Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Tag: best for colorado

Burgess Group | Compass: Supporting Food Security and Selling the Coloradan Dream

Fsp Mckenzie Farm 3 1 Emily Tracy

Burgess Group | Compass is a Best for Colorado company and real estate group with 25 years of experience selling high end and luxury properties in Colorado’s most sophisticated markets. Their services include building, rehab and professional real estate services.

Burgessgroup Logo Lockup Black 1 Emily Tracy

Along their exceptional success record and marketing expertise, Burgess Group | Compass takes corporate social responsibility seriously, regularly donating to 14+ charities and launching a project to support Coloradans experiencing food insecurity.

We spoke with Founder Catherine Burgess about Burgess Group’s commitment to their clients, communities and doing business better.

June 1 Harvest Burgess Group Food Security Project3839 Emily Tracy

Best for Colorado: Tell us more about your company in general. What do you do? What is your mission? What makes you different?

Catherine Burgess: Burgess Group | Compass has over 25 years of experience, including building, rehab and professional real estate services. We have an exceptional success record selling hundreds of properties in some of Colorado’s most sophisticated markets, including Boulder, Boulder County and Denver.

As one of the top-ranking Boulder County real estate groups, we pride ourselves on providing our clients with concierge-level service, deep contract savvy and expert negotiating skills. Also, we are real estate data nerds! Every week, we analyze what happened last week in our local markets.

We scrutinize national trends and interpret their impact on our local markets. Our clients (and the agent community) thank us regularly for our weekly videos and blogs that explain how to be successful in our local real estate market. We have always taken corporate social responsibility very seriously.

Every year, we donate more than $150 for every property sold to 14+ charities, including Colorado Music Festival and Center for Music Arts, Impact on Education and Museum of Boulder. We recently launched the Food Security Project, too!

B4CO: How did your company first hear about Best for Colorado, and why did you decide to join?

CB: We first heard about Best for Colorado via a ColoradoBiz newsletter. We wanted to join the many highlighted businesses that create a wonderful state to do business. We also wanted to highlight our new project, The Food Security Project, to inspire people to take steps to fight food insecurity.

B4CO: What is a challenging aspect of your work?

CB: The perpetual challenge in this market is tight inventory. This topic is getting enormous national attention right now, but locally it has been a seller’s market since 2011 in most of the market, and occasionally since 2014 within the luxury market. Deeply understanding the markets and the contract, plus preparing clients to engage so that they can be competitive, is the secret sauce that helps us serve more than 100 clients yearly to sell or buy their piece of the Colorado dream.

B4CO: What is an achievement your company is proud of?

CB: In 2020 food security hit its lowest rate in 20 years, with over half a million Coloradans expected to experience food insecurity in 2021. We recently launched The Food Security Project, using our listing of the historic 80-acre McKenzie Farm in Boulder, to grow thousands of pounds of produce for Boulder and Broomfield counties.

We provided a donation to nonprofit Community Food Share, a food bank serving Boulder and Broomfield counties. The donation supported Community Food Share in hiring a farmer, Katie Ketchum, to work the land that the charitable McKenzie family is donating. Community Food Share is also contributing financially to this project, as well as managing the farmer and distributing produce.

Boulder-based public benefit corporation Boundless Landscapes, which advises on, builds and plants micro-farms, is sharing their valuable farm tools, while nonprofit Earth’s Table, an organization that works to eliminate hunger by maintaining seven garden sites, is mentoring Katie, our farmer.

We encourage people everywhere to do what they can to create food security by growing valuable fruits and veggies in their own pandemic victory gardens. Whether you grow a container garden, plant a small strip of land or turn your yard into a full micro-farm, you can donate your surplus produce to a local community food bank like Community Food Share. If gardening is not your bag, consider making a monetary donation to your local food bank and/or volunteer for organizations like Community Food Share and Earth’s Table.

B4CO: Why would you recommend joining Best for Colorado to other companies?

CB: It can be hard to do publicity for your own company, and this is a great way to get the word out about your own business!

Best for Colorado is a program of The Alliance Center. It allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

A Q&A with retirement planning and wealth management experts

Capstone Investment Financial Group is a Best for Colorado company and investment firm focused on long-term, quality portfolios. Their services include retirement planning and wealth management.

Their goal is to help clients pursue their financial futures. Capstone Investment knows that everyone has different needs and priorities when it comes to financial planning. They strive to provide options for everyone, including those who seek to make a difference with their investments.

We spoke with Financial Advisor Lindsey Simek about Capstone Investment’s commitment to ethical investing and doing business better.

Best for Colorado: How long has your company been Best for Colorado?

Lindsey Simek: We were accepted as a Best for Colorado company just recently in 2021.

B4CO: Tell us more about your company in general. What do you do? What is your mission? What makes you different?

