Month: September 2023

MCKINNEY, Texas., September 21, 2023 /3BL/ – Green Mountain Energy and Habitat for Humanity of Collin County (HFHCC) flipped the switch yesterday on the first two homes of the local chapter’s latest project, The Cotton Groves.

The project uses both traditional construction methods as well as repurposed shipping containers to build energy-efficient, sustainable homes. The development will also include rooftop solar, to be installed by Collective Sun, as well as electric vehicle charging outlets.

The rooftop arrays will allow 14 families to go solar and were made possible through a $210,000 grant by Green Mountain Energy Sun Club and through an innovative financing tool offered by Collective Sun. Combined, the families are expected to save approximately $17,500 in annual energy costs.

“Sun Club is honored to be part of this innovative project that will help low-income families become homeowners,” said Mark Parsons, Green Mountain Energy vice president. “We are thrilled to be able to help these families save money while safeguarding the environment for future generations. This grant will ensure that the new homeowners have a head start on an environmentally conscious lifestyle.”

Green Mountain Energy Sun Club has been empowering local communities and advancing sustainability since 2002. The charitable program has donated more than $13 million to 156 nonprofit organizations across Texas and the Northeast. Sun Club supports projects that promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation, education and awareness, clean transportation, and sustainable agriculture. Green Mountain Energy invites its customers and employees to contribute and champion sustainability for people and the planet.

“We are so excited to do our very first solar neighborhood with the help of Sun Club,” said Celeste Cox, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity of Collin County. “The savings for our homeowners will make a real difference in the lives of these first-time homeowners. Our first families will be moving into their homes soon, and they are truly blessed to be a part of a sustainable community.”

This program is designed to address the need for affordable housing in McKinney, Texas. Eligible low-to-moderate income families make 30-60% of the area median household income.

Families who are interested in homeownership can apply via a pre-approval process. HFHCC’s Family Selection committee will select homeowners based on three criteria: the applicant’s level of need, their willingness to partner with the organization, and their ability to repay a mortgage through an affordable payment plan.

Selected families will move into the 35 three- and four-bedroom townhomes. The eco-friendly, former shipping-container units are a high-end design concept made of steel, built to withstand weathering, and require little maintenance.

Additionally, the project will employ solar installers from low- to moderate-income backgrounds who are newly trained by Green Careers Dallas, creating a career path in a growing industry.

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About Green Mountain Energy Sun Club

Green Mountain Energy is inspiring hope, motivating action through the use of clean energy, and advancing sustainable communities through the work of Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. Since its founding in 2002, Sun Club® has donated more than $13 million to 156 nonprofit organizations across Texas and the Northeast. Sun Club collaborates with nonprofit organizations on projects that focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship. To learn more about Green Mountain Energy and Sun Club or to apply for a Sun Club grant, visit greenmountain.com/sunclub.

About Habitat for Humanity of Collin County

Habitat for Humanity of Collin County is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles. We put God’s love into action by building homes, communities, and hope. We are dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide, believing everyone deserves a decent place to live. We encourage positive relationships throughout the community by advocating for fair housing policies and by providing training to help families improve their shelter conditions.

Habitat Collin County has been serving families in Collin County since August 1992 having built 230 new homes, repaired over 700 homes, and over 70 homes internationally. Habitat serves all of Collin County providing New Home Construction and Home Repair services to qualifying families earning below median incomes for our area. For more information on Habitat Collin County, see www.habitatcollincounty.org and www.thecottongroves.com

GME Media Contact

Estefanía Joy

713-537-5735

media@greenmountain.com

Twitter: @GreenMtnEnergy

HFHCC Media Contact

Celeste Cox

214-616-7373

celeste@habitatcctx.org

Name: Nicolas Clerget | Director Net Zero Carbon Strategy

Company: HEINEKEN

Connect with Nicolas on LinkedIn

Welcome to our series aimed at spotlighting the individual leaders within BIER member companies and stakeholder organizations. Learn how these practitioners and their companies are addressing pressing challenges around water, energy, agriculture, climate change, and what inspires each of them to advance environmental sustainability in the beverage sector and collectively, overall.

Briefly describe your role and responsibilities and how long you have worked with your company. 

I joined Heineken five years ago. I started in the procurement department, where I was asked to lead and transition a team of sourcing experts to procure more renewable energy. Three years ago, I moved to the global sustainability team responsible for Heineken’s new sustainability strategy. I focused on designing our Net Zero carbon strategy – it was the right fit based on my background in energy and how much work needed to be done in the face of climate change.

I’ve learned a great deal in this role. When I first accepted the position, I thought it was primarily a decarbonization agenda – but actually, it is a transformation agenda. That is because you have to reconcile decarbonization with ongoing business objectives like growth and profitability. This means the proper ecosystems must be set up to enable the transformation. You must set internal targets and establish rewards, remuneration, and incentives. You must allocate enough funding for transition investments and you have to build capabilities within the company. The level of orchestration required is amazing.

The good news is HEINEKEN has a company culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. From our C-suite to our operators, our company takes this agenda very seriously. In reality, my role today is less to mobilize the organization but more to manage and pace the transformation.

How has the company’s sustainability program evolved over the years, and what are your specific priorities for 2023?

Just five years ago, only a few people in Heineken were working on decarbonization – it felt a bit like working in a startup! Then we started to scale up, integrating more teams and senior leaders. We set solid governance with the executive teams of the operating companies, and we started to put processes in place.

Today, I would say we are at full corporate alignment with nearly 45 people dedicated to the agenda – all teams from finance to engineering to procurement to corporate affairs. As a company, we now have the capacity to execute, and our traction in the business is high.

One key improvement we made was turning carbon dioxide (CO2) into a corporate performance KPI. The (sad) beauty is that CO2 is a very easy KPI to integrate into financial performance management. You can create benchmarks and draw insights more easily than other environmental topics. This helps us maintain focus and reflects sustainability as critical to growing the business.

Learn more about Nicolas Clerget in this BIER Member Spotlight.