This Independence Day, We Have A Lot to Think About

This Fourth of July will certainly be a little bit different than ones in years past. As everyone knows, we are in the midst of challenging times. But while the celebrations of our nation’s independence may be smaller, recognizing and paying tribute to our freedoms and independence is more important now than perhaps ever before.

As an energy solutions company founded and operating in the USA – we help businesses reach their maximum potential by modernizing their building systems for efficiency. We do this by auditing their facilities, examining their processes and finding operational weaknesses. We evaluate system capabilities in relation to technological advancement, and we determine what needs updating, what needs upgrading and what needs to be changed out completely. We apply new ideas, new innovations and new technology to existing systems, and by doing this we renew them and make them capable of functioning at higher levels than what was imagined just a few years before.

Right now, as a nation we are being challenged on multiple fronts, and as born engineers, analysts and strategists, we can’t help but see what we do with building efficiency as a metaphor for what needs to happen right now in our country. Outdated processes need to be upgraded – and weaknesses need to be identified and shored up before they start affecting operations in other areas. This process should be ongoing and continuous.

As Americans, we are united by our agreement to respect and protect the freedoms laid out in the Constitution. The governmental system is a contract that we’re all supposed to honor, and it was created to ensure that every American citizen is able to live with those freedoms guaranteed. Yet if these freedoms are not guaranteed for each and every one of us, then they are not guaranteed for any of us. The pain, injustices and deaths of so many African Americans, people of color and oppressed groups have brought us to a point where we simply cannot look away anymore from the reality that these freedoms are not guaranteed for many Americans. And now that we are looking, we’re finding examples of systemic racism almost everywhere. In this way, our system is failing and we must examine it, audit it, and fix it if we want it to survive and thrive.

Over the past several months, we at IoEnergy have had to examine ourselves as individuals, our business, and our industry to determine the ways in which we are responsible for the flaws in the system. Where have we been complacent? How have we been neglectful? In what ways did our own experience of being an American get in the way of seeing how American freedom is not guaranteed for all citizens? We are still examining and will likely continue to examine our own behaviors, preconceived notions and assumptions for years to come – hopefully we will never stop.

With this examination we will – as individuals and as a business – uncover ways to update, upgrade and outright change where necessary in order to end systemic racism in the United States. To be honest, we’re not 100% sure where to go from here, but we are steadfast in our commitment to figure it out. As business owners we’re questioning our complicity and our responsibility. As individuals, we’re examining our ideals and assumptions. We’re looking around and wondering why there aren’t more people of color in our industry, why isn’t there better gender equality?  And we are talking about ways to change that.

We have a long way to go, and the path is not always going to be clear. This Independence Day, we wish for your good health and happiness, and we hope that in the days and years ahead, we will all work together to update, upgrade, and outright change our system where necessary to make sure that “repeated petitions” are no longer met with “repeated injury” and all US citizens are treated equally.