Ithaca Biodiesel is an employee owned, democratically run, cooperative corporation, committed to providing the highest quality vegetable-based fuels to our members. This will be achieved through the operation of:

1. One or more manufacturing and distribution facilities.
2. One or more automotive service garages.

All profits, after resolution of debts and/or expenses incurred, shall be returned to the cooperative, rather than to any individual.

Ithaca Biodiesel will be committed to the following ethical guidelines:

• To promote openness, honesty, integrity, and mutual respect as pinnacle virtues in our relations with our employees, our customers, our vendors, our trade partners, and the community at large.
• To provide fair and supportive treatment of our employees, and to be sensitive to the working and living conditions of all employees of companies with whom we do business.
• To exercise ecological responsibility and leadership in our operations and choice of product line, with the ultimate goal of becoming locally and environmentally sustainable.
• To emphasize and promote locally produced goods, and goods produced or distributed by other cooperative businesses.
• To educate ourselves and others about our purposes, practices, the goods and services we provide, and the principles to which we subscribe.

The main purpose for creating Ithaca Biodiesel as a cooperative is to engage in an alternative paradigm for commerce and industry. The characteristics of this paradigm are as follows:

1. Not-for-profit status. This facilitates a dramatic and fundamental shift in purpose away from net profit or traditionally quantitative goals towards qualitative and holistic system improvement, efficiency, and longevity.
2. Local and environmental sustainability. The antithesis of globalization, this quality fosters local independence and adaptability. Local fuel production also decreases our dependence on foreign oil relations and the policies that support them.
3. Fair trade and employment practices. By using standardized criteria (based on industry standards) to determine wages, we will create a working environment of fairness and equality, with the ultimate goal of maintaining a maximum earning ration of 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest) for all worker owners. This also includes impartiality and oversight with regard to hiring and advancement practices.
4. Participatory workplace democracy. Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Fundamentally, it is our philosophy that all those who are affected by a decision have influence in the outcome.
5. Alliance with other organizations or communities that promote or intend to promote democracy, fairness, or social and environmental responsibility, in an effort to pool ideas and resources towards common goals.