20 Years of Transforming Energy & Transforming Business

Transforming Energy

We install solar. Duh. But more than that, we are committed to the responsible use of solar. This means we work to have responsible practices from the first conversation with a potential customer (no dishonest sales tactics) through installation (skilled, professional, and safe installers) and beyond that to maintenance and service (we’re here for the long haul, ya’ll).

Transforming Business

Solar is what we do. But it’s also important why we do it and how we do it. We see business as an opportunity to do more than just make a profit. We are empowering individuals to be owners of a business, building careers, proving a cooperative business model can succeed, promoting conscientious business practices, engaging with our community through giving and volunteering, and more.

“One of the neat things about Namaste Solar, and about how we do things, is that everyone – truly everyone who has ever worked here – has helped contribute to our success and has helped co-create this company. Everyone’s fingerprints are on it. Thank you to all Namastaliens, past and present, for the part you played in helping us get here and in becoming who we are today.” – Blake Jones, Co-Owner and Founder

Employee-Ownership is at the Heart of Namaste Solar

Namaste Solar has taken an uncommon approach to business. We choose co-ownership over hierarchy; distributed leadership over top-down control; sustainable growth over aggressive expansion; collaboration over competition. We firmly believe this business model translates to more engaged employees along with better designs, installations, and customer experiences.

Cooperative Ownership

All employees are invited to become co-owners at Namaste Solar, and togeteher we share the risks and rewards of business ownership.

Democratic Decision-Making

Each co-owner can own one share in the company, and many major decisions are made on a one-person, one-vote basis.

Extreme Transparency

We practice open book management and hold open meetings.

“Converting to a worker owned cooperative is probably one of the things I’m most proud of. Working to be a business that creates more fairness in a world of capitalism, which I’ve learned is grossly unfair, feels like a very important part of our work.” – Jason Sharpe, Co-Owner and CEO

A People-First Approach

One of the through lines for the story of Namaste Solar is that we put people first. Whether it’s our sales team and using a non-commissioned approach so they can give honest advice or how we treat customers, we always try to do the right thing. This often means doing things the hard way, but we are committed to quality results and creating long-term value.

Certified B Corporation

Namaste Solar has been a Certified B Corporation since 2011. B Corps must meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

Community Engagement

Each year, we give back to our community through volunteering, Community Profit Sharing, our annual Keep the Lights on Colorado campaign, and more. Part of our mission statement is to “create holistic wealth for ourselves and our community.”

“Namaste Solar has been a successful experiment in democratic decision-making and long-term thinking. The people attracted to our mission, our pillars of employee-ownership, and our core values make the magic happen. It’s a bit of chicken and egg. We might not still be here without all the people who have contributed through their hard work and distributed leadership at our organization through the years. We may not have attracted people critical to our success without our business structure.” – Jon Wedel, Co-Owner and Vice President of Commercial

Thank you!

Thank you to all the Namastaliens, customers, vendors, investors, partners, and supporters who have helped make these 20 years so impactful. We look forward to 20 more years of transforming energy and transforming business with you, Colorado!