41 Solar Social Business Innovations

These solar social business innovations meld clean and renewable sources of energy with social entrepreneurship and people-oriented projects in an effort to lay claim to what is now known as the triple bottom line.

The most replicated of models in this list (although not entirely ubiquitous) is the solar lamp or lantern, which often uses a "business in a bag" idea in order to replace dangerous kerosene lamps with LED or solar alternatives that cost less, last longer and create markets in the targeted community. From custom-printed sustainable printing services to clean tech non-profit-organizations, these solar social business innovations span a variety of industries and techniques -- and some are less typical than you'd think, for instance, Tropical Wholefoods, which uses solar drying technology to produce their fair trade snacks.