Real Leaders has announced the newly selected winners of its 2022 Top Impact Companies from around the world. “Business leaders across the globe are rapidly discovering that to be competitive – and to grow and thrive – they must forgo shortsighted thinking in favor of a farsighted vision that takes into account their company’s social and environmental impact,” said Mark Van Ness, Founder of Real Leaders.  “We are excited to welcome new and old companies alike to the impact movement, and into the Real Leaders Impact Awards community.”

Green Canopy NODE is pleased to be featured as number 120 in the 2022 list that features a mix of respected impact brands of all sizes and from a variety of industries, including Allbirds, Danone, and Warby Parker. See Impact Award Rankings here.

“This recognition is humbling and made possible through the dedicated effort of the Green Canopy NODE team, board, and supporting stakeholders. We would like to thank everyone involved in our mission to build homes, businesses, and relationships that help regenerate communities and environments." - Aaron Fairchild, Co-CEO.

"We are honored to be recognized for the past three years as a part of the Real Leaders community building businesses to create the world we know is possible. We have so much more good work to come." - Bec Chapin, Co-CEO.

A virtual ceremony will be held on February 24, 2022 to honor the winners and will feature a keynote from Peter Diamandis, founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation and executive founder of Singularity University. 

ABOUT REAL LEADERS

Real Leaders is a membership community for impact leaders with a global media platform dedicated to driving positive change. It’s on a mission to unite farsighted leaders to transform our shortsighted world. Founded in 2010, Real Leaders recognized early on that businesses bore a responsibility to be as cognizant of their impact on employees, society, and the planet as they are on their bottom line. Real Leaders is a B Corporation, member of the UN Global Compact, and is independently owned. 

Together, we can build the future of housing - Our partnership with Grow Community was featured in the New York Times in the article Energy-Efficient Isn’t Enough, So Homes Go ‘Net Zero’ as a project incorporating all-electric, Net Zero Ready technology. Read more about our Bainbridge Island partnership here.

As Green Canopy NODE, together we’re building the future of housing. Learn more about our merger, our co-CEO’s, and how we’re modernizing construction in the latest from Geekwire.

“We have a ‘king complex’ in the U.S. It ends up that we can really collaborate. Together we can be exponentially more effective.”

— Green Canopy NODE co-CEO, Bec Chapin

Green Canopy CEO, Aaron Fairchild, was recently featured on the Regenerative Real Estate Podcast by Latitude | Regenerative Real Estate in the episode "Scaling Green Developments with Aaron Fairchild." 

The podcast explores our natural and built environments and how they can be used as a force for good. The show sets out to inspire impactful ideas, meaningful change, human wellness, and ecological restoration through interviews and easy to digest conversations.

In this episode, Aaron discusses Green Canopy’s work with investors that are seeking to do good with their funds while still returning a healthy profit, alongside development ventures that provide affordable housing options and work with community-based and socially justice organizations like Nehemiah Initiative Seattle and Habitat for Humanity.

Listen to this episode to hear more of Aaron’s valuable take-aways that help to illuminate how you can make an impact in your life, career, and with your money.

Green Canopy NODE CEO Bec Chapin was featured in ConstructUtopia, discussing a day in the life as an entrepreneur, infill housing, sustainable building, and challenges for women in construction.

Green Canopy’s recently announced project with ROC Modular and Grocapitus Investments was featured in Puget Sound Business Journal for being the first of its kind In Seattle.

As mass timber and CLT become more popular in the United States, typically in large commercial buildings, we are excited to be leading the charge in the residential townhome space.

“These townhomes have the potential to spark a revolution in the construction industry,” said Neal Bawa, founder and CEO of Grocapitus Investments. “While we see the pace of technology disruption accelerating every day, we aren’t seeing the same movement in construction. With housing demand increasing, CLT and modular homes are a solution to building faster, scalable, and more affordable homes.” said Neal Bawa CEO of Grocapitus in our press release.

Conceptual design for reference only from Mahlum Architects.

Conceptual design for reference only from Mahlum Architects.

“It’s exciting to work in tandem with this partnership to maximize our overall impact,” Aaron Fairchild, CEO of Green Canopy, said. “The intention of Green Canopy since inception has been to scale our impact to deliver sustainable, healthy, more accessible homes.”

