Business View Magazine | November 2019

225 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2019 ECOTONE agricultural efforts and practices, as well as provide ecological uplift on their farms.” Corporate culture has also been very relevant in shaping how the firm approaches the responsibility of restoring ecosystems to a more resilient state. McGill shares some of his thoughts on the core values and unique personality of Ecotone: “I strive to grow a company that is someplace I would’ve wanted to work at in my twenties. I’m very open source. We share all our results with our employees, so they’re informed about how the company’s doing. We plan activities throughout the year so that we can get to know one another outside the office and off the construction site.” This year the company planned a trip to Hershey Park for its employees and their families. In the past, they’ve also hosted Family Fun days with waterslides, barbecuing, and petting zoos. “We’re a B Corp since 2018,” McGill adds. “We’re one of the few companies in our space that offer paternity as well as maternity leave. We do profit sharing We put out a weekly newsletter so that everyone knows what everyone else is doing in the company. In the last couple of months, we’ve also started what we call a Trib Award. A tributary is a stream that feeds a larger river. If you see a colleague that did something special, or went that extra distance to bring some new knowledge, or try something different, you can nominate them.” “We like folks to come here to try new ideas, to be innovative and creative,” says McGill. “We want Ecotone to be a place where employees can grow their careers. Retention is so important to us.” The company operates on the belief that a commitment to the employee can only strengthen Ecotone’s accountability to customers, the local Maryland counties, and the environment at large. “We’re always looking at challenges out there from an ecological and environmental standpoint. Water levels are rising. We can argue about the cause of that, but it’s happening. Getting into shoreline restoration area resiliency and responding to some of those global environmental issues is something