In a post on WorldChanging from December 9, a San Francisco Bay company is highlighted. We’ve all heard of Habitat for Humanity and its amazing work which builds new homes for low-income families through community collaboration. But, this offers a new twist.

Grid Alternatives provides solar energy expertise, labor, and design for low-income individuals who often get socked the most for higher energy prices. By asking the homeowner to cover just the cost of equipment, new solar panels are installed; individuals are trained; communities are made more sustainable; and people at the lowest end of the social and economic spectrum are afforded an opportunity to better use limited resources.

From the Grid Alternatives website:

Our vision of sustainable development centers on community involvement and our focus and expertise lies in using renewable energy (solar, wind, small hydro, bio-mass) to provide solutions to the challenges facing the rural and urban poor.

I’ve often wondered how sustainability could be encouraged at the lowest income levels where it can have the greatest impact on daily life. Too often organic food, environmentally sustainable housing solutions, and energy efficient transportation solutions cost more than the working poor can afford. The ability to afford something good for life and good for the earth should not preclude the availability of this good to the largest possible audience. It’s great to see this type of initiative gaining the interest of so many sponsors, many of whom make it a point of being on the forefront of innovative and environmentally-friendly solutions.

What a wonderful example of young people using their skills to better the lives of people who have little. Stewardship at its best.

Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and INC magazine are all targeting the Social Responsibility movement. This is the concept that corporations should be more than profit centers which are unattached to the impacts that they have on society. In fact, companies and communities are uniquely intertwined. Social responsibility blends the best of non-profit activism for social good with business strategies that recognize, integrate, and promote profit with a purpose.

I’ve been wondering why this trend has become such a hot topic in recent years. Sure, there are vague notions that technology has brought the world closer - connecting us to people who are suffering more easily. The rise of people who are searching for meaning earlier in their lives and the corporate foul-ups and lay-offs that have reduced the social contract that once drove toward profit at all costs have certainly contributed as well. I’ve seen all of these arguments. Companies work from something other than vague notions, however - they need hard data to make changes as monumental as giving profits away to social causes. So, what is driving this shift?

As in most things, it is you - Generation Y! Here’s the proof.

In an October 24, 2006 press release, Cone Inc., a corporate cause inititive agency and AMP Insights, a division of AMP Agency which is a youth-focused marketing agency produced results from a survey of 1800 Gen Y respondents. The study describes the impact that social responsibility plays in the 78 million Gen Y consumers that are coming into the marketplace. This major force is expecting more from companies than a profit - they expect companies to feel as responsible for making a difference in the world as they do, and Gen Y has the pocketbook to back it up.
Some results:

• 74% surveyed indicate they are more likely to pay attention to a company’s overall messages when they see that the company has a deep commitment to a cause.
• Nine out of 10 millenials say they are likely or very likely to switch from one brand to another (price and quality being equal) if the second brand is associated with a good cause.
• 79% of Gen Y’s want to work for a company that cares about how it impacts and contributes to society.
• 64% say their company’s social/environmental activities make them feel loyal to that company
• 56% would refuse to work for an irresponsible corporation

This loyalty to making a difference goes beyond just expecting companies to make changes, the “Doers” - millenials who actively volunteer - are even more responsive to cause branded companies. About 20% of those surveyed indicated that they volunteered at least once per week and these “doers” report that volunteering “unleashes a more engaged citizen, consumer and employee.” This improved engagement shows up as loyalty to those companies who walk their talk.

• 42% of the doers describe their “ideal” work environmment as a place that will help them make the world a better place, outranking ALL other factors including high salary (41%) and flexible hours (37%).
• 87% of the doers have purchased a product that supports a cause in the last year; that number drops to 48% for non-doers

Gen Y is a potent force for change. Many companies are taking notice. Are you?