We are pleased to share the Puget Sound Business Journal article highlighting our partnership to bring these sustainable modular homes to the Seattle market.

SEATTLE, Washington (May 6, 2021) - Green Canopy and Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County (Habitat) are pleased to announce a partnership to design a 17-unit affordable multifamily housing development in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The 4-star Built Green project, located near Cal Anderson Park, features one- and two-bedroom units to be sold to households making at or below 80 percent area median income. The collaboration will bridge affordability and sustainability and fill a gap in the housing market for low-income individuals, couples, and smaller families.

Combining a land trust model with permanent affordability requirements, Habitat lowers barriers to homeownership. Habitat’s homeownership model creates opportunities for those who may not otherwise have access to owning a home and enables them to build equity and obtain security and stability. In Seattle, population growth, low inventory and market price appreciations have prevented first-time homebuyers from being able to afford to live within the urban center and create wealth through equity in ownership.

“We have identified a significant gap in the housing market for those who can’t afford to build equity in the city that they live and work in,” said Patrick Sullivan, Director of Real Estate Development at Habitat. “Typically, affordable housing options are located outside of city centers and further from jobs and other amenities. We are excited to offer these homes to hard-working and deserving people who would otherwise be priced out of the area.”

Through this partnership, Green Canopy and Habitat for Humanity serve as a model for aligning for-profit and nonprofit organizations to develop market-rate land, while accelerating access to affordable, sustainable homes.

“We believe the partnership between Habitat and Green Canopy will set a new standard for homebuilding,” said Brett D’Antonio, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County. “Through private non-profit partnerships we are able to deliver more affordable housing units than we could alone.”

Known for its innovative, highly energy efficient urban infill homes in Seattle and Portland, Green Canopy specializes in unparalleled cost control and project management without compromising on sustainability.

“It is oftentimes a trade-off between sustainable or affordable when it comes to housing,” said Sam Lai, Green Canopy’s cofounder. “We are passionate about unlocking the potential impact of combining our expertise in green building and cost control with Habitat’s expertise in offering homes at a price point that increases accessibility.”

Green Canopy’s stringent green building standards result in homes that are not only better for the environment, but also better for residents’ health. Homeowner’s indoor air quality is improved by using all-electric appliances, low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) products and materials, and through systems like the Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs), which bring fresh, filtered air into the homes. Furthermore, the end product simply costs less to operate on a monthly basis than a comparable code-built home.

“Providing all-electric, sustainable, and healthy homes at affordable price points provides a better alternative to the current paradigm of housing,” said Susan Fairchild, Director of Impact at Green Canopy. “Through partnership and collaboration, we believe we can democratize sustainable homes so in time, people at every income level can live in more sustainable and healthy homes.”

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About Green Canopy: Green Canopy is an award-winning urban infill developer and homebuilder specializing in high performing, deep green, all-electric healthy homes. Their mission is to build relationships, businesses, and homes that help regenerate communities and environments. The team at Green Canopy offers development and general contracting services to third party investors, developers, and investment property owners.

About Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County: Habitat SKC is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, renovating and preserving homes, advocating for fair and just housing policies, and providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat is founded on the conviction that every man, woman, and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.

For more information, please contact:
Susan Fairchild, Green Canopy Director of Impact and Investor Relations
susan@greencanopynode.com

Sam Lai, Green Canopy Cofounder
developmentservices@greencanopynode.com

SEATTLE, Washington (February 3, 2021) - Green Canopy and the Grow Community have announced their partnership to build the third and final phase of the Bainbridge Island development project.

Grow Community was established in 2012 with the goal of creating a sustainable, intergenerational community intended to support the health and longevity of its residents. The development, featuring 119 homes and a community center, is located minutes from the ferry dock in the town center of Bainbridge Island and is designed to be a Net Zero neighborhood with the ability to use solar panels to provide 100% of the energy needed to power each home.

Phase 3 of the Grow Community will bookend the project, with a focus on townhomes that reflect the rest of Grow’s intentional sustainable, healthy, and community-based lifestyle. Jonathan Davis, the architect and resident of Phase 1, will be returning to design the final phase of the Grow Community.

