Name: Clean Currents
Big Idea: Clean Currents offers businesses and residents clean energy at prices on par or below their utility company's rates.
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Why It's Working: The green energy company has built a social media following by offering Facebook rewards, enticing young brand advocates to convince their parents to switch to green energy.
Sure, most of us would like to power our homes and businesses with renewable energy, but that doesn't mean we know how to find a provider that can give us clean energy without much of a hassle.
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Clean Currents has created a simple solution for clean energy-seeking residents of the Mid-Atlantic. The Rockville, Md.-based company lets you decide how much of your power will come from natural sources (you must choose at least 10%) and works with your utility provider to implement the program. That means your power will continue to come through the wires that are already in place -- no extra modification required.
In order to spread its work, Clean Currents uses social media to create brand advocates -- some of whom are not even old enough to be potential customers yet.
"We view the digital marketplace as one of our real competitive advantages," says Gary Skulnik, co-founder and president of Clean Currents. "There are certainly companies out there that can spend more on marketing than us, buying TV and billboard ads. We think our brand puts us in a better position to use social media."
One such campaign was Green Passport D.C., which ran in April and May of this year. The program gave instant rewards for checking in at some 45 businesses that use Clean Currents. Once you checked in by scanning a QR code or visiting a URL, a Facebook app would reward you with a $2.50 cash credit, give you the option to share your check-in with your Facebook friends and display nearby businesses participating in the program.
"There's certainly the new factor: We find that green energy and tech savvy go together," Skulnik says. "A lot of the people who are our brand promoters fit into the younger demographic, who are very active on social platforms. Then they go to their parents, who take their cue from the 20-something crowd and become customers."
Clean Currents' founders started the company to address what Skulnik calls "the biggest environmental challenge of our time" while also creating a profitable business. Skulnik says that the company has been mission-focused from the get-go, helping other businesses accomplish their green goals.
If you're thinking green energy is more expensive than your budget can handle, consider this: Skulnik estimates that 90% of commecial costumers save money when they switch from their utility provider's source to Clean Currents.
While Clean Currents only serves D.C., Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, it's planning to expand to other parts of the region. Skulnik says it serves 12,000 residential customers and 1,000 commercial customers.
Wind was the first source of energy Clean Currents sold, though the company has since expanded to offer solar options as well.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, chromatika
This story originally published on Mashable here.