LS: We are an investment firm. We focus on quality, long-term types of investments and portfolios. As financial advisors, we are fiduciaries, meaning we put our clients needs above ours at all times. We are fee only and do not sell any type of financial products. We help clients plan for their future, retirement and long-term financial goals.

At Capstone Investment Financial Group we provide portfolios that give our clients diversity and exposure to the market at their comfort level. We also offer portfolios that are environment, social and governance (EGS) based, allowing for impactful investing for those clients that want to make a difference. Here at Capstone we make it a priority to enable our clients, employees, partners and owners to pursue their financial future in order to achieve their dreams and follow their passions.

B4CO: How did your company first hear about Best for Colorado, and why did you decide to join?

LS: We were familiar with The Alliance Center and not only liked but respected what it had to offer. We feel that sustainability can be achieved in all sectors, so we wanted reach out to see what we, as an investment firm, could do. Once we reached out, we found Best for Colorado and the amazing opportunity to become a participating business. We feel this will allow us to demonstrate what we have to offer when it comes to sustainability and impactful investing.

B4CO: What is a challenging aspect of your work?

LS: The most challenging aspect of the investment business is people’s reluctance to work on their financial goals. All too often individuals put off planning and saving and then have unrealistic expectations.

B4CO: What is an achievement your company is proud of?

LS: Our firm ranked in the top 100 financial firms in Colorado. Factors such as ESG implementation, high retention and always putting clients first all have contributed to our company’s success.

B4CO: Why would you recommend joining Best for Colorado to other companies?

LS: I think being a Best for Colorado company has so many obvious benefits. By joining the group we have access to other companies and individuals that have the same concerns and want to achieve the same goals. We are able to see, meet and interact with others that are looking to better our cities, state and planet as whole and do it in so many different ways.

By joining Best for Colorado we are able to work within a community that is all about making an impact, and we are able to experience the multiple ways—ways we never would have even considered—that this can be accomplished.

B4CO: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

LS: At Capstone we are very proud of the ESG platform that we have built. We have provided our clients with quality portfolios that focus on impactful investing. While this isn’t a concern for all of our clients, for many of them it is a top priority. As a company, are able to provide them peace of mind while building on their financial future.

Best for Colorado is a program of The Alliance Center. It allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

A Colorado company is bringing bees to roofs across the Front Range

Free Range Beehive is a Best for Colorado company working to increase the environmental health of the Front Range through a buzzing concept. This company installs beehives on building roofs and maintains them for their customers.

Their goal is to make buildings in Colorado greener and stand out amongst their competition, support the dwindling honey bee populations and nourish Colorado’s environment by providing additional pollinators.

We spoke with Chief Sustainability Officer, John Rosol, about Free Range Beehive’s commitment to sustainability and doing business better.

How long has your company been Best for Colorado?

Free Range Bee Hive has had the opportunity to be a part of The Alliance Center’s Best for Colorado program for the last three months.

Tell us more about your company in general. What do you do? What is your mission? What makes you different?

Free Range Beehives is a corporate beekeeping company dedicated to the repopulation of honeybees across the Colorado Front Range. Environmentally aware corporate citizens hire us to install and maintain honeybee hives on business properties. This delivers environmental benefits from the increased pollinator population and increases the biodiversity of surrounding communities. Companies benefit in several ways, most importantly by helping the environment, but also by qualifying for credits in various green programs such as WELL, LEED, Fitwell and other organizations.

We find that most businesses want to help but are often limited to making donations to nonprofits. This is a noble act but can be impersonal and most companies will never see the product of their contribution. When a business purchases a beehive system from Free Range Beehives, they will not only receive extensive education and materials about the bees, but they will also be able to see and interact with them on a regular basis. We believe Free Range Beehives offers the most innovative, engaging and fun sustainability project in the Front Range area.

How did your company first hear about Best for Colorado, and why did you decide to join?

We were informed about Best for Colorado by the owner and founder of Summit Sustainable Goods, Carrie Martin-Haley, who I had the pleasure of working with at the nonprofit organization Institute for Environmental Solutions. Carrie’s explanation of the values and goals of Best for Colorado and their dedication to the environment, equity and good business practices aligned perfectly with what Free Range Beehives has set out to accomplish. We knew we had to be a part of the community that dedicated themselves to this mission.

What is a challenging aspect of your work?

Helping our clients understand that honeybees are safe is an ongoing challenge for us. When many people think of bees, they think about the chance of getting stung. This is not a strange reaction, but it is unwarranted.

The likelihood a person getting stung by a honeybee is infinitesimally low as the bees are too busy working towards the betterment of their colony to worry about outside interference.

