Creating a Regenerative Earth: Ten Green Companies Who Are Hiring

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a collective pause where the world watched with delight as the canals in Italy clarified and as the wildlife around us came more fully into our perception. We filled our lungs with clean air as we walked through our neighborhoods, and filled our eyes with the sights of pollution-free vistas that had been formerly obscured by the byproduct of our earth-killing lifestyles. In this pause, the impact of humanity on our earth’s climate and environment in the Anthropocene Epoch came into a kind of clarity that, for many, all the science and reason and rational argument available could never hope to create.

Perhaps in this pause, you became one of the nine out of ten people who would gladly take a pay cut to find more meaning in your work. Perhaps in this pause, your job fell away because it was not “essential,” and you found yourself looking to rebuild your career in a way that was essential to the collective good. Perhaps your job remained, but you found yourself understanding that it was not giving you life, felt meaningless, and/or was slowly extracting from your sense of health, wholeness, and well-being. Or perhaps you started asking yourself the question, “What can I do to keep these positive changes to our earth going?”

If the pause caused by the pandemic brought you to the conclusion that it’s your time to do your part for our earth, this article will introduce you to companies, businesses, and organizations that have the word “regenerative” in their vocabularies. Just one step past the “do no harm” mentality of sustainability, regenerative-minded businesses wish to put more resources back into earth and society than they take out. organizations taking on the mission of regeneration view wealth holistically. They are innovative, adaptive, and responsive; honor community and place; edge affective abundance; work toward unity between people and our earth; and foster empowered participation.

Keep reading to learn about ten organizations that are hiring people who wish to contribute to a world that is just, meaningful, and abundantly green.

What’s better than chocolate? Chocolate that’s the catalyst for farmers to switch from monocultures to regenerative agroforestry and replanting and conserving the rainforest.

Alter Eco’s delicious mission is to “pioneer a full circle approach to eating, farming, and doing business—and to inspire others to do the same.” Their full circle approach to sustainability includes choosing clean ingredients, investing in farmers, regenerating the earth, and eliminating waste. Practicing from a stance they named “enlightened indulgence,” Alter Eco sources their products from farmer-owned coops, is a pioneer in compostable packaging, and has worked to make sure their business gives more to the world than it takes. In alignment with their status as a certified B Corporation, Alter Eco is looking to create a future that is, “fair, prosperous, healthy and mouth-watering.”

Outside the chocolate business, Alter Eco has a foundation focused on transitioning cocoa farmers from monocropping to dynamic agroforestry. The Alter Eco Foundation’s ambitious mission is to “help farmers transition their crops to regenerative agriculture, and to make this model available to the entire cocoa industry and beyond, expediting adoption within global supply chains through advocacy and education.” The company also works with a cacao partner to replant and conserve rainforest land in Peru.

Alter Eco is looking to hire those whose core values speak to them.

The label on Dr. Bronner’s “Heal Earth!” reads as follows “Regenerate Soil – Farms – Communities – Planet – Life! Every Business Can Create Big Change! You Can Too!”

The products offered in the Dr. Bronner’s line carry a mixture of certifications that are also a clear indication of the company’s commitment to a thriving future earth. In addition to being a certified B Corp, Dr. Bronner’s offers a product line that contains a mixture of certifications for being organic, fair trade, not tested on animals, vegan, kosher, non-GMO, and derived from biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture.

In addition, the company is working to make it so that all their main ingredients are Regenerative Organic certified. The RO certification is an agricultural certification indicating pasture-based animal welfare, fairness for farmers and workers, and specific requirements for soil and land management.

If you’re looking to join a team that treats employees like family, check out the employment opportunities at Dr. Bronner’s.

Fibershed started as a goal to “illuminate that regionally grown fibers, natural dyes, and local talent [is] still in great enough existence to provide this most basic human necessity—our clothes.” In attempting to build new regional economies around locally produced and manufactured clothing, Fibershed connects the farmers, ranchers, designers, sewers, weavers, knitters, felters, spinners, mill owners, and natural dyers in Northern and Central California through a membership program.

Fibershed provides education to its producers and the public on strategies for regenerating the textiles system. The organization’s research arm is looking into seasonal fibers, integrated crop and livestock systems, hemp, citizen science, and more. In addition, Fibershed offers an affiliate program to those who are creating a new regional textile economy in their local place, and wish to amplify their budding network of artisans, craftsmen, and producers.

Help Fibershed create new economies by considering this local job.

GRID Alternatives envisions a world where everyone has access to free, clean electricity powered by the sun. GRID’s Alternatives mission is to “build community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy.”

GRID Alternatives contributes to a regenerative future by providing no-cost solar installations to low-income households, training people for clean energy jobs, influencing low-income solar policy, and developing solar projects with communities. GRID Alternatives is working to create energy sovereignty for Tribal Communities and contributes to community resilience, economic opportunity, and cleaner air and water in communities in Nicaragua, Nepal, and Mexico through solar electricity and improved cookstoves.

GRID Alternatives also provides equitable solar education through volunteerships, internships, fellowships, and solar collegiate conferences.

GRID Alternatives is hiring for those who wish to make clean, renewable energy accessible to all.

The mission of The International Living Future Institute is, “To lead the transformation toward a civilization that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative.” To that end, ILFI offers clear and compelling visions for the future, with the intention of “reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world.”

ILFI has three major offerings that present a cascade of sub-offerings. ILFI’s living future challenges make regenerative design available to everyone, everywhere by providing detailed standards that explain the considerations for how to construct buildings, products, and communities that work with our earth.

