IN THE COURSE OF MY JOB AT MINIMISE, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MEET SOME AMAZING PEOPLE. AT ONE EVENT, I MET A WOMAN FROM THE SUSTANY FOUNDATION, ANDREA CHENEY. RIGHT AWAY, I WAS STRUCK BY HER PASSIONATE ADVOCACY FOR THE PLANET.
So, we started following each other on Linkedin and one day I saw an application from her organization for Sustainable Business Awards. It led me to thinking how Minimise’ credentials could be considered. So I asked myself “what does sustainability means to Minimise?”
SUSTAINABILITY IS…creating the largest EEaaS (Energy Efficiency as a Service) project in the world right here in Tampa Bay.
…giving the Hillsborough County Public Schools, $1,707,638 in prepaid savings. It’s the first of many checks to come and can be directed to other under-funded educational programs.
…collaboration with HCPS to create/implement STEM curriculum, focused on energy education for elementary classrooms and Secondary CTE curriculum focused on careers in energy.
…spearheading Energy Awareness Month throughout the HCPS District and being named a “Partner in Education” by the HCPS School Board.
…securing the approval of the Hillsborough Electrical Board in accepting CTE classroom hours, earned through HCPS programs, as credit toward an Electrical Contracting Licensure.
…implementing 4 lighting solution sets with LED lamps and fixtures will save around $6,000,000 in the cost of energy per year.
…removing and recycling, to date, 294,388 light fixtures and removing and properly disposing of 572,087 fluorescent tubes.
…reducing the HCPS energy consumption, to date, in lighting alone by 35,853 MWh annually and 896,325 MWh for the life of the 25-year contract.
…offering the No Capital Outlay Plan Agreement (NCOPA) financial model throughout Florida, the United States and the globe.
I am not sure about you, but I’m thinking we have a pretty good list and even better intentions. Then, one day, not long after we received the nomination, I got a text from Ms. Cheney and she said “I have one question? Since the triple bottom line of sustainability is known as the three Ps: People, Planet and PROFIT, how in the world do you make any money?”
My answer: Think about how much the world consumes, in turn, wastes. Energy is no different. So if you identify that waste…it is much easier to get rid of wasted energy than plastic or trash. And if the math works and you reduce waste first, then produce power from renewable resources, solar power for example, to a right-sized scale – you can find a sweet spot – we literally turn energy waste into currency for efficiency, hence the No Capital Outlay.
That sweet spot can be the thing that makes Florida one of the most sustainable states in the country. I look forward to supporting The Sustany Foundation and doing our part at Minimise to find other sweet spots in helping reducing our carbon footprint while saving energy and money and improving facilities along the way for many years to come.
Tim Breitbach
Chief Marketing Officer
Minimise