It has been found, statistically, that one is equally as likely to get stung by a bee with hives on their property as they would be if they had no hives on their property. Unless a bee is specifically threatened or attacked it will not sting.

The Free Range Beehives beekeepers don’t even use gloves for this very reason. The insects that are known for stinging are hornets and wasps, which have a similar coloration but are far more aggressive.

What is an achievement your company is proud of?

We have partnered with University of Colorado Denver and the Denver Urban Bee Project to perform research on the honey collected by our beehives in order to form a better understanding of their food sources. This will not only inform us of the overall health of the hives but also give us the best information on what pollinator plants should be spread across the Front Range, especially in metropolitan areas.

We are already involved with the City of Denver’s Mayor’s Office to have beehives included in the voluntary Green Building Code. We hope to present projects increasing honeybee forage in the years ahead.

Come spring we will also be partnering with Bee Informed’s Sentinel Project, which will supply the organization with critical data about honeybees in Colorado they may use to help the health of this species worldwide.

Why would you recommend joining Best for Colorado to other companies?

It opens up your company to a community of businesses and individuals equally dedicated to the betterment of Colorado’s social and environmental health. These are issues that require significant attention and effort to improve but are worth the commitment. Modern businesses recognize this and are putting the effort into make a difference, and Best for Colorado can help give direction and support for their efforts.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Beekeeping is a very localized practice, since the forage species and climate have a large effect on the bees. Free Range Beehives is a local Colorado family business. We hire locally and source all of our equipment and supplies from local beekeeping supply stores. Please contact [email protected] or check out www.freerangebeehives.com for more information or to get a quote!

Best for Colorado is a program of The Alliance Center. It allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

Best for Colorado: Business for good, in the face of the unknown

Namastçsolar Albionrd100819 27 Namaste Solar
Namasté Solar was honored with a Best for Colorado Changemaker award for adapting to challenges brought by COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic shook the Colorado business community to its core this year.

Seemingly overnight, the way that our state does business and celebrates businesses shifted to deal with constantly changing circumstances. And this year’s Best for Colorado Awards Ceremony — hosted by the Alliance Center in partnership with B Lab and B Local Colorado — was not spared from the COVID-19 upheaval.

The annual awards ceremony, which celebrates companies that are leveraging the power of business to do better in Colorado, quickly pivoted. The once in-person event transformed into two online events “dedicated to resiliency and businesses as a force for good,” says Anne Behlouli, programs manager at the Alliance Center.

In a year packed full of challenges, it seems fitting to celebrate the companies still committed to doing good. “The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted inequalities and disparities in our systems,” Behlouli says. “More than ever, the business community can be part of the solution and help our community be resilient.”

The two events, August 5 and 12, were designed to imitate the event’s usual in-person experience.

The first event explored attributes that businesses need to remain resilient and rebuild in a panel. The panelists — who included Jice Johnson, CEO of the Black Business Initiative; Annette Quintana, CEO of Istonish; Jason Sharpe, CEO of Namasté Solar; and Eric Raymond, director of social impact and advocacy at North Face — discussed how businesses can stay afloat in times of uncertainty and build an equitable and sustainable future.

The second event was more celebratory, honoring the eight 2019-2020 Best for Colorado honorees in two categories: the Measure What Matter awards, honoring the highest scoring companies working with the Alliance Center’s B Impact Assessment to measure and improve their impact; and the Commit to Action awards, a new honor celebrating projects and initiatives that are having a replicable impact on their community.

“More than ever, the message of the Best for Colorado program is important. We need companies to be engaged and help build a more resilient and sustainable world on the other side of this crisis,” Behlouli says.

BSW Wealth Partners, an independent wealth management firm and 2020 Measure What Matters award honoree, didn’t skip a beat this year in its commitment to make a difference.

“We have always believed and embodied evolution, and we will continue to push the envelope when it comes to the employment of technology, elevating client service, and taking care of our team,”  says Nicole Zelyez, outreach and engagement coordinator at BSW.

Although the pandemic brought changes to the firm’s event schedule, it remained steadfast in its commitment to the community, re-allocating its events fund to support local health-care workers.

Namasté Solar, another 2020 Measure What Matters honoree, faced significant economic uncertainty this year; as it shifted resources, secured a PPP loan and developed new safety procedures to remain afloat.

“Balancing community and employee health and safety while trying to operate a profitable business has been extremely challenging,” Sharpe says of the solar company he leads. “We are now growing again, and due to our cooperative business model and healthy organizational culture, we feel confident we will weather the ongoing uncertainty and emerge well poised to fulfill our mission for many years to come.”

And amid everything, the company found new ways to support its community, committing itself to participating in the movement for lasting social justice following the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a year shrouded in uncertainty, Best for Colorado not only reminds businesses that resiliency is possible, but that they have a responsibility to their communities — a commitment worth celebrating.

