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Maine Businesses Launch “On the Pathway to Clean Energy” Program
Still looking for a New Year’s resolution? How about committing your business to 100% clean energy?? With the climate crisis in full swing, a group of Maine businesses has launched a project called ” On the Pathway to 100% Clean Energy. ” ReVision Energy is helping get it kickstarted as a member of the “Leadership Circle” and co-owner Joel Alder is on the advisory board. The overall message of the program is that every business can get on the pathway to 100% clean energy and decrease reliance on fossil fuels. Through simple, concrete steps such as weatherization, electrification, and solarizing, companies can start planning now for a clean energy future.
“You can start small,” explains Joel Alder, Branch Manager of ReVision Energy and member of the advisory board, “but the idea is that you get it started and build on it and keep going. Businesses can get on the right track now and think about it on a regular basis; the idea is that you don’t keep putting clean energy on the back burner.”
The project is simple to join via 3 easy steps:
- Sign a letter committing your own business to the goal of 100% clean energy.
- Share your “first meaningful milestone” – write down what you have done (or are about to do) to reduce fossil fuels and begin your journey to 100% clean energy.
- Outline a plan to eliminate all of your remaining emissions, over time.
There is no time limit, and no cost to join. The website has a number of tools to help businesses with their planning, including an emissions calculator and various guidebooks. Once a business takes the pledge, they will receive recognition on the website and through the campaign’s publicity efforts.
“It’s a booster for companies who are on the campaign,” Joel explains, “their customers will appreciate it and it will bring them new attention from other climate-conscious consumers.”
The project is independent and non-political, and so far it includes a dozen Maine businesses who have taken the pledge: Lamey-Wellehan Shoes, Scratch Baking Co., GWI, Geiger, FlowFold, Loohoo Wool Dryer Balls, ReVision Energy, Fiddlehead Designs Cabinetry, Wicked Joe Coffee, Wicked Leaf Tea, Green Clean Maine, and Spark Applied Efficiency. The Maine Climate Action Plan, developed in 2019, includes a call to the private sector to help fight the climate crisis through partnerships and leadership. As more businesses sign on, there will be ample opportunity to share best practices and leverage the experience of other businesses.
“One of the major goals of the project is to show that we have the potential to stop fossil fuel emissions from thousands of Maine businesses,” said Jim Wellehan, CEO of Lamey-Wellehan and an advisory board member. “Once a business’s owners have made the commitment, it may mean taking small steps in the first year, then ramping up, year after year. But that’s what it means to be ‘On The Pathway To 100% Clean Energy.'”
To learn more and take the pledge to 100% Clean Energy, check out the website: https://www.pathwaytocleanenergy.org/
