Moody Gardens Grow Greener with Donation from Green Mountain Energy™ Sun Club™

$50,000 donation from Sun Club funds solar-powered carts and recycling or waste stations

 

Galveston, TX - The Green Mountain Energy™ Sun Club™ is bringing more sunshine to the Moody Gardens with a $50,000 donation to purchase solar-powered trash compactors and recycling stations, as well as solar-powered maintenance carts. The recycling stations will be located at each major building on the organization’s premises. The Sun Club is a unique program enabling Green Mountain Energy Company’s residential customers, including many in Galveston, to donate solar power to non-profits, like Moody Gardens.

Moody Gardens began as a small non-profit in 1983 and was gradually transformed into a premier island educational and entertainment tourist destination. Providing horticultural therapy, education, and a wide range of employment opportunities, the Moody Gardens campus now includes an aquarium, 3D and 4D theaters, a Rainforest Pyramid, and other attractions. The upcoming solar-powered tools from the Sun Club will help educate visitors on the vast applications available for solar energy, and will benefit the Gardens by lowering the facilities costs.

“This donation from the Sun Club is a wonderful step forward in our efforts to reduce our landfill-bound waste production by 75% by 2015” said Robert Callies, General Manager, Moody Gardens. “We are excited to see how our energy savings are improved by these new additions, and to begin incorporating more extensive renewable energy curriculum into our various educational programs. Using sustainable business practices is extremely important to us, and we’re happy to partner with Green Mountain to help us in these endeavors.”

Prior to the addition of new recycling practices at Moody Gardens, the organization was limited to recycling only limited types of paper and plastics. Their new recycling expansion allows them to recycle a wider variety of materials, including Styrofoam® and cardboard, and saves them enough each year to hire two additional associates to assist with their maintenance and recycling efforts. This donation from the Sun Club will help them further their recycling efforts by allowing them to compact and transport their waste with the renewable power of the sun.

“We are proud to make this donation to an organization that is so influential in the community, and whose mission to preserve the environment is so in line with ours,” said Tony Napolillo, Sun Club Program Manager, Green Mountain Energy Company. “We appreciate the work Moody Gardens does to help their visitors be more in touch with nature, and we are excited to give our generous Sun Club members the opportunity to see their donations put to use in such an innovative and sustainable way.”

The gardens have a fully-staffed education department that offers various programs and camps throughout the year, many of which are environmentally-focused and will now include more information on solar energy and the solar-powered additions to the grounds. With approximately 2 million visitors each year, the Sun Club donation to Moody Gardens will emphasize the non-profit’s conservation efforts and make a considerable impact on the large demographic.

Pictures from the event will be added to Green Mountain Energy’s Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenmtnenergy/


Moody Gardens
®

Moody Gardens® is a public, non-profit, educational destination utilizing nature in the advancement of rehabilitation, conservation, recreation, and research. For more information, call 1-800-582-4673 or visit www.moodygardens.org.


Green Mountain EnergyTM Sun ClubTM

Green Mountain EnergyTM Sun ClubTM is a program where Green Mountain residential customers in New York, Pennsylvania and Texas have the opportunity to give back to deserving non-profit organizations through the promotion of solar power. Direct monthly contributions from customers go toward the funding of solar installations. Since the program’s founding in 2002, Sun Club members have helped install more than 550 kilowatts of solar power, preventing more than 850,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year. That’s like planting 100 trees every year! For more information, visit www.gmsunclub.com.

 


Green Mountain Energy Company

 

Green Mountain is the nation’s longest-serving renewable energy retailer and believes in using wind, sun and water for good. Founded in 1997, the company is a green power pioneer and celebrates more than 15 years delivering on the mission to “change the way power is made.” Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of cleaner electricity, as well as carbon offsets and sustainable solutions for businesses. One of Green Mountain’s largest customers is the “world’s most famous office building,” the Empire State Building in New York City. Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid more than 24.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Visit us online at www.GreenMountain.com.

 

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