any other company. But we also place equal importance on creating benefits for people (including our employees, customers, shareholders, vendors, partners, community members, etc.) and the environment.

Since we started in 2005, we’ve put significant intention and care into creating a cooperative that values people every step of the way. It’s in our very structure.

Here are some of the ways we’ve institutionalized our values:

Our Mission Statement: Our mission statement reads, “We work to propagate the responsible use of solar energy, pioneer conscientious business practices, and create holistic wealth for ourselves and our community.” Many company mission statements languish in some formal document or sit like a mausoleum on the website. Ours is very much alive in our company and is often referenced when co-owners are debating challenging decisions or facing uncertainty. Are we being responsible actors in business? Are we pushing ourselves to improve how we operate our business? Are we sharing the wealth that we generate?

Employee-Ownership: The people who come to work and put their time and energy into this company are the ones who have access to the most powerful levers in our organization. Co-owners at Namaste Solar can, through a democratic process, override board decisions or company leadership decisions. Co-owners can run for and serve on the board of directors to be part of deciding how we distribute profits to our communities, our co-owners, and our shareholders. And co-owner votes frequently change the direction of our cooperative in big and small ways.

Our team of candidates and co-owners at the bi-annual retreat, April 2024

Our Pillars of Employee-Ownership: We have a common saying at Namaste Solar that “no one of us is as smart as all of us.” This recognizes that everyone brings a unique perspective, valuable knowledge, and important insight to the table. Three pillars of our company governance put this saying into practice: cooperative ownership, democratic decision-making, and transparency. As a cooperative, we have a large group of people who get a seat at the table and who have a voice in company decision-making. Our co-owners get to vote on significant issues affecting the company, creating more equitable outcomes. Finally, we share information openly to encourage debate and collaboration; you can’t have an effective democracy without informed participants.

Certified B Corporation: B Corporations are held to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility through a rigorous evaluation, conducted by third-party non-profit. And this certification isn’t a set it and forget it scenario. Namaste Solar has to go through the recertification process every three years. On top of that, the requirements around certification are always evolving to meet the changing needs and demands of the world. B Corp requirements look at our internal governance, employee policies, how we engage with our communities, the service we provide, our supply chain, representation in our leadership and on our board, actions we take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and many other factors. You can read more about the requirements to be a B Corp here: B Corp Requirements.

Non-commissioned salespeople – Our salespeople aren’t motivated by commission during the sales process. Instead, they focus on giving every person they talk to the most relevant, honest information. This allows our team to be people first while also treating our customers like people, too. Read more about our sales process and how we’ll be the one company that will talk you out of going solar.

One of our non-commissioned sales advisors working remotely

Our Core Values: One of our core values is stakeholder balancing, meaning we consider how our decisions impact our customers, investors, community, company, ourselves, and the Earth. Another is long-term thinking. We aren’t in business to make a quick buck or mislead anyone into a sale. We know those things won’t serve us, or our customers, in the long run. These are just two of our eight core values – check out the rest here.

A way we ensure a positive impact on our community is with Volunteer Time On (VTO). The team here is volunteering with the Veterans Community Project.

Don’t Just Listen to Us

It’s easy to leave a review when something goes wrong. So, we appreciate that our customers make sure they leave reviews when things go well, too. This has led to us being the top-rated local solar company in Colorado.

Just listen to what some of our customers had to say:

• Chrissy Miresse says, “The deciding factor for me [was that] Anna was great, and I liked that you aren't pushy sales commission-based. I would much rather support a local Colorado company and these excellent people that work there than a giant conglomerate. It's definitely about keeping money local and supporting a business that really reflects what we also care about. Money is an important decision-making factor. But when the playing field was very level, why the heck wouldn't [we] go with this company that has these values that are very important to us. It was just a no brainer.” 
  • Read Chrissy’s full interview here.
    
    
• New Belgium Brewing Company, one of our commercial clients, shared, “When we decided to pursue a solar system installation, we selected Namaste Solar based on the merits of their experience, passion, and dedication to a high level of customer service and quality work, as well as a demonstrated commitment to holistic business practices that benefit all project stakeholders.”

To learn more about our customer’s experiences, you can check out our Boulder and Denver reviews.

Why Does This Matter?

Manipulative door-to-door solar reps, aggressive commission-driven sales tactics, and inaccurate pricing are making headlines and tarnishing the solar industry’s reputation. And for so many, it’s understandably been extremely off-putting.

Done ethically, solar power has the potential to mitigate climate change in big ways while providing financial benefits to homeowners. But in the worst case, there’s real damage being done to the industry when companies act dishonestly.

So, choosing a company with aligned values makes a difference, not only in your experience going solar, but for the future of the industry.

Doing the right thing isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be hard to make the right choices consistently. But we know that doing so is what creates real, tangible change.

To experience the Namaste Solar difference for yourself, talk with one of our seasoned non-commissioned advisors. You can do that here. You’ll see what solar can look like for your home and will get details about the complete system price, your payback period, and monthly electricity bill savings.

Recommended Reading:

1. What Does It Mean to Work for a B Corp?
2. 12 Years as a Certified B Corp!
3. How to Build an Employee-Owned Business