Collegiate's proud orange and blue joined by green
New York, February 28 – The Collegiate School in New York City has partnered with Juice Energy, Inc., to decisively reduce its carbon footprint. Beginning in mid-February, the school will be purchasing green power equal to its total usage of 639,000 kilowatt hours annually. This “green” power takes the form of Green-e certified renewable energy credits supplied by wind farms in the western United States.
As one of many initiatives of Collegiate’s CENIC (Collegiate with the Environment Naturally In Check) student-led environmental group, this action will prevent 385 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere, equivalent to taking more than 51 average American homes off of the electric grid for a year, every year. Collegiate is working with Juice Energy, a new kind of electricity supplier based in New York City. Juice supplies universities, schools and businesses cost-effective management of volatile electricity prices and climate change solutions.
“Designing customized financial and green power solutions for schools and universities is an important part of the work we do,” says Deirdre Lord, co-founder and COO of Juice. “Companies come to us because our value proposition is different from anything else that is available in the electricity marketplace. Our business model is based on complete transparency. As a result of superior rate structures and market access, we can drive electricity costs down, freeing up funding to purchase green power.”
Ms. Lord states, “We are especially thrilled to be working with Collegiate, and to add them to our list of school and university clients. It is particularly exciting that CENIC (Collegiate with the Environment Naturally in Check), the student environmental organization, inspired the school to work with Juice. CENIC determined that it was time to do something ‘big’ for the environment and worked hard to make buying green power an integral part of Collegiate’s environmental strategy.”
“Juice helped us to understand the complexities of electricity and green power markets. They provide a completely innovative approach to buying traditional and green energy,” says Mark Gordon, Plant Director at Collegiate. “They’ve shared with us exactly what our costs will be, while educating us on all the green options available to us. Juice is also helping us educate our community about the decisions we’ve made.”
CENIC has introduced and supported a number of other significant changes, including expansion of the glass, metal, and plastic recycling program, a successful lobbying effort to switch to 100% recycled copying paper, and establishment of a new recycling program for toxic ink cartridges, batteries, and cell phones. With the help of Plant Director Gordon, the group and school have installed solar-powered outdoor lights and rethought water usage.
The group has reached out to peer schools, organizing a coalition of environmental clubs from six other schools that meets regularly. Collegiate is proud of the initiative, persistence, and organizational foresight of these young men and will continue working toward the goal: 100% green.
About Juice Energy, Inc.:
Juice is a revolutionary energy company working solely on behalf of their clients. Operating in deregulated markets, Juice tailors rate structures and products to improve clients’ financial performance and carbon footprint. Juice brings energy portfolio management, transparency and new accountability measures, for the highest return at the lowest cost. www.aboutjuice.com
About CENIC:
CENIC, or Collegiate with the Environment Naturally In Check, was founded in 2006 by sophomores at Collegiate. The organization focuses on three areas of interest: reducing the school’s environmental footprint, spreading awareness of environmental problems and solutions, and taking part in the wider, global environmental movement through fund-raising and political petitioning. The club raises conservation awareness via a monthly newsletter and the “CENIC Tips” published in each issue of the student newspaper. www.cenic.collegiatecreate.com
About Collegiate School:
Collegiate is the oldest independent school in the United States. It is a K-12 school for boys and young men, located in the heart of New York City’s Upper West Side.