About Me

Rockville, MD, United States
Clean Currents is a clean energy broker/aggregator licensed by the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Pennsylvania Utility Commission, and the District of Columbia Public Service Commission. We operate in Maryland, Pennsylvania, DC, Chicago, Texas, and other areas where there is a competitive electricity market. We are committed to promoting solutions to today’s biggest environmental challenges – global warming and air pollution.

Monday, December 21, 2009

To Really Save the Planet, Stop Just Going Green

"To really save the planet, stop going green." Those powerful words headline a recent piece by Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) and our nation's leading visionary for a cleaner, greener future. Strong, but true words, spoken at the exact right point. I believe that we've now reached a tipping point in the world of all things "green." Every business with even a hint of a consumer face now has some "green" statement, message, program or item. Businesses across the nation, including Clean Currents, are committed to some sort of voluntary environmental pledge. The greening of America's businesses is done. No, not literally done. There's still a lot to do. But the process has been started and will only continue to grow. Everybody is already, or about to, "go green." That's great, but now it's time to move to the next phase and that's where Mike Tidwell's strong words come in.

The recent news about companies leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is perhaps the first battle in the next phase of our march to a secure climate, free of global warming. Apple led the charge of companies leaving the Chamber, which also included electric utilities such as Exelon. Nike resigned from the Board of the Chamber. All of this was done because of the Chamber's stance on climate change legislation. Apple and these others are showing that just 'going green' is no longer enough. That was Climate 1.0. In Climate 2.0, all of us, consumers, businesses, etc. will be judged on our greeness not just by our voluntary actions, but by our commitment to positive legislation that will dramatically cut the greenhouse gases causing climate change.

I'm proud to work together with my colleagues in the non-profit environmental advocacy world to push for this kind of legislation at both the state and national level. At Clean Currents, we incentivize our employees to get involved by providing a subsidy for membership in environmental organizations and by encouraging them to make their voices heard in the climate debate. We need to change the laws of this nation to better protect our environment. Yet, we should also continue our voluntary efforts. They make a small difference, perhaps, but they also introduce people to important environmental values. They educate the broad swath of the population that helping the environment can sometimes help protect your bottom line as well. I understand that it is a combination of voluntary actions and positive environmental legislation that will save the planet. Thus, I would tweak Mike's words to perhaps say, "to really save the planet, stop just going green."

In 2010, Clean Currents will commit to improving our environmental performance. We will work for positive environmental legislation in the nation's capital, and in our home state of Maryland. We will help our employees and customers understand the nature, and urgency, of the energy choices before us. We aim to be a leader in Climate 2.0 - to advocate for green laws as well as continue to make green choices. Our planet's future is at stake, so we can do no less.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Is a Company Green Because it Sells Green Products?

Solar companies (installers, manufacturers, etc.) are generally thought of as "green" companies by the general public. But I wonder if this is true? Not just for solar - but for any company selling something green. Does selling a green product make for a green company? The answer is important, because many consumers want to "vote with their wallets" by supporting sustainably oriented companies.

Leafing through the goodie bag given out at the recent Solar Energy Focus 2009 conference, for example, I was struck by the fact that not a single piece, except for the Clean Currents piece, appeared to be printed on FSC paper (paper certified as coming from a sustainable source by the Forest Stewardship Council). This is not a knock on other solar companies, but just illustrates the point that companies selling green products are not necessarily green in all of their operations and actions.

At Clean Currents, environmental sustainability is part of our core business ethic. We are far from perfect, but we do our best to not only sell green products, but to adopt green practices and to support positive environmental advocacy. As part of our commitment to running a green business, we have recently gone through the process of getting our HQ operations certified as green by Montgomery County. An official announcement will be coming shortly. The certification process focuses on areas in which a business can effectively reduce its environmental impact. A few highlights of what Clean Currents is doing:

* We have an environmental mission statement. This is a key first step for any business that wants to be green. The statement includes our policies for purchasing green products (ie. using FSC paper for printing).
* We have a green benefits package for employees, which encourages employees to help the environment.
* We actively support positive environmental advocacy. This is crucial. We are not going to solver climate change with voluntary actions alone. We need a combination of voluntary actions and new legislation to require the use of clean energy and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
* We got our landlord to buy wind power and we offset emissions from employee travel.
* We are members and sponsors of sustainable business groups and environmental non-profit organizations.

Look at other companies in the area. Are they selling green products but not acting in a sustainable way? Are they only pushing legislation that has a direct financial benefit for them? Look around in the solar field. Do the local installers you know walk the environmental walk? Is their care for the environment solely wrapped in the package of solar panels they want to sell you or does it go a little deeper? Look at the ownership and associations of these companies. Do they share your views on the environment and sustainability?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but looking through my solar goody bag, I suspect that the public may be surprised by the variety of approaches (or lack thereof) to sustainability in the clean energy world. There are many great companies out there. But not all are committed to a cleaner environment to the same degree. It's important for environmentally conscious consumers to know who or what is standing behind those nifty green solar panels.