PORTLAND — ReVision Energy has earned B corporation certification from B Labs, a non-profit organization. This certification is an official acknowledgement of the company’s commitment to creating positive social change, as well as its commitment to transparency and accountability to its broad community of stakeholders.

The ‘B’ stands for Benefit corporation, and denotes a commitment to a defined set of nontraditional business practices that benefit employees, customers and the broader community. These practices create a positive impact on society and the environment. B corporations differ from traditional corporations in purpose, accountability and transparency, but not in taxation.

In a traditional corporation, shareholders judge the company’s financial performance; with a B Corp, shareholders judge performance based on how a corporation’s goals benefit society and the environment. Transparency provisions require benefit corporations to publish annual benefit reports of their social and environmental performance using a comprehensive, credible, independent and transparent third party standard.

B Labs is the nonprofit organization that awards B Corp certification to companies that complete a rigorous application process. There are 1,300 B Corps in 120 industries to date across the globe. The companies share the common goal of redefining business success, and ReVision has become one of only three B Corps businesses in Maine.

“Over the years we have tried to model what we saw as the best practices of great companies like Tom’s of Maine, Ben and Jerry’s, Timberland and Stonyfield Farms. These were the real world forerunners of what is gradually becoming a B Corporation global movement,” noted Phil Coupe, co-founder,  in a press release. “Those socially responsible companies proved to the rest of the business world that it’s actually true that you can do well financially by doing good things for society.” Coupe once worked for Tom’s of Maine founder Tom Chappell.

ReVision Energy has become the leading solar energy company in northern New England, having designed and installed more than 4,500 solar energy systems in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts since the company was founded by managing partner Bill Behrens in Liberty in 2003.

Today the company has 100 employees in four locations, Liberty and Portland; Concord and Exeter, New Hampshire. ReVision Energy’s mission is to execute the societal transition from a fossil fuel based economy to a sustainable, renewable energy based economy that drastically reduces carbon pollution.

In addition to reducing fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions, the company is dedicated to helping mission driven nonprofits achieve their goals in the areas of at risk and disadvantaged youth, homelessness, hunger, the environment and social justice.