“People move here intentionally because they believe in the vision and the values of the community. It’s amazing to see the connections made here and it has been comforting for residents to know there are others around to support them as needed,” said Davis. “I am honored to finish out the design for the Grow Community. And I’m excited to be able to work with Green Canopy to do so.”

The collaboration from Green Canopy and the Grow Community signifies a dual commitment to building resilient and sustainable communities. Green Canopy is known for building deep green and Net Zero Energy homes ranging from single-family homes to multi-unit projects, and its proprietary project development platform allows for unparalleled cost control and project management.

“What is exciting about this project is the alignment of values – this project aligns with our mission. It’s humbling to be welcomed into the Grow community as a development partner with so much of the way already paved before us” said Sam Lai, Green Canopy’s co-founder.

The Grow Community is the first One Planet neighborhood in the United States. The One Planet framework guides the design of Net Zero Energy neighborhoods as places where people can reduce their overall carbon footprint while living healthier and reducing costs. The program focuses not just on environmental impacts, but also on economic and social sustainability.

“Founding partners John and Ed Ellis have been instrumental in the completion of this project,” said Grow resident and original development team member Marja Williams. “Without them, this community would have never been as successful as it is today.”

“I’m eager to see this project finished in a way that I can be proud of. Much of the work that we’ve done with the Grow Community was meant to inspire others, and I think we’ve been successful in that,” said Ed Ellis.

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About Green Canopy: Green Canopy is an award-winning urban infill developer and homebuilder specializing in high performing, deep green, all-electric healthy homes. Their mission is to build relationships, businesses, and homes that help regenerate communities and environments. The team at Green Canopy offers development and general contracting services to third party investors, developers, and investment property owners.

About Grow Community: Grow Community is an urban One Planet neighborhood on Bainbridge Island, just a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. With beautifully designed solar-powered homes, shared community gardens and clean transportation options, Grow allows all generations to enjoy a high-quality and healthy lifestyle.

For more information, please contact:

Susan Fairchild, Green Canopy Director of Impact and Investor Relations

Real Leaders has announced the newly selected winners of its 2021 “Top Impact Companies” from around the world, and Green Canopy is proud to have been selected. 

“These top impact companies prove that businesses can thrive by being a force for good’ said Mark Van Ness, Founder of Real Leaders. “They are the Real Leaders of the New Economy” added Van Ness.

The 2021 award winners include game-changers such as: Tesla, Beyond Meat, Patagonia and 147 other well-respected impact brands of all sizes and from a variety of industries. .

A special ceremony will be held on January 27th, 2021 to honor the winners and will include key impact speakers featuring Seth Goldman, Chairman of Beyond Meat and a musical performance from Michael Franti, world-renowned musician and activist.

ABOUT REAL LEADERS

Real Leaders is the world’s first business and sustainable leadership magazine and serves a community of visionaries, collaborating to regenerate our world. Its mission is to inspire better leaders for a better world. Real Leaders is a Certified B-Corp and signatory in the United Nations Global Compact (an advocate for achieving the global goals for sustainable development).

Real Leaders positions leaders to thrive in the new economy and to inspire the future. 

Visit www.real-leaders.com for more information.

Green Canopy is proud to be a driving force in the movement towards all-electric.

Green Canopy has been committed to addressing the challenges of climate change and resource scarcity in our urban infill communities since 2009. Homes and the built environment are responsible for 40% of the annual global carbon emissions, the leading source of climate change.

“Transforming the built environment towards greater sustainability is fundamental to our core beliefs. Building all-electric homes is a no-brainer. It is a key solution to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. It creates healthier, safer communities, and eliminating gas pipes and air ducts reduces the cost to build,” says Aaron Fairchild, CEO.

One of Green Canopy’s all-electric townhomes across from the Ballard Locks

Photo of Green Canopy CEO Aaron Fairchild, by Grant Hindsley for The New York Times

Green Canopy has built and sold hundreds of homes; every one of them clean, all-electric. 

We choose to build this way because we believe business has a role to play in solving for our local housing and global climate crisis. Building all-electric releases the dependence on fracked gas and provides a healthier, more resilient future for our homeowners and our communities.

