As part of our commitment to environmental stewardship, social responsibility and meeting our customer needs, Entergy has been a longtime supporter of Ducks Unlimited, one of the world’s largest wetland and waterfowl conservation organizations.
Our Environmental Initiatives Fund provides $1 million shareholder-funded dollars each year for environmental improvement projects. Through this fund, one of the major initiatives we have supported is the USA Rice-Ducks Unlimited Rice Stewardship Partnership. The partnership was formed in 2013 to bring about meaningful and long-term improvements to three of the nation’s critical natural and economic resources: waterfowl, working rice lands and water.
Entergy and the Rice Stewardship Partnership share a common goal: helping agricultural producers with their operations, with an eye toward improving their bottom line while also protecting our natural resources. As the largest electric power production and retail distribution company across the rice-growing regions of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and Gulf Coast, we are a natural partner for this work.
“Innovative collaborations among companies, governments and conservation organizations show increasing potential to tackle underlying challenges like preserving groundwater, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving wildlife habitat,” said Dr. Scott Manley, director of agriculture support at Ducks Unlimited. “Collaborations with partners like Entergy are essential to meet everybody’s climate and nature goals.”
In 2019, the Environmental Initiatives Fund provided a $250,000 grant to support the Rice Stewardship Partnership’s work to conserve wetlands on agricultural lands. The program’s goal is to improve water and energy use and increase wildlife habitat in rice-growing areas.
We don’t just provide funding, however – we also provide expertise and technical support to rice growers to help them reach their conservation goals.
Since 2006, we have donated nearly $1 million through shareholder-funded grants and more than $8.5 million of in-kind contributions to Ducks Unlimited in support of initiatives across Entergy’s service area. Through our partnership, we are leveraging a variety of resources to support important regional conservation efforts while helping our customers build a more sustainable future.
The Environmental Initiatives Fund was launched in 2001 and has invested nearly $43 million in environmental improvement projects. Learn more about our commitment to the environment at entergy.com/environment.