On August 4, Rubicon® officially celebrated a decade in business.
Formed on August 4, 2009, Rubicon was founded on a mission to end waste. Established by Nate Morris and Marc Spiegel in Kentucky a year earlier, Nate came up with the idea to form a company that takes a more environmental approach to waste and recycling after a trip to China in which he was shocked by the amount of waste that he saw being produced, and the lack of any environmentally responsible ways in which to deal with it.
Upon his return to the United States, Nate reached out to Marc, and together they got to work building the foundation for what was to become Rubicon. (For more on Rubicon’s founding, including the story behind Marc Spiegel’s famed “red couch,” listen to Marc’s Town Haul podcast episode.)
Here, on Rubicon’s ten-year anniversary, let’s take a look at the three core pillars of our continued success.
Rubicon’s Mission
Ten years ago, few companies were talking about waste and recycling, and the opportunities it can present, in the same way that they are today. Waste was looked upon as a non-issue that was being hidden in plain sight. Nate Morris and Marc Spiegel wanted to change all of this.
Back then, at every opportunity that presented itself Nate would get up on stage and talk about the current state of the waste and recycling industry. Nobody was telling the real story about how much otherwise recyclable waste was being sent to landfill for no good reason. Nobody was telling the real story about businesses across the United States and beyond being charged exorbitant fees to have their waste and recycling picked up at an unnecessary frequency. And nobody was telling the real story about the true environmental impact of waste, from the methane coming out of landfills and harming our atmosphere, to the challenges associated with recycling contamination and aspirational recycling.
Rubicon’s mission to end waste, in all of its forms is born out of a sincere desire to do what is right. This starts with the physical waste that businesses, governments, and organizations produce in their daily operations; but it goes a step further to include wasted time, wasted money, and wasted energy. It starts with keeping materials out of landfills and creating a more circular economy through recycling and reuse; but it expands to include creating a more efficient and effective society.
Rubicon’s Customers
Rubicon is a software company that provides a suite of SaaS products for waste, recycling, and smart city solutions, and collects and analyzes data for businesses and governments worldwide.
Over the last ten years our customers have encompassed everyone from commercial businesses, to hauler partners, to cities up and down the country as a part of our smart city offering. We are a software company first and foremost, which means that in all that we do we put our technology products front and center to the benefit of our customers.
“I truly believe that we have the best, most environmentally motivated, and most future-focused customers in the business,” said Nate in an interview for this piece. “Here at Rubicon we are proud of our mission to end waste, in all of its forms, and it means a lot to me and the entire Rubicon team that our customers have gotten behind us in this mission.”
Rubicon’s Employees
Finally, it would be impossible to tell the Rubicon story, and celebrate our ten-year anniversary, without talking about the people who make it all happen on a daily basis; our employees.
Here at Rubicon, one of the things that sets us apart for our employees is our Certified B Corporation status. In a recent conversation with our Vice President of Investor Relations, Elizabeth Montoya, I learned that Nate and Marc were insistent that Rubicon became a B Corp as early as possible. They wanted to build the right kind of company with the right values from the very beginning.
Something else that sets us apart for our employees is our commitment to following strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in our work, as we truly believe that being a good corporate citizen is essential to the way businesses must operate.
Our employees are passionate, mission-driven, and professional in all that they do. I’m extremely proud to be a part of Rubicon and our mission to end waste, in all of its forms now, and going forward. As Nate has said many times, 50 years from now when the world looks back at how the waste and recycling industry had transformed, they will see that Rubicon was truly the catalyst for that change.
Michael Heller is Chief Administrative and People Officer Rubicon. To stay ahead of Rubicon’s announcements of new partnerships and collaborations around the world, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, or contact us today.
