Mosaic founder and CEO Billy Parish is up for the NationSwell All-Star awards, and the article accompanying his nomination gives insight into the purpose that drives the company — and Mosaic’s next steps towards financing a 100% clean energy home:
Billy Parish studied climate change as a student at Yale, but it wasn’t until a summer trip to India after his sophomore year that the reality of the problem hit home. It was 2002 when Parish traveled to the source of the Ganges River, in the Himalayas, and met with scientists who were studying a glacier there. “They told me that the glacier had melted and was much further upriver than it was the year before, and that it was melting faster than anyone had been predicting,” he says. “The source of water for millions of people was at risk.” The experience had a huge impact on Parish. “Seeing the glacier was the first time I saw climate change face-to-face,” he says. “That for me was the moment of no turning back, when I said, ‘I need to do something about this.’”
“Seeing the glacier was the first time I saw climate change face-to-face…That for me was the moment of no turning back, when I said ‘I need to do something about this.’”
— BILLY PARISH, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF MOSAIC
That urge to do something eventually led Parish to create Mosaic, a company that provides financing for homeowners who want to go solar, in 2011. It’s a Certified B Corporation, meaning that in addition to turning a profit, Mosaic aims to have a positive impact on the world. Today, it’s the largest residential solar lender in the country. Mosaic works with roughly 250 solar installers, equipping them with software and financing products that they can offer to their customers. “There are now over 50,000 people who are prospering from clean energy through Mosaic,” Parish says, including not just those who own homes, but salespeople and installation crews too.
Check out the full article and video about Billy Parish here. You can also learn about the other, universally awesome nominees — and vote for your favorite! — at NationSwell.