What we build today
lasts forever.
Sun Bear Industries is a minority-owned infrastructure strategy and development firm headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We operate at the intersection of energy, planning, and sustainability - partnering with tribal nations, communities, and corporations to deploy energy infrastructure that generates both lasting economic value and measurable social impact.
Tribal energy sovereignty is not one segment of what we do. It is the foundation our firm was built on, and it remains the core of how we operate.
Isaiah Ness
Chief Executive Officer & Founder
A path to energy sovereignty.
Isaiah Ness studied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, originally envisioning a career in private equity. But the path shifted when he entered the renewable energy sector in 2020, first through door-to-door solar sales in California, then by co-founding two residential and commercial solar companies.
He saw how the industry worked - and he knew it could work better. Not just cleaner energy, but a fundamentally different approach to how projects get built, who benefits, and who gets left behind.
In 2022, during the pandemic, Isaiah founded Sun Bear Industries alongside co-founders George Soucek and Shae Mitchell. The company name traces back to Isaiah's first venture - Sun Bear Trading Company - an eco-conscious brand that supported the endangered sun bear species. That early commitment to purpose over profit carried through every company that followed, and ultimately became the foundation of the firm that exists today.
His desire to move beyond residential and commercial solar had nothing to do with the business slowing down. He wanted to work with tribes, nonprofits, and minority communities - the places where energy infrastructure could create the most lasting impact.
For centuries, Tribal Nations have been denied the right to own their own energy. We are changing that. From the inside.
88% of United States utility infrastructure and power plant infrastructure is located on or within five miles of reservation land. Yet tribal communities remain disproportionately energy-burdened, spending an average of 45% more on energy relative to income than the national average.
Tribal nations hold a unique position. They can form their own utility companies - a right most individuals and organizations do not have. The pathway to energy sovereignty has never been clearer, and the communities ready to walk it have never been more prepared.
Cultural appreciation for the overall ecosystem and land is always our first conversation. We factor that into every engagement, which is something Isaiah never saw in the private sector. These communities understand what the rest of the world is just starting to figure out: that real sustainability means thinking in generations, not quarters.
Energy as an engine
for economic growth.
Sun Bear Industries is redefining enterprise development in underserved markets. We work at the intersection of social impact and economic growth, partnering with communities, corporations, and investors to deploy comprehensive energy infrastructure, business strategy, and development solutions that generate both profit and purpose.
For tribal enterprises, energy is not just an operational expense - it is the next engine of enterprise growth. We help tribal business entities structure energy investments, develop revenue-generating assets, and build the operational capacity that turns energy from a cost center into a growth driver. From market analysis and opportunity identification through asset acquisition and operational optimization, every engagement is designed to create measurable, lasting value.
For corporate and institutional partners, we bring the same rigor. Strategic energy infrastructure, sustainability execution, and shared-value frameworks that go beyond the ESG report. The organizations we work with do not need another vendor. They need a firm that builds infrastructure that changes their cost basis permanently and creates shared value with the communities where they operate.