Green Energy
Essay by 24 • April 6, 2011 • 1,199 Words (5 Pages) • 1,187 Views
APS eGreen Solution
Concept Introduction
How many times have you walked by a penny on the ground, not bothering to pick it up? One cent on the sidewalk doesnÐŽ¦t seem worth much, but the one-cent premium per kilowatt-hour for green energy somehow seems like too high of a cost for little gain. This is a continuing issue with the green energy movement: how do you get consumers to pay a premium for green energy? APS is facing this problem, and our solution is eGreen, a campaign to tie APS to green energy and motivate customers to ÐŽ§go green.ÐŽÐ
Using green energy sources stops millions of tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere each year. Basing on existing APS Green Choice renewable energy plan, eGreen creates an online community that promotes green energy to individual consumers, business, and communities as a whole. The main message eGreen delivers is ÐŽ§Green energy for you, for the community, and for our future.ÐŽÐ By tracking individual green energy usage, eGreen is a visual that allows consumers to see both their individual impact and the collective impact of their community and state. The tracking device provides accountability and recognition of efforts. This is not merely an information source: this website balances incentives and rewards to bring communities together and deliver an appealing and invigorating message about sustainability. Businesses, as huge consumer of energy, will also be targeted, and will be included in community green energy usage numbers. The community of eGreen users will continue to grow, and will become self-sustaining. Customers, businesses, participating communities, and APS will all benefit from this program. But most importantly, so will the environment.
Value Proposition
eGreen solution binds APS seamlessly with the green image and creates an ecosystem that actively interacts with individual consumers, business, and community. Individual consumers will be able to sign up in the eGreen online community to view the amount of green energy he/she consumed and how much impact he/she made to the environment. Prizes will be given to top contributors in each county. Business will be attracted to adopt green energy and become sponsors because of the moral image APS helps them to build and the free advertisement to all APS customers in their region. eGreen creates an innovative sustainable county-wide competition program to promote green energy. Each countyÐŽ¦s consumption will be drawn as a Palo Verde tree (state tree of Arizona) with each individualÐŽ¦s contribution as leaves. This ties individuals and business to their communities, and keeps them accountable. The county with the thickest leaves at the end of the year will win a free concert, such as by U2 or Coldplay. The eGreen features also include:
„X Visual image demonstrating the impact each consumer contributes to the environment
„X Blog and e-learning section that helps people learn more about green energy
„X Discounted energy bill for the top online green energy contributors (Such as 1% discount for 5% usage)
„X Businesses can become sponsors of the campaign and create a linked online ad page
„X One-click online bill payment which is connected with existing APS website
The main goal for eGreen is to protect the environment by promoting more consumers to use green energy and to make them self-sustaining in the long run. With the above-mentioned features, eGreen will bring values to all stakeholders:
„X Individual Consumer ÐŽV Rewards for green energy usage, contribution to the environment
„X Business ÐŽV Healthy company image and free advertisement on website and pay bill
„X Community ÐŽV Closer relationship, better environment, and free concert to ÐŽ§greenestÐŽÐ county
„X APS ÐŽV Bond of green energy and APS brand, increase revenue and profit
Competitive Advantages
eGreen helps APS build key strengths to differentiate from competitors. Just like relating computer chips to Intel, eGreen will tie APS to green energy, making APS a top player in the renewable energy industry. Many utility companies provide a standard service and their customers are prisoners of necessity. APS will be the first to break the mold by building a community highly interactive with consumers and deliver the concept ÐŽ§green energy for you, for the community, and for our future.ÐŽÐ The second advantage stems from using the latest technology to impact community and change individual behavior. eGreen online community creates a virtual network that connects individuals and motivates each to contribute to his/her own county to become the ÐŽ§greenestÐŽÐ county and win a free concert.
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