Being the eco-biz of the grape thinkers, I have to say, I’ve finally come across a company that completely resonates with what we’re all about.
Village Green Energy is a really cool startup that is buying renewable energy certificates, also known as RECs, from a regulated marketplace of solar fields, wind farms, and other renewable energy producers, in which they compete with utility companies and then broker the RECs to a variety of partners. A few wineries just so happen to be some of their first customers, our friends over at Windsor Vineyards and Girard being one of them. VGE is also doing some clever things with consumer particpatory apps and programs that gain marketable exposure to the partner businesses, thus giving them greater incentive to purchase the RECs from Village Green.
Their first big application is a Facebook app called Green My Vino, where users can donate 1, 5, or 10 minutes of renewable energy to their friends, and if a certain goal of renewable energy donation is met, the partner wineries will commit to buying RECs from Village Green, and thus use renewable energy to power their corporate offices, vineyards, and entire operation. I think this is honestly one of the most innovative ideas and business models I’ve come across in the emerging green space. Kudos to these guys!
We started our company GT in late ‘06 with a deep passion for the emerging green movement, and yet at that time there was not a lot of market activity so we chose to focus our efforts on a certain industry… the wine industry. We love the health and connective power of wine, and more importantly how wineries and vineyards are one of the best practical embodiments of the green movement. They’re using renewable energy and organic growing methods, they’re harmonizing civilization and nature, and they’re even starting to do more than just grow grapes and make wine!
We look forward to offering services to all types of companies in the emerging renewable economy and hope to help Village Green in any way we can.