“The tragedies stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic are only the first of a series of crises about to confront us, from global loss of biodiversity to inequalities of our economic system to the climate crisis,” Behlouli says. “We have an obligation to emerge from this pandemic in a way that helps solve the larger crisis.”

Best for Colorado Honorees

Measure What Matters Awards

Commit to Action Awards

The 2020 Best for Colorado Awards

At the 2020 Best for Colorado Awards Ceremony, Secretary of State, Jena Griswold opened by reflecting on the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has presented in these last several months. Amid her recognition of these great challenges, she affirmed the following:

“Coloradans are not only resilient by nature, we’re committed to pulling our communities up with us. Nowhere is this more evident than in our business community. Our business community is dedicated to doing well by doing good, which will serve Colorado as we emerge from the current crises into a new frontier where businesses are the drivers of a new prosperity.” 

Best for Colorado awarded eight companies this year for their commitment to creating this hopeful vision of prosperity that Jena Griswold spoke of–a kind of prosperity that goes beyond just material profit and takes into consideration the wellbeing of our earth and of our communities. 

Five of these eight companies were awarded based on their top performance on the B Impact Assessment (BIA), a free tool created by B Lab that helps companies measure their social and environmental impact. As we enter this new frontier, we’re already witnessing the reality that a resilient business is one that can weather social and environmental shocks. The following companies are ahead of the game and are actively redefining business.

The Change Makers Awards recognized the highest overall scoring companies: Namasté Solar, an employee owned and local Colorado B-corp, and BSW Wealth Partners, an independent financial management firm. Pote Law Firm had the highest score in the Community section of the BIA, Organic India had the highest score in the Environment Section, and DOJO4 had the highest score in the Workers Section. 

These companies represent a significant shift towards a new way of doing business and are 2020 Measure What Matters Honorees because of their commitment to continually improving their practices and redefining what success looks like.

During the awards ceremony panel, Jice Johnson, founder of the Black Business Initiative, shared her vision for redefining success and how the business leaders play a key role in driving this cultural shift. She urged business leaders to detach from an “extractive” vision of success that prevents an equitable share of resources, and instead ignite a shift in values that place the collective good above individual gain. “Because the idea of success is driven by business owners, business owners need to change that vision of what success looks like,” she shared.

The 2020 Best for Colorado Honorees are resiliently embracing this new frontier and  redefining what success means. Best for Colorado is honored to have them in our business community. 

The Alliance Center is leading the way toward a regenerative recovery for Colorado. If you’re a business, nonprofit, government group or individual who wants to be part of the solution, visit www.thealliancecenter.org/coalition to learn more.

Best for Colorado is a program of The Alliance Center. This program allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey.

Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

Montanya Distillers is the 2020 Best for Colorado Commit to Action Honoree

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Montanya Distillers, a craft distillery in Crested Butte, saw the need for sanitizer in their community and shifted their production to donate surface sanitizer to front-line workers.

This commitment to ensuring their community thrives is why they are recognized as a 2020 Best for Colorado Commit to Action Award Honoree.

Montanya Distillers also demonstrates leadership in numerous other ways. Whether it’s their innovative environmental practices, zero-waste mentality, or its employee benefits, the company strives to continuously raise the bar for what it means to be a responsible and successful business.

This annual award honors inspirational Best for Colorado companies that are driving transformational change in regards to the wellbeing and resilience of our communities, environment and society.

We spoke with Karen Hoskin, founder/owner of Montanya Distillers, to learn about what makes Montanya Distillers Best for Colorado.

BFCO: Can you tell us a little bit about your decision to start producing surface sanitizer?

Karen Hoskin: Producing sanitizer was a relatively simple pivot within our business. We were lucky to be allowed to continue production during lockdown because we were able to meet strict health and safety requirements.

We added extra bottling shifts to the schedule using our existing rum bottles and designed a new label so there could be no mistaking what was inside. We created recommendations and guidelines for the use in cooperation with federal compliance entities.

We did not have to make any adjustments to our point of sale or distribution processes as we provided the sanitizer as a donation, working directly with the county’s Incident Command Team to identify the groups most in need: the local hospital, senior care center, doctors’ offices, emergency medical service providers, testing sites, law enforcement and other groups helping to respond.

The project boosted morale by offering staff a way to help the community, and it was amazing how quickly word spread and groups surfaced that could make use of the product.

BFCO: How has this initiative been perceived in your local community?

KH: We should never underestimate the power of doing your part. We initially felt that our decision to make sanitizer was a small act (and still feel that way, particularly considering the true heroes: healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers who kept grocery stores and other essential businesses up and running safely).

