VISTA – Solatube International has joined Dr. Bronner’s as one of Vista’s first businesses to earn the Green Innovator certification from the California Green Business Network.
While this is a renewal of Solatube’s original 2023 certification, this is the local manufacturer’s first time earning the certification through the city’s new Green Business Network program – which only joined the statewide program last year.
Neall Digert, vice president of innovation and market development at Solatube, said sustainability is part and parcel of Solatube – which manufactures and sells tubular daylighting devices that capture sunlight on a rooftop and relay it via reflective tubes to interior rooms, reducing the need for electric-powered lighting during daylight hours.
“First of all, it’s the right thing to do,” Digert said of the certification. “Operating with sustainability in mind is the right business decision. It’s something that’s been at the core of Solatube and Kingspan from the very beginning. We believe part of that process is working with other businesses that are like-minded. This certification is part of that process.”
According to Cassidy McCarthy, the city’s Climate Action Plan program administrator, the Green Business Network has three certification levels: entry, fully certified and innovator. Each level requires businesses to meet benchmarks related to energy and water conservation, waste and pollution reduction, and employee well-being
Solatube, which is a subsidiary of the Kingspan Group, employs roughly 200 people at its Vista facility, Digert said.
