Jonathan Cedar
Co-Founder and CEO, BioLite
The Basics
Company Name: BioLite
Location: Brooklyn, NY and Nairobi, Kenya
Founded: 2009
Full-Time Employees: 65 (split roughly 50-50 between New York and Nairobi)
Products: Stoves, solar panels, and lights to power your life outside and off-grid
Social: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter
Claim to Fame: Our business model of Parallel Innovation enables us to build impact into every purchase. As a result, over 300,000 people have access to safe, reliable energy and over 272k Wh of electricity have been generated from renewable sources.
The Culture
The best thing about working at biolite is:
Everyone’s commitment and relentless curiosity for how to figure things out.
When we’re not working, we’re:
Biking, running, climbing, live-music going, water-coloring, and strategic boardgaming. Also have a weekly volleyball competition against other Brooklyn offices in the summer.
What we’re reading:
Best American Short Stories 2018, The Broken Earth Trilogy, Good Omens (we have a book club!)
What we’re listening to:
MUSIC: Alabama Shakes, Sturgill Simpson, Paco De Lucia, St Paul and the Broken Bones, John Prine PODCASTS: Outside, Dirtbag Diaries, Women On The Road, Reply All, How I Built This
If they made a movie about our workplace, it would be called:
BioLite, Keep Burning (don’t worry, soundtrack is already complete)
Inclusion in the outdoors matters because:
Fresh air and open skies belong to all of us; it’s crucial to create opportunities for participation AND initiatives for visibility and representation so everyone can see themselves outside. Diversity of voices and experiences also play a critical role when it comes to advocacy for protecting the outdoors we all love, whether it’s for recreation, ritual, biodiversity, or a mix of motivations, all rooted in respect for the world around us.
Five years down the line, it’s our hope that:
The outdoor industry embodies access and inclusion as passionately as it embodies conservation and environmental stewardship. And, with a unified community, we can lead the way on championing carbon neutrality and other responsible practices to keep people and planet healthy.