Dustin Van Wyck, Real Estate Broker with Van Wyck & Porter Real Estate shares that “since 2009, Green Canopy has been ahead of the curve serving as the leading advocate for adopting eco-friendly building trends across the Pacific Northwest. They build homes based on the understanding of how it can impact the present and future health of the environment, as well as the health of the people in our City.”

We are pleased to share The New York Times highlighted Green Canopy as a developer leading the charge towards building all-electric. Green Canopy is blazing a path for other developers to build all-electric, even before regulation is put in place.

The Seattle Times article “Natural gas industry’s $1 million PR campaign sets up fight over Northwest’s energy future” details the gas industry's campaign to fight local progress towards all-electric building proposals. "Natural gas is under an existential threat," the gas industry supporter proclaims.

The only existential crisis Green Canopy is aware of is a human one. Read more on why we believe all-electric is the future of homebuilding and why Green Canopy’s all-electric homes are healthier for the planet and for our homeowners.

While it’s clear the gas industry is preparing for a  lengthy battle to ensure the continued use of fracked gas, there is hope on the horizon. The Seattle Times article features Green Canopy co-founder Sam Lai showcasing one of Green Canopy’s hundreds of all-electric homes. “For electric systems to completely take over, there will need to be cultural change,” says Lai. As of 2018, more Seattle homes are being built with electric heat than not! Green Canopy has helped spearhead this transformation and will continue to advocate for the regulation needed to bring the percentage of clean all-electric homes to 100.

In the new year, Green Canopy has already brought the all-electric issue to our regional journals.

Aaron Fairchild, Green Canopy’s CEO continued the push with the opinion piece, “All-electric homes are a smart option” in the January edition of the Puget Sound Business Journal. “I’m convinced that clean, sustainable, fossil-fuel-free housing is the right path to sustainability in the face of both our housing crisis and our climate crisis,” says Fairchild.

Green Canopy will continue to build all-electric and advocate for the transition to the Clean Energy Future.

View fullsize

Green Canopy is humbled to be featured in a newly published Partnership Guide developed by Synergos.  Synergos is a global organization helping to solve complex issues around the world by advancing partnerships between government, business, and local communities. The Businesses as Bridging Leaders guide features case studies from companies including Green Canopy, Unilever, Danone USA, Cargill, Kering and JP Morgan Chase, on how to effectively collaborate with cross-sector partners for positive social impact.

We are thankful for our partnership with the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) as it has allowed us to bring 17% of our homes to market at more affordable and accessible prices compared to standard market rate homes.

By working in collaboration with our many stakeholders and partners we can continue to bring sustainable and healthy homes to market, and at the same time work towards greater market transformation. Our success depends on the commitment and mobilization of many, but especially our impact investors, our real estate agents, our building subcontractors, and our home buyers. Thank you!

We hope this guide serves as a tool for corporations to build stronger partnerships in order to meet the UN's Sustainable Development goals and raise the bar for cultivating trusted relationships.

View the NODE Trillium Series in Dwell Magazine

The establishment of Seattle’s first-ever Affordable Middle-Income Housing Advisory Council was announced by Mayor Jenny Durkan in January, as the city seeks to address the growing need to help middle-income families find affordable homes.

Green Canopy CEO Aaron Fairchild serves as a council member, as the group seeks to close market gaps through investment tools and strategies, along with attracting capital investment to create more affordable homes for Seattle’s middle-income earners. 

 “I’m honored to continue advancing Green Canopy’s mission working alongside such an amazing brain trust assembled by our Mayor Jenny Durkan,” says Fairchild.

Green Canopy is honored to be selected to the inaugural Real Leaders 100 Top Impact Companies! The Real Leaders 100 Top Impact Companies, in collaboration with Big Path Capital and B Lab, is the first ranking of positive impact companies.

“We were very impressed with the quality of applicants who were subjected to a rigorous review process for this first-ever 100 Top Impact Companies awards” said Mark Van Ness, Founder, Real Leaders.

The 100 winners will be celebrated at a formal event on April 4th and 5th at the Momentum (MO) Summit in Asheville, North Carolina.

The MO Summit is an invitation-only event convening with C-suite leaders who are scaling high-growth, positive-impact companies by using the power of creativity for business.