We didn’t even think it was that unique: distilleries across the country also shifted their operations to help with the demand for sanitizers. The speed at which the word spread was amazing. People were looking for positive and uplifting stories during this challenging time, and the feedback from our community was tremendous.

BFCO: What can others in the business community learn from your example? 

KH: We were reminded of the value of listening to your community and responding to the actual need. Initially, we didn’t anticipate producing sanitizer of any kind. Our distillation process simply does not produce a high enough alcohol content to follow WHO recipes for hand sanitizer. When our community spoke up, however, we heard of a need for surface sanitizer. We could easily produce that, and taking the time to listen and assess the need allowed us to offer a solution.

Also, as a company working very hard to be zero-waste, we value using every drop of the alcohol we make. We will likely continue creating surface sanitizer moving forward.

BFCO: What are your hopes for the future and for your sustainability goals? 

KH: There is always more we can do, and we’ve had some hurdles to clear this year. We had set a goal to become zero waste in 2020, and we’re not going to make it. Every time we get one aspect of our business waste wrangled, another one becomes problematic. We would never say “zero” unless we meant it. We have made major strides in this area, but the pandemic set us back on to-go containers and local infrastructure set us back on commercial composting. We are working on a biodigester and finding innovative ways to eliminate to-go packaging even in a pandemic. 

BFCO: What lessons has your company learned from 2020 so far?

KH: This year we’ve been reminded that things don’t always go according to plan, but that’s where creativity can shine. We’ve innovated and created new business models during these times, and it’s been inspiring to see. It’s been a good reminder that working hard doesn’t always remedy the situation, but being courageous will. You have to be brave enough to take risks, speak your truth, accept new challenges, step outside your comfort zone and believe that success will come.

Best for Colorado is a program of The Alliance Center. This program allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

Young entrepreneurs promote self-care, wellness and community

glow + gather is a family-run business, co-founded with two young entrepreneurs from Castle Rock. They promote self-care and a healthy lifestyle through their natural body and spice products. Best for Colorado spoke with co-founders, Sarita Parikh, Kerala (age 13) and Jaxon (age 11) to learn more about this small business’ story.

Best for Colorado: Can you tell me a little bit about how your company got started?

Kerala Parikh: glow + gather started all because I couldn’t use any of the products on the market for my skin. Anything that I would use would cause me to breakout, and I would itch my skin so much it would bleed. My aunt, Sarita, got the idea to make my own body butter, and together we researched and created our signature body butter. Lucky for us, this was also close to Christmas time which meant that it would be the perfect Christmas present for family and friends. They started using our products and we only got good reviews. So, after years of asking our aunt we finally coaxed her into going into business with us.

Sarita Parikh: Kerala and Jax tried to convince me to go into business with them for a couple of years and I said no a few times. About two years ago, I was really struggling with epilepsy and managing my seizures. I shut down my pediatric physical therapy private practice because I needed a change of lifestyle. Then, glow + gather seemed like the perfect new venture. As a pediatric therapist, I found so many clients with sensitivities or many medical conditions where they couldn’t use the products on the market. Between my healthcare background, my epilepsy and then Kerala’s eczema it was perfect timing. We’ve learned how to create our own path in building this company. We’re not following a traditional path, but it’s working for us. We give ourselves grace, we give ourselves lots of flexibility, we give ourselves space to take care of ourselves. I think it’s really nice to see that [business] can be done differently.

BFCO: How long has glow + gather been around?

KP: We just turned three years old! I was 10 when we started and Jaxon was seven!

BFCO: Congrats! Has your company’s flexibility helped you adapt to COVID-19?

SP: It has. One of our founding principles is to create connections and help our community thrive, which includes giving back to our community. During COVID, there’s been so much small business support, which has been amazing. We’ve actually seen a lot of good come out of it: community, nonprofits and small businesses coming together to support each other and help each other thrive. It has helped reinforce what we already believed in and what we’re already doing. During this time, we’ve been working with SafeHouse Denver to help fill their food pantry, and we’ve been donating self-care packages to frontline workers.

BFCO: What initially inspired your commitment to your community?

KP: In Indian culture we have Diwali parties. People usually bring gifts, but our family would ask guests to bring toiletries and canned food to donate to different organizations, like SafeHouse Denver and students in need in Jefferson County schools. We’ve always incorporated charity into our lives. At our house, when we earn money, we have to put aside a certain percentage toward charities like the Malala Foundation.

Jaxon: Just watching people in our community struggling caused me to feel bad for them and to try and help them in the best way that I could. We started with our family and continued with glow + gather to help food pantries, raise money for animals, and child trafficking.

Foot + Hand Salve With Pine Cones

BFCO: What are some of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of this business?

KP: I get to meet a lot of people and prove that even though I’m a kid, I know what I’m talking about. Some of the negatives though are getting talked down to or not being fully understood by adults.

