There’s no such thing as a tough crowd to Sarah Beatty. The charismatic founder of Green Depot brought down the house at a recent economic development retreat with her vision of a future built with sustainable, nontoxic materials. “This isn’t usually a demonstrative bunch,” recalls Catherine Barton, corporate director of business development for the eco-building supply business. “Sarah not only got serious applause, some people even stood up and yelled ‘Whoo-hoo’ and ‘Right on!’”

Those who know Sarah, 43, say she’s a star. “She’s a powerhouse. Intense, dynamic, completely tireless,” says Jenny Gitlitz, Green Depot’s director of environmental assessment and a mom of two who makes use of the business’s family-friendly policies to telecommute from her home in the Berkshires. “One of the things that struck me about her right away is she’s such a quick study.”

A Harvard alumna, Sarah was having a high-flying marketing career at MTV and USA Network when she downshifted in 2004 while pregnant with daughter Elizabeth, now 4. Sarah was writing her pack-for-the-hospital maternity list when she noticed that the recently installed kitchen floorboards in her Manhattan apartment had buckled. A contractor discovered mold underneath and warned she could have a massive problem. Luckily, she didn’t. Still, the scare caused her to reexamine the health of her home.

Everything from tap water to carpet adhesives came under her scrutiny. She began pestering her husband, who owns a building supply company, about why it wasn’t easier to learn about and purchase nontoxic options. “Finally he said, ‘Why don’t you start a company?’” Sarah recalls. “He said, ‘If you want an investor and supporter, I’m there.’”

In 2005, Green Depot was born, with $150,000 in start-up money. These days, the company’s ten building supply stores sell sustainable cork flooring, formaldehyde-free plywood and paints that don’t release volatile organic compounds to both contractors and consumers. In Manhattan, the Live store (one of the company’s new divisions) sells a locally made brand of nontoxic paints, called Ivy Coatings, air and water filters, organic baby clothes and other items.

The business’s back office operates eco-efficiently thanks to a solar energy photovoltaic panel supplying some of its power. In the summer, the panel allows the office to go “off grid” just when the electric company is facing peak demand. Additionally, Green Depot uses biodiesel trucks to deliver supplies to customers in New York. The company vets every product it develops or carries against an extensive internal database of harmful chemicals culled from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists, among others.

Refreshingly, you won’t find any ecoelitism at Green Depot. “Sarah is very inclusive,” says Catherine. To clients, “it’s never ‘I can’t believe you put up that paint!’ It’s about ‘What can we do today to make things better?’” Though employees log long hours, Sarah believes in flexibility—for herself and her staff. She works in the office three days a week and telecommutes the other days so she can drop off and pick up Elizabeth and Jacob, 2, at school. “If we get the project done, I don’t care if you’re emailing me at one o’clock in the morning or leaving the office at three in the afternoon,” she says, noting that six employees telecommute as well. “I’m not going to question or babysit. It minimizes the value of what my employees contribute.”

Green Depot: Brooklyn, NY
Mission: To sell healthy and eco-friendly building supplies to contractors and do-it-yourselfers
Founded: 2005
First profitable year: 2009 (projected)
Employees: 57 full- and part-time
2008 revenue: $10 million