BY CLAUDIA HUERTA
Carlsbad Village Manager
CITY OF CARLSBAD
Competition. Pleasing customers. Improving the bottom line. With so many pressures taking up so much time and energy, who has time to think about going green? Besides, it costs money, and a business has only so much money to dedicate to such extras.
But going green doesn’t have to be expensive. And moreover, implementing environmentally friendly programs can reduce costs, improve your bottom line, and please your customers and workforce.
San Diego Gas & Electric is offering several incentives to help businesses go green by attacking the demand side before taking on more ambitious initiatives, such as installing solar photovoltaic panels.
Something as simple as changing lighting from incandescent bulbs to fluorescent lighting or, even better, to LEDs (light-emitting diodes) can result in sizable long-term savings on your energy bill. While LED bulbs cost more than incandescents to purchase, they provide much more illumination per watt, which is measured in lumens, and they last much longer.
For example, according to the US Department of Energy, a 10-watt LED bulb provides the same illumination as 60-watt incandescent, at one-sixth the energy demand. In addition, a single LED bulb can last 25,000 hours, which is 25 times longer than an incandescent and translates into lots of savings.
To help assist with the initial expense of switching to LEDs, SDG&E has a rebate program to reduce the up-front cost of the changeover, and has arranged with distributors to issue rebates at the point of sale, rather than by filling out forms after the fact. You can find information on the program at www.sdge.com/business.
Another way to help the environment while helping your bottom line is by converting your vehicle fleet to electric vehicles, which can reduce or even eliminate your fuel bill. The state of California is offering rebates for many makes and models of electric vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell, to help businesses go electric. You can get details on this program at www.cleanvehiclerebate.org. SDG&E’s website also has information on electric vehicles and the rebate program.
There are also programs to cut the cost of charging those electric vehicles. SDG&E has a program called Power Your Drive that provides charging stations at business establishments, to enable businesses and employees to charge up while at work. The electricity is provided at an advantageous rate, and the Power Your Drive stations operate on separate meters, so the electricity can be charged to the business or the individual vehicle owner.
To participate, business owners have to agree to terms and pay an up-front fee. SDG&E installs and maintains the charging stations and handles the billing.
Another way to help clean the region’s air at little or no cost is by participating in the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) iCommute program. This program provides businesses with tools to facilitate employee commuting and connects commuters with alternative commuting solutions, such as carpools, subsidized vanpools, bicycle commuting, and public transit. The iCommute program even provides a “Guaranteed Ride Home” to assure participants they will get home in case of a personal or family emergency, unscheduled overtime or getting stranded at work if the carpool driver becomes unavailable.
iCommute can help businesses by designing a customized commuter program. These experts specialize in matching commuters who live near enough to each other to make ridesharing possible. SANDAG also provides incentives to businesses that participate in iCommute. You can find more information at www.icommutesd.com or email [email protected].
One thing to keep in mind is that sharing a ride to work, bicycling or taking public transit does not need to be an everyday occurrence to benefit the environment. One or two days a week can make a big difference.
Adopting environmentally friendly programs can benefit your business by helping attract talented people who want to work for a company that thinks and acts sustainably, and by showing your community that you care about our environment not just on Earth Day but every day.