JP:  Getting to use my creativity to make new recipes for food and drinks. I agree with my sister, it is hard being talked down to especially when I know what I am doing with my business.

SP: Getting feedback from customers about how the products have made a difference in their lives, the community connections that we’ve built and the impact we’ve been able to make in the community are all really rewarding. It’s also been really rewarding to see Jaxon and Kerala grow and succeed in this business. Common challenges we face as a start-up are brand recognition, marketing, financing and trying to find a work/life balance.

BFCO: How did you first connect with Best for Colorado?

SP: Through Anna Castello and her company, Ship Sunshine. She uses some of our products in her gift boxes. At the time, I thought you had to be in business longer to even consider joining B Corp or Best for Colorado, and she was the one to tell us that we could absolutely start participating. I love being part of Best for Colorado because you meet amazing people who share similar values.

BFCO: What does success look like to you, say in five years from now?

KP: Five years from now I’ll be starting college, so hopefully I’ll be taking on more responsibility and continue being able to use this business to support my college fund. In mid-February, I started talking about wanting to take glow + gather down the advocacy path and organizing panels for diverse people to come together and talk about what’s going on in our world. Speaking for justice, advocacy and diversity is glow + gather’s overall long-term plan in my eyes.

JP: I have been creating recipes using our spice blends. The spices are my part of the business, and I would like to keep growing this part of the business, especially since food is one of the best ways to bring people together.

SP: Of course, I would like greater brand recognition and a greater market reach, but I would also like to see us create more significant community partnerships and see us making a greater impact on the world and in society.

Best for Colorado is a program of the Alliance Center. It allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

YellowDog: Progress in the print industry

YellowDog is a local, values-driven design, print and marketing studio dedicated to serving their Denver area clients and community. The company was recently recognized in PrintingNews as one of the Top 100 Small Commercial Printers in the country. We spoke with Cynthia Ord, marketing manager, to learn more about this Best for Colorado company.

Best for Colorado: Can you tell us a bit about YellowDog and how you found your way there?

Cynthia Ord: YellowDog has been around for 15 years, and I’ve been the marketing manager since January 6 of this year. I’m new to the scene, but YellowDog has gotten really far without a marketing manager. The business has gotten such good organic results through networking, word-of-mouth and referrals, so there’s a lot we can do to grow even further. I’m part of a new strategic team: we have an HR person, a creative director, a production manager and Jenny, the owner and the account director. It’s really fun to be on an all-female strategic team.

BFCO: Do print shops commonly have strategic teams? What is the market landscape like for printing?

CO: A lot of commercial print shops are structured as franchises. There are also a lot that are purely online, so self-service or e-commerce. With these kinds of online e-commerce platforms that do print, there’s no contact with a person; it’s all automated. YellowDog is unique in the industry because we are a local small business. We highly value customer service and contact. Each client is assigned an account manager that makes sure their print project looks good and is on track before it’s printed in large quantities. Unlike large franchises, we offer our clients a lot of guidance and quality assurance.

BFCO: How does YellowDog approach corporate social responsibility? Do you see customer service as a CSR focus? 

CO: We really want to help our customers thrive and get results, especially because we work with so many other small businesses and nonprofits. Nonprofits are a huge part of our client base. If a nonprofit succeeds because of a print campaign we helped with, then that ties into being values-driven for us.

Dan and Jenny are the two owners, and ever since the beginning it’s been really important for them to run their business as environmentally responsibly as possible. We’re tracking our energy use so that we can contribute to an offset program, offering recyclable options and we’re involved in other programs like Certifiably Green Denver. Corporate social responsibility has been baked into the business’ culture from the beginning.

Yellowdog Best For Colorado

BFCO: How did you all first hear about Best for Colorado, and why did you decide to join?

CO: It was one of the alliances that was already on the table when I came on board, so when I learned about it, I recognized it was aligned with our values. We renewed our Commit to Action pledge and made a commitment to get engaged and work toward a B Corp certification. YellowDog decided to join because we want to measure and understand our impact and create goals and baselines for improving and hold ourselves accountable to do the right thing based on objective standards.

BFCO: What is a challenging aspect of YellowDog’s work?

CO: One of the challenges is people think of print as a dying industry. It’s a challenge to make sure people know that print is still very much relevant and part of an effective marketing mix. We have to really demonstrate the value of print campaigns. That said, there’s always basics people will need, for example: signage. There will always be physical spaces to maintain and promote and print has a role in that. One way we’ve adapted in the last few years is expanding our digital services such as design, marketing, website development, rebranding and packaging. We have one foot in print, which is where our roots are, and another foot in the creative digital agency space.

BFCO: What’s one achievement YellowDog is most proud of?

