Case
Teaching Notes
Abstract
In 2004, Colorado voters passed a ballot initiative to establish Renewable Electricity Standard. Blake Jones, one of the two founding partners of Namasté Solar, saw this as an opportunity to build a company around sustainable renewable energy. Namasté Solar then established a niche market to install solar electric systems for residential and commercial customers. Jones built Namasté Solar around the concept of a democratic employee-owned cooperative with holistic profit measurement and a flexible work environment. Namasté Solar positioned itself to be an ethical and socially responsible company through its environmental stewardship and community giving programs. However, as a result of U.S. trade tariffs on solar products, the company is now experiencing challenges to remain competitive. Given these challenges, readers are asked to evaluate the feasibility of Namasté Solar’s corporate strategy in an increasing saturated industry. How should Namasté Solar address challenges to its sustainability strategy and maintain its employee-owned cooperative model?
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