ReVision Energy earns B Corporation Certification
August 6, 2015 - Owners Developers & Managers
ReVision Energy has earned B Corporation Certification, an official acknowledgment of the company's commitment to creating positive social change, as well as its commitment to transparency and accountability to its broad community of stakeholders.
"This certification is immensely important to us because it is further validation of our belief that business success can result from prioritizing the well-being of people and the planet over the traditional business focus of generating profits," said Phil Coupe, a co-founder and managing partner of ReVision Energy.
The "B" stands for "Benefit" Corporation and denotes that a business has committed itself to a defined set of non-traditional business practices that benefit employees, customers and the broader community by creating a positive impact on society and the environment. B Corps differ from traditional corporations in purpose, accountability and transparency, but not in taxation. In a traditional corporation, shareholders judge the company's financial performance; with a B Corp, shareholders judge performance based on how a corporation's goals benefit society and the environment. Transparency provisions require benefit corporations to publish annual benefit reports of their social and environmental performance using a comprehensive, credible, independent and transparent third-party standard.
B Labs is the non-profit organization that awards B Corp certification to companies that complete a rigorous application process. To date there are 1,300 B Corps in 120 industries across the globe with the common goal of redefining business success.
"Over the years we have tried to model what we saw as the best practices of great companies like Tom's of Maine, Ben & Jerry's, Timberland and Stonyfield Farm—these were the real world forerunners of what is gradually becoming a B Corporation global movement," noted Coupe, who once worked for Tom's of Maine founder Tom Chappell. "Those socially responsible companies proved to the rest of the business world that it's actually true that you can do well financially by doing good things for society."
ReVision Energy has become the leading solar energy company in northern New England, having designed and installed more than 4,500 solar energy systems in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts since the company started out with two guys in a garage in 2003. Today the company has 100 employees in four locations (Liberty & Portland, ME; Concord & Exeter, NH). ReVision Energy's mission is to execute the societal transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a sustainable, renewable-energy based economy that drastically reduces carbon pollution.
In addition to reducing fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions, the company is dedicated to helping mission-driven non-profits achieve their goals in the areas of at-risk and disadvantaged youth, homelessness, hunger, the environment and social justice.