CO:  In just the last few months YellowDog has received a finalist status for the Denver Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year, has been listed on Colorado Companies to Watch, was featured in the Denver Business Journal Small Businesses in 2020 and now we’re listed in the top 100 Small Commercial Printers. The first three awards/mentions are local, but that last one recognizes us at a national level. This is great validation especially for a company of our size.

Best for Colorado is a program of the Alliance Center. It allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

EarthHero: Making sustainable shopping simple

When EarthHero Founder and CEO, Ryan Lewis, realized how much stuff and trash we accumulate and create, he knew he had to do something about it. So he launched EarthHero, an eco-friendly online marketplace. Its mission is to normalize and simplify conscious, sustainable consumption. Best for Colorado spoke with Lewis to learn more about this B Corp certified company.

Best for Colorado: Could you tell me just a little bit about where the idea for EarthHero came from?

Ryan Lewis:  In 2014, I wanted to help make a more direct positive impact on the planet and pursue my passion for sustainability, but I didn’t know exactly what to do. At the time I had recently sold my restaurant supply company in Boulder but was still running it. We had a great team and I loved our customers, but it just wasn’t serving that greater need for impact, so I decided to step away.

In addition to my desire to start a new company for impact, my wife and I always wanted to have an experience living abroad. So, we decided to move to Costa Rica with our kids. In the process of moving to Costa Rica, we basically sold or got rid of everything we owned. That process alone was quite shocking. I have always considered myself a relative minimalist, but I couldn’t believe how much we had accumulated. I started to realize the weight of stuff in my life and vowed to be even more stringent with what I accumulated in the future. Once we arrived, we saw beautiful beaches, mountains and water, but we also saw trash, everywhere.

One afternoon, I was browsing a local bookstore and picked up the book, “The Story of Stuff.”  It detailed exactly how much harm our traditional consumption was having on the planet. It broke down the five stages of consumption: extraction of natural resources, transportation, manufacturing, consumption and disposal. It was a linear, unsustainable process. It hit me like a lightning strike. I began asking a ton of questions and researching whether there was a better way.

BFCO: Is that how you developed your methodology for EarthHero?

RL: Yes, for sure. “The Story of Stuff’s” main point is we have to focus on the right inputs. If you do it right from that first step, then the rest of the steps are easier to accomplish. Once I read that book, I started researching if there were products being made with this in mindset. I was surprised that there were, but this was back in 2015. It was so fragmented and confusing that most people could not comfortably live their lives shopping that way, and so the concept of EarthHero was born.  I realized I could use the same business model I had with my last company and curate the world’s most sustainable products on one common platform. The goal? To make sustainable shopping so easy that everyone does it.

BFCO: I know we’re living through challenging times, so how has COVID-19 impacted your business?

RL: These are challenging times for sure, and there are several perspectives to that question. Our priority was to make sure our team was safe and that we could work well together in this new environment. Fortunately, we’ve all been healthy. The next thing we did was check in with our suppliers. There were some that had to temporarily close, but most were able to remain open. Because we are an e-commerce business, we’ve been able to continue to ship orders daily, and that has led to some accelerated growth. Our challenge has been around growth and culture. We’ve built our team around operational excellence where every detail matters. We are learning how to maintain that as a distributed team as well as onboard new team members and integrate them into our culture.

BFCO: What are you most proud of in your company’s history?

RL: It’s the team. Our team is amazing, and everyone’s really rolling up their sleeves right now and doing what it takes. There’s only nine of us and every single one of them is a team player and is critical to our success.

BFCO: Can you define the specific programs, practices and priorities that fall within your organization’s corporate social responsibility? How has this evolved or changed over time?

RL: Right off the bat when I started EarthHero, we established that we were going to be the best stewards possible. I wanted to ensure that as we grew, more good was baked into the model. We immediately joined three nonprofits and launched with them. We joined 1% for the Planet, which means 1% of our sales go to environmental nonprofits. 40 of our brands are also now members of 1%, which means that when customers buy products from them on EarthHero, they are creating a double positive impact.

Then, we started the B Corps assessment, and we’ve been a certified B Corp since our first year.  We also joined carbonfund.org to become a carbon neutral company that offsets all customer shipments through reforestation.

BFCO: What has your experience been being part of the Best for Colorado community?

RL: Last year, we went to the awards ceremony. It was so great to see so many other sustainable Colorado companies doing great things. In addition, part of our businesses is helping other businesses with their sustainable events through sustainable product giveaways, gifts for employees or corporate client gift boxes. Our salesperson met a lot of awesome businesses that we’ve been able to help ever since.

BFCO: What do you envision EarthHero looking like 10 years from now?