ILFI also developed transparency labels that provide amplification for those companies focused on social justice and equity (Just), energy efficiency (Reveal), and building materials that are healthy for people and the planet (Declare). Pushing the boundaries of what is possible, ILFI is also initiating the process of making living design affordable, and pushing design boundaries to connect people and nature within built environments and communities.

Get involved in designing a living future by checking out ILFI’s career page.

A local pioneer, the mission of Mandela Partners is “to improve health, create wealth, and build assets through local food enterprises in low-income communities.” Working toward the goal of regeneration by focusing on system change within under-resourced communities, Mandela Partners is attempting to break cycles of poverty by supporting small, local businesses built on food. Mandela Partners builds system change by partnering with sustainable local farmers, distributing sustainably grown produce locally, incubating small businesses, creating healthy food access points, creating jobs, and uplifting resident entrepreneurs.

Mandela Partners also ensures fair prices for sustainable local farmers while guaranteeing that low-income residents can both access and afford healthy food. In addition to access points all over the city of Oakland, California, Mandela Partners offers a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program.

To work toward regeneration through the lens of food equity and economic justice, Mandela Partners is hiring.

Every product on earth involves extraction of some form. From the materials that comprise the product itself to the fuels burned for the power and transportation of that product and the energy used by the servers that store the design files used in product development, the majority of what it takes to create a product comes from our earth. One Percent for the Planet is aiming to face that reality with action.

The mission of One Percent for the Planet is as follows: “We bring dollars and doers together to accelerate smart environmental giving.” The model is that one percent of gross sales (not profit, sales) from companies who profit from the extraction of our earth’s resources is dedicated to environmental protection, education, restoration, regeneration, and repair. This one percent can be contributed in money, in-kind trade, or in promotional support directly to environmental nonprofits, with at least 50 percent being monetary.

Solutions are diverse and include those nonprofits who are working to enact solutions that restore our earth in regard to climate, food, land, pollution, water, and wildlife. More than 3,000 companies are a part of the One Percent network, including big names like New Belgium Brewing, Klean Kanteen, Patagonia, and Honest Tea. Individuals can also join the One Percent network by pledging one percent of their salary, volunteer hours equal to one percent of their salary, or a combination of both.

Work to help One Percent for The Planet give back to the earth that brings us life.

The Fashion industry has become a toxic industry not just to our earth, but also to the lives of those who sew clothes destined to be discarded after one use. When it comes to outdoor gear, it would be the ultimate irony to create clothes for enjoying our earth that destroyed it in the process.

This irony was not lost on the founder of Patagonia, who consistently pushes the company to take their part in being the solution. Patagonia was using solar panels back in the late 1990s, recycled paper for catalogs in the 1980s, and became the first business in the state of California to become a certified “B Corporation” through their explicit social and environmental mission.

Patagonia urges customers to send broken products to them to be repaired, and when repair isn’t possible, upcycles done products into saleable items. Patagonia partners with the Fair Trade Network to assure that factory workers are paid living wages and working in humane conditions.

Patagonia’s founder co-founded One Percent for the Planet, and so of course, Patagonia is a participant. In 2018, Patagonia’s mission changed to, “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Patagonia is currently exploring the world of regenerative organic farming to create the fibers that comprise their clothing.

Patagonia is looking to hire unconventional thinkers who wish to preserve the world’s wild spaces.

Founded by Eric Stone, the Rewilding School is an example of how, through local, dedicated action, small businesses can make a big impact on kids and adults who wish to reconnect with nature.

The programs offered through the rewilding school puts kids, teens, and adults into open-air classrooms where they are immersed in stories and trained in the skills designed to connect them to the natural world. Kids can become hunter-gatherers, stone age tinkerers, wildlife trackers, create art from nature, and even take the imagination of Minecraft into the real life world of the forest.

The school offers programming for preschoolers and homeschoolers, and also provides archery, crafting nights, and guided trips for adults. Private nature programs, archery lessons, and scout programs are also part of Eric Stone’s mission to make the wild nature of his childhood available to those near the Hudson River Valley in New York.

The Rewilding School is looking to build their family.

Fossil fuels are a finite resource. Coal pollutes air, land, and water. Nuclear power requires earth-destroying mining, and unknown or unforeseen variables can cause a major catastrophe. Dams can result in negative social outcomes, as well as unsustainable ecosystem modification and destruction. Wind turbines kill birds and bats, and can be ecosystem disruptive as well. Large solar fields are land and water hogs.

Despite the potential toxicity if not properly recycled or disposed of, small-scale solar may be the best option for power until a regenerative energy source is discovered.

Sunrun, the #1 residential solar panel company in the United States, has a goal “To create a planet run by the sun.” Sunrun works toward its goal by ensuring supplier environmental and social responsibility, working to eliminate hazardous waste, engaging in product end-of-life stewardship, utilizing third-party reporting frameworks for environmental sustainability, and educating their employees on environmental impact.

In addition to the positive impact on our physical earth, Sunrun is also investing in equity, diversity, and inclusion. Sunrun is the first solar company to achieve 100 percent pay parity by ensuring equal pay for equal work to all. The Certified B-corp is a woman-run company committed to advancing women into leadership, and creating workplaces skilled enough and safe enough for constructive conversations about diversity and inclusion.

In 2019, Sunrun partnered with GRID Alternatives (see below) to install 3,564 systems for low-income families. The installation saved families a collective $92.7 million and prevented 185 thousand tons of C02 from entering the atmosphere (the equivalent of 40,000 cars).

Sunrun is looking for employees who wish to create distributed energy communities.

Becca Brewer, MEd

Writer

Becca Brewer is building a better future on a thriving earth by healing herself into wholeness, divesting from separation, and walking the path of the loving heart. Previously to her journey as an adventurer for a just, meaningful, and regenerative world, Becca was a formally trained sexuality educator with a master of education.