Schools: Commercial & Industrial Solutions
Growing Up & Going Green with Schools
Schools have a special place in Good Energy’s heart. As Good Energy was just beginning to build its client base, independent schools in New York City were among the first institutions to appoint Good Energy as trusted energy advisor. Word of Good Energy’s performance spread among the education community, and the number of schools served grew quickly.
As students, administrators and school systems became more aware of the benefits of renewable energy and sustainability, Good Energy’s services expanded. Good Energy began offering renewable-energy procurement, demand response and demand-management projects such as energy-efficient lighting upgrades through our sister company, GoodMart.
These energy-related programs generated a significant amount of student enthusiasm and contributed to the development of classroom curricula. Working with Good Energy, schools found ways to channel this enthusiasm to reduce their energy expenditures. For example, students would often race to be the first to turn off a light switch when leaving a room.
As teachers, students and their families became more environmentally conscious, Good Energy partnered with organizations that built on this student passion. In 2008, Good Energy joined the Green Schools Alliance, a nonprofit organization that addresses climate and conservation challenges by empowering schools worldwide to lead the transformation to energy sustainability. Good Energy also works closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership, which created the Top 30 K-12 Schools listing. Because of Good Energy’s vast amount of work with the independent school community, the EPA recognized these Top 30 K-12 Schools as the best green-power institutions.
On an even larger scale, Good Energy originated and continues to manage the second-largest public-energy procurement cooperative in New Jersey, comprising primarily schools and boards of education. The program’s success was originally built on electricity procurement but has since grown to include natural gas and what many believe to be the first aggregated demand-response program in the country. The cooperative works with nearly 100 entities throughout almost all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
