Ep 48: Why Hedging Operating Inflation is a Meaningful Task

by Dakota Malone | Mar 5, 2025

Dakota discusses how hedging operating inflation through sustainable business practices is essential for long-term success, especially for large electricity users. He emphasizes that sustainability—viewed through the lenses of human, social, business, and environmental pillars—is a powerful risk mitigation strategy that enhances efficiency, resilience, and profitability. By leveraging solutions like Community Solar, organizations can cut costs, hedge inflation, and position themselves for enduring growth without capital investment.

(0:00 – 1:52)

The Threat of Operating Inflation & The Sustainability Thesis

Dakota Malone opens by introducing Community Solar Authority, a company that has enabled over $22 million in future electricity savings. He emphasizes that hedging against operating inflation is not only necessary but strategic for businesses, especially those that are large energy users. Dakota’s core thesis is that the more sustainable a company becomes, the more likely it is to remain in business over the long haul. Rising utility rates are inevitable, and without measures to lower costs—such as leveraging turnkey community solar solutions—businesses face profitability threats. He frames sustainability as the ultimate risk mitigation tool, particularly in an economy where inflation eats into margins.

(1:52 – 2:15)

The Four Pillars of Sustainability

Dakota introduces the framework of the four pillars of sustainability: human, social, business, and environmental. He explains that all four are equally important and can be used to increase organizational resilience. These pillars offer a structured way to think about building leaner, more creative, and more innovative companies that are equipped to adapt to change.

(2:16 – 5:06)

Operational Efficiency and Long-Term Resilience

He explores how adopting sustainability strategies leads to improved resource efficiency—touching on energy consumption, workforce optimization, and supply chains. These changes allow businesses to become more agile and prepared to respond to inflationary pressures, without altering their core business model. Dakota likens it to shedding excess weight and gaining strength: businesses become lighter, quicker, and more capable. Sustainability, he insists, isn’t a one-time fix but a long-term discipline that transforms how organizations operate. Companies that weave sustainability into their core values are better equipped to adapt to the changing global economic landscape and to endure beyond leadership transitions or ownership changes.

(5:07 – End)

Why Sustainability Is a Strategic Power Move

In closing, Dakota reinforces that sustainability is not just a trendy concept—it’s a critical business strategy. Large electricity users must simultaneously manage rising costs and environmental responsibility. Adopting sustainable practices allows organizations to cut costs, mitigate risk, boost reputation, and secure a stronger future. With Community Solar Authority, businesses can save tens of thousands annually without capital investment or on-site solar installation. He invites interested companies to take the first step toward resilience by booking a consultation through their website or connecting with him on LinkedIn.

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If you’re new to my channel, my name is Dakota Malone. I’m a co-founder of Community Solar Authority. We’re a commercial solar developer & consultant on a mission to streamline clean energy deployment.

We deliver turnkey access to community solar for large users of electricity, & our company has unlocked access to $20M+ in future electricity savings for our clients.

Today, we’re focused on educating municipalities, corporations, stakeholders- & other entities consuming lots of electricity to help them benefit from the trillion-dollar clean energy economy.

To our future procurement, facilities, & finance teams we speak to.. we’re here to serve you well with this content ahead of time so that we have a productive conversation when we meet.

Want to access enhanced sustainability & improved operating profit in 90 days?

Book a call and get started.
Here In Service,
Dakota

Read the transcript

(0:00 – 1:52)
Hey guys, this is Dakota Malone. I co-founded Community Solar Authority. We’ve unlocked access to over $22 million plus in future electricity savings, and we made this podcast as a way to talk about our business in an easy-to-digest way.

And today, I’m talking about why hedging operating inflation is a meaningful task and a case for business sustainability. Again, my name is Dakota. I co-founded Community Solar Authority six years ago on a thesis.

The more sustainable you are, the more likely you remain in business over the long haul. Sounds like common sense, right? Yet, it’s not always a common business practice. Here’s the reality.

In my world, in the energy space, electric utilities will never stop raising their prices on customers. For large users of electricity, this is a slow bleed that will eventually make it too expensive for you to operate at your present level of business. My company helps large users solve operating inflation by lowering electricity costs turnkey.

To date, we’ve unlocked access to more than $22 million in future electricity savings, and here’s why becoming more sustainable in your business practices is a worthy pursuit. First, let’s talk about sustainability, which I see as the ultimate risk mitigation strategy. A SWOT analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, would reveal that increased operating inflation is a massive threat to large users of electricity.

Knowing that you deliver a valuable product or service to the world at a certain profit margin and simultaneously knowing that inflation is working against you is a scary thing. Your profitability without preventative measures or offensive changes will hardly ever be stabilized in an economy of rising inflation. Finding ways to leverage sustainability practices in your business is a risk mitigation strategy that every leader can get behind, and this doesn’t just mean environmental sustainability either.

(1:52 – 2:15)
We speak on sustainability through the lens of the four pillars, human, social, business, and environmental. Each of these are of equal importance, and these levers can all contribute to a more resilient organization. Thinking through business sustainability practices for risk mitigation can help you discover new ways to become leaner, make room for creativity and innovation, and help spark ideas that can bring your organization to new heights.

(2:16 – 5:06)
These types of sustainability practices can help you hedge inflation and change the way you play the game of business. Let’s talk about resource efficiency. As you become more sustainable, you’re naturally going to become more efficient.

Imagine your organization becoming more operationally efficient, from energy consumption, to employee count, to supply chain, and into each area of your business. Moving away from being eaten by inflation allows you to offensively think about how to create a more valuable org without changing your actual business model. This can be the equivalent of losing a hundred pounds and revealing six-pack abs.

All of a sudden, you’re going to feel much better, think differently, and be light on your feet. Hedging inflation can quickly turn from a looming threat into fuel for looking at your operations in a new light. The second piece here is the long-term viability.

Sustainability isn’t just about short-term gains. It’s not a one-and-done scenario where you put a band-aid on the problem and it goes away. The more you practice it, the more you integrate it into your business model.

It becomes a way of operating and a bedrock value for your org. There is an ever-changing global landscape of the way that we do business, and going back to our thesis at the beginning, if you can find ways to adapt and be agile, then you can survive and move with these changes. As you become lean, efficient, and sustainable, you increase the odds of your business surviving and your growth over the long haul.

Most people don’t get into business to not make money and not serve the world. If your organization goes under and you can’t keep playing the game of business, then you lose. To practice sustainability is an act of love and the pursuit of a long-term vision for your organization to live on even after you exit, retire, etc.

In conclusion, today’s landscape with sustainability is not just a buzzword anymore. It’s a strategic power move. Large users of electricity face the dual challenge of combating operating inflation while minimizing their environmental impact.

By embracing sustainable practices, these companies can achieve multiple goals at the same time. They’ll lean out, mitigate risks, reduce costs, enhance their reputation, and position themselves for long-term success. As we navigate an uncertain future, sustainability isn’t merely an option.

It’s a practical business move. For the last six years, we’ve been helping big organizations improve operating profits by lowering electricity costs using strategies like Community Solar. Our average client saves over $75,000 a year on a $0 investment without needing to install solar on-site.

Want to take that first step towards sustainability turnkey with us? You can book a call to get started today at communitysolarauthority.com. Thanks for tuning in. Please connect with me on LinkedIn if you have further questions. That’s linkedin.com slash in slash Dakota Malone and I will catch you on the next episode.