Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce awards the 2012 Green Award to New England Clean Energy!
Can a business that sends potential customers to its competitors succeed? I’m happy to say in the case of New England Clean Energy – recipient of the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 2012 Green Award – the answer is “yes”.
When New England Clean Energy was founded in 2006, minimizing our carbon footprint was part of our business strategy, not an after-the-fact, feel-good measure. There are plenty of homes and businesses in our area that can benefit from solar energy systems, so we choose not to spend hours on the road, spewing emissions into the air, to serve distant customers. We refer those people to other installers.
Some would call this strategy growth-limiting. But in the relatively new world of solar energy, customers want their installer to be around down the road – literally and figuratively. Our approach appears to be working, as we’ve installed more solar on Massachusetts homes than any other local company.
Our commitment to helping the planet is demonstrated by our core business of installing clean energy (electric and hot water) systems, and by special efforts like the Marlborough Solar Discount Program, which is raising money for Green Marlborough while offering discounted solar to area residents and business-owners.
We buy locally sourced and manufactured products when possible, our fleet includes hybrids, we recycle everything humanly possible, and our office is powered down to 40 watts at night. Our employees live locally, reducing our commuting emissions, and several people bike to work.
Are there exceptions to our rules? Occasionally. A woman in Boston gave up a cruise to pay for solar. Imagine her disappointment when several companies said no – her roof was too small and oddly shaped. Someone making that kind of sacrifice deserves special treatment, so we drove a little farther than usual to install a small system on her home.
We thank the Chamber for this award, and hope you’ll think of New England Clean Energy and go green and go local when it comes to your home or business energy systems.