RL: We want sustainable shopping to be so easy everyone does it. We imagine a world where products are made sustainably because it just makes sense; because it’s the easier decision financially and is legally mandated through policy change. That’s our long-term vision. We want EarthHero to be the household name for clean shopping. We want it to be the go-to platform for suppliers who are making products with the planet’s best interest in mind. Through our sustainable shop, we want consumers to be able to find what they’re looking for every single time they want or need to buy something.

Best for Colorado is a program of the Alliance Center. It allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.

Angel Touch Commercial Cleaning: Expanding a sustainable business

Angel Touch Commercial Cleaning is a local, family-owned business. Its commitment to using environmentally friendly products, supporting the local economy, and giving to different organizations makes them Best for Colorado. We spoke with the co-owners, Natalie and Corey Nove, to learn more about this small business.

Best for Colorado: How is your company adapting during this time?

Natalie Nove: We work primarily with other small businesses, so about 40% of our clients have closed. We’ve definitely been impacted this way, but we were also fortunate to have acquired some disinfectant products that are on the CDC-approved list. We started offering a disinfectant cleaning service right away in mid-March, and we’re getting a lot more inquiries about this as businesses have started reopening. We recently acquired the best eco-friendly, non-toxic and responsible product we could find, which is on the CDC list as an approved agent against COVID-19.  We’re thrilled to begin the partnership with Clean Republic, and we plan on using their disinfectant product for the long term.

Corey Nove: We’ve invested in an electrostatic sprayer machine, which disperses a super fine mist over everything. It can be sprayed on anything you can imagine, even electronics. These were previously utilized primarily in medical spaces, but since COVID-19 the use of these machines in all types of industries has quickly emerged. We’re now using them in office spaces.

BFCO: What has been your experience managing your employees during this time?

CN: We’ve followed all the CDC guidelines. So, if we work with the electrostatic sprayer machine, we use proper personal protective equipment. On our janitorial cleans, we’re using gloves and face masks on every single job. We’ve asked our customers to let us know if they have any outbreaks, so that we can communicate that with our team. Fortunately, we haven’t had anything like that up to this point.

NN: I think our service has also been helping other businesses. They’re able to reassure their employees and customers that everything has been disinfected.

BFCO: How did you first get started?

CN: We purchased the business in 2013, and it’s been around since 1998. When we purchased the business, it was doing 95% construction cleanup. Overtime, we transitioned it over to janitorial work. We also do windows, carpets and now this new kind of disinfectant cleaning. We predominantly do office cleaning and some restaurant cleaning in the evenings. Right now, a lot of restaurants have closed, but we’re not out of business because we still work with enough businesses in other industries. We built our business for longevity. I came from a mortgage banking background, so the market crash of 2008 definitely taught me the importance of diversification.

BFCO: What made you want to go from banking to owning your own business?

CN: We decided that we wanted to build something for ourselves instead of working for a big corporation. We had two small children at the time. I was working 70-hour weeks in the corporate world, so I knew we had to make a move. We started researching a bunch of different business ventures and decided on this cleaning company because it would give us more flexibility and time with our kids.

BFCO: How did sustainability emerged as a priority in your business?

NN: When you have kids, you think about the future that you’re leaving for them. I started thinking about transitioning to a 100% green cleaning company about a year after we had it. We stumbled upon Boulder Clean (which is a B Corp and Best for Colorado company as well) and we’ve been working with them for nearly five years now.

CN: When we first started, we were using all the products the previous owner was using. Boulder Clean products are far more natural than anything we were using before, and they’re local.

BFCO: What made you want to donate to the Denver Rescue Mission and Denver’s Children’s Hospital?

CN: Our children have had procedures done at that hospital, and we’ve seen the amazing work they do. That decision was pretty easy for us seeing the ways they’ve helped our family. As far as the shelters, we have business partners down in that location and I see the amount of people that are out there in the streets. So just seeing that made me want to help in any way I could.

BFCO: What has your experience been like being part of Best for Colorado?

NN: Feeling the support of the local economy has helped a lot. Best for Colorado also gives us ideas about things we can do from a business modeling perspective and different ways we can reduce our environmental footprint.

BFCO: What do you hope your company will look like in the future, and what does success look like for you?

CN: We’ll definitely continue to grow. Most of our business right now is in the Denver metro area, but we’ve started to expand, and it’s been working well. We will continue to diversify our business and continue trying to be on the cutting edge of the green movement.

NN: We’ll also continue to expand upon our support of organizations we think are important and other small businesses we work with. Of course, we’ll continue supporting our employees by ensuring that they have the flexibility, compensation and resources they need.

Best for Colorado is a program of the Alliance Center. It allows Colorado companies to measure and improve their social and environmental impact, regardless of where they are on their corporate social responsibility journey. Best for Colorado offers programming and tools for all Colorado companies, including B Corps, to improve their practices and connect participating companies with local resources, education and support.