“The Real Leaders 100 list is the first ranking of positive impact companies in North America and leverages the engine of capitalism for great profit and great good,” said Michael Whelchel, Managing Partner, Big Path Capital. “Because of high demand, we are expanding the list globally in 2020,” added Whelchel.

The ranking is based on the formula for force – that is mass times acceleration:
Three-year growth rate (acceleration) x Revenue (mass) x B Impact assessment score = A Company’s Force for Good score.

About Real Leaders:

Real Leaders magazine has been in circulation since 2010 and is the world’s first sustainable business & leadership publication. It aims to inspire better leaders for a better world.

About Big Path Capital:

Big Path Capital has been called “Impact Investing’s investment bank” and works with the top sustainable and impact companies and funds.

About B Lab:

B Lab is a nonprofit that serves a global movement of People Using Business as a Force for Good. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the Best for the World® and as a result society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity.

See how our organization ranked among 99 other companies that are a Force For Good below.

Read about NODE Madrona Series in Dwell

In the 2018 summer issue, Green Canopy CEO, Aaron Fairchild, was named to "Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business." 

"Your inclusion on the list is an acknowledgment of your innovative and impactful work. You join 99 other remarkable leaders striving to solve global and societal problems in novel ways," states Fast Company Editor-in-chief, Stephanie Mehta.

Fairchild responds, "I am grateful to be recognized by such an esteemed publication as Fast Company, focused on revolutionizing the current business paradigm and to be listed among leaders and businesses using innovation to catalyze the next economy — one that is more regenerative and inclusive."

The Green Canopy Team is honored to have a leader who inspires us to continue doing the deep work necessary to realize the future we believe in.

Green Canopy CEO, Aaron Fairchild, was recently featured on the Next Economy Now podcast by Lift Economy in the episode "Aaron Fairchild: Rooting Into Perennial Impact Under One Green Canopy." 

The podcast "highlights the leaders who are taking a regenerative, bio-regional, democratic, transparent, and whole-systems approach to using business as a force for good." Green Canopy is continually inspired by Lift Economy's work to benefit all life.

Listen to this episode to hear more from Aaron about how Green Canopy is influencing the existing construction paradigm while deliberately, methodically and incrementally addressing some of society’s most difficult challenges as we collectively work to create a more resilient and regenerative future.

Aaron offers Green Canopy’s past, present and future outlook, thoughts on culture and management, the phases of the company's growth and the importance of inclusive building for a more enriching world.

For more information on Green Canopy's approach to the current construction industry, listen to "Money is a Means to an End: Scaling Your Business with Aaron Fairchild" by The Construction Leading Edge.

By Susan Fairchild | Director, Investor Relations and Impact | Green Canopy Homes

The Rockefeller Foundation strives to “promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world” by scaling transformative innovations, creating unlikely partnerships spanning sectors, and taking risks others cannot. To catalyze cross-sector pollinization from the social sector to impact investing, the Rockefeller Foundation recently released a case study on Green Canopy’s theory of change - “Putting Impact at the Center of Impact Investing: A Case Study of how Green Canopy Designed its Impact Thesis.”

"The case study provides an illuminating example of how investors can adapt theory of change to serve their impact management needs. By demonstrating the relevance and transferability of this tool for articulating, measuring, and managing impact, the hope is that this case study can contribute to strengthening other investors’ approaches, in turn contributing to building the evidence base for the “impact” of impact investments."

We encourage impact investors and impact enterprises to similarly consider integrating this tool into their organizations.  You can read more about Green Canopy’s theory of change and send any questions to susan@greencanopy.com.

“As impact investing grows exponentially, the IA 50 has remained a leading and trusted resource for impact investors of all experience levels,” said Jed Emerson, ImpactAssets Senior Fellow, and IA 50 Review Committee Chair.  “Our consistent and objective evaluation of impact fund managers is providing financial advisors and their clients with a starting place to make informed investment decisions.  And we are helping to catalyze the growth of impact investing by creating a centralized information source in a fragmented field.”

Green Canopy is honored to be featured on the 2018 IA 50 List as one of nine managers in the Real Assets category, one of 13 in Housing, and one of the 12 Certified B Corporations. See the press release here.