Living Jackson Magazine :: Green Businesses

Green Businesses

You Don’t Have to Be a Tree-Hugger to Go Green and Save Money

By P. Anne Fulgham

Green is good. Green is very good. Not only is it environmentally sound, it can save you money. Right here in Jackson County, businesses adopting green best-practices promote green for their customers and themselves.

Being green is not new to Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC), one of the largest electric cooperatives in Georgia. Headquartered in Jefferson, the cooperative serves more than 204,000 meters and 193,000 individual accounts. For more than 30 years, the company has embraced programs that encourage people to save energy.

“We were talking energy efficiency before it was cool,” says Amy Bryan, director of residential marketing for Jackson EMC, which serves customers across northeast Georgia. “I’ve been with Jackson EMC for more than 30 years, and we’ve always promoted ways to save energy.”

Jackson EMC is one of 31 electric cooperative membership organizations in Georgia to participate in Green Power EMC, a program generating power from two landfill sites using methane gas that would otherwise simply be burned off.

Georgia’s electric cooperatives are also generating power from a low-impact hydropower facility. “Those three projects are expected to generate about 44 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually—enough to supply about 3,700 homes or run nearly 49,000 refrigerators for a year,” says Bonnie Jones, director of public relations and communications for Jackson EMC. “In addition, we are purchasing 20 megawatts of electricity from the state's first poultry litter-to-energy operation.”

From a cost-savings standpoint, Jackson EMC is operating responsibly, but the company’s commitment to energy savings reaches out into the community with a number of programs for residents, including an on-line energy test at www.jacksonemc.com, a home video kit for inspecting your own home for energy efficiency, an in-home walk-through energy audit conducted by a technician and a home performance high-tech audit that involves detailed testing. The first three programs are free. The home performance test is offered at a nominal charge.

Jackson EMC sends out approximately 50 do-it-yourself video kits each month, a service the company has offered since 1992. Annually it conducts more than 500 free in-home energy audits and between 150 and 200 customers request a high-tech audit. Many of them recoup the cost of the high-tech program in rebates and through improvements recommended by the technicians.

“It’s amazing the ways people can find to save energy even with the on-line test,” Jones says. “From changing light bulbs to the newer compact fluorescent type to ensuring that doors and windows are sealed properly, there are many ways to save on energy bills.”

Jones pointed out that a home’s largest energy-users are hot-water heaters and air conditioning/heating systems. “You’d be surprised how much energy is lost with leaking duct work,” she says. “We also advise people to be aware of their hot-water heaters and even turn them down if they’re going to be away from home for an extended period of time.”

Flat-panel televisions are another culprit. Jones says that a plasma television uses three times the energy of an LCD model.

“There are so many things that people don’t think about when trying to save energy,” she says. “That’s why our in-home audits are so very helpful because we also look at lifestyle issues, simple things that people can do.”

Jackson EMC also embraces Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, which has helped consumers save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices. It has a dedicated Web site at www.energystar.gov and lists many ways to save money, energy and the environment.

“Today many appliances carry the Energy Star certification that means they’ve passed rigorous standards by the EPA and Department of Energy and are considered energy efficient,” Jones says.

The company also supports the Energy Star Change A Light campaign, urging people to change at least one bulb in their homes to the new compact fluorescent variety. According to Energy Star, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, people would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, save more than $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 vehicles. Energy Star qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Although the bulbs are more expensive initially, people can save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime. These bulbs also produce about 75 percent less heat, so they're safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.

Jackson EMC also rewards people who take steps to update their existing home or who purchase a new home that’s certified “Right Choice” for energy efficiency. In addition to offering rebates for various adjustments, homeowners may be eligible for lower rates for their electricity.

“Our goal is to help people know how to use energy wisely,” said Jones. “Yes, we’re in the business of selling power, but we’re owned by the members we serve, so we want to show people how to effectively use our electric resources.”

Going to the Mat for Green—You Can Do It

In addition to homeowner programs, a number of businesses are looking inward at ways to go green. Fairway Outdoor Advertising in Athens has installed timers on their lighted billboards. It is also using recyclable materials to convey messages instead of printing the artwork on less environmentally friendly vinyl.

“Our recyclable polyethylene materials can be recycled more economically, so the chance of it ending up in a landfill is far less,” says Crystal Covington, marketing coordinator with Fairway Outdoor Advertising. “Additionally, our office has raised awareness about the importance of recycling paper and plastics, and it’s much more top-of-mind with our employees.”

Prudential Georgia Realty is dedicated to saving trees. “We all get so many catalogs that we just throw away that now we’re bringing them to our office and our receptionist goes online to unsubscribe for us,” says Cindy George, ABR, GRI, with Prudential Georgia Realty. “It’s a very speedy process if you do several at a time and it saves trees, saves on trash and gives all of our agents a chance to do a little something green.

P. Anne Fulgham is a freelance writer living in Flowery Branch.

GET INVOLVED!

At Living Jackson, we reuse what we can (such as packaging materials and envelopes) and cart off anything accepted at the Athens recycling locations. When it rains, we carry the plants outside. The urinal was just way too thirsty, so we taped it off and haven’t used it. We’ve struggled through the drought, wondering whether we are better off using paper plates to conserve water, or using the water so as to not fill up the landfill. We return the cartons in which the magazines are shipped to our printer, who in turn reuses them.

We want to know what steps our readers take to be more green! Or how you think Jackson County can be a more green community. Let us hear from you at editor@livingjackson.com or write to us at P.O. Box 444, Jefferson, GA 30549.