News Type: Press Release

Deepening our commitment to European renewable energy markets.

3Degrees is pleased to announce that we have joined RECS International, an organization committed to building global renewable energy markets that are standardized, transparent and most importantly, consumer-driven.   

“3Degrees – through its work with Green-e and WRI – has a proven commitment to building high-integrity renewable energy markets,” says Jared Braslawsky, Secretary General of RECS International. “We are proud to have them join RECS International and support our mission of creating reliable attribute tracking markets in Europe and around the world.”

Since its founding, 3Degrees has helped customers with needs for international renewable energy certificate (REC) and carbon offset products. Today, we offer comprehensive international offerings including GOs, I-RECS, TIGRs, carbon offset products, as well as PPAs, VPPAs and consulting services. We have done business in over 40 countries and are proud to be a CDP Global Renewable Energy Partner.

“More and more of our customers are looking to us to help them address their global needs around renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions,” according to Steve McDougal, CEO of 3Degrees. “Joining RECS International allows us to stay plugged into the nuances of the European renewable energy markets and better serve our customers.”

3Degrees will be speaking at the upcoming RECS International conference in March of 2017, providing a perspective on the US RECs market.

For the third year in a row, 3Degrees has achieved B Corp (Benefit Corporation) certification. This certification means that 3Degrees has legally expanded its corporate responsibilities to include consideration of stakeholder – not just shareholder – interests. 3Degrees met B Lab’s rigorous standards of social and environmental performance and joins a community of like-minded companies that are redefining what business success means.

3Degrees became a B Corp in 2012 because the firm was built upon the idea that businesses need to consider the impact of their products and services on their employees, suppliers, community, and environment. In becoming a B Corp, 3Degrees demonstrates that social and environmental responsibility is not just a value of theirs, but one that they have integrated into their corporate DNA.

In the 2014 Benefit Corporation Annual Report, CEO Steve McDougal explains:

“We are proud to be a B Corporation. It is a touchstone for us and the work that we do. B Corps stand for positive, innovative, and practical solutions to global problems. B Corps redefine the meaning of success in business. B Corps look to create enduring prosperity for all stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, the community, the environment and shareholders.

We embrace this definition of success and strive to align our company with the value of meaningful and prosperous engagement for all stakeholders. It is a journey, and in 2014 we made significant progress on this journey.”

New service helps companies derive financial benefits from renewable energy procurement 

3Degrees formally announces the launch of Renewable Energy Procurement – a service line helping clients to source green energy directly from projects through long or short term agreements. This announcement is a culmination of work that 3Degrees has done over the past several years with a number of key clients, helping them explore new opportunities to access renewable energy.

“There is now a way for companies to realize both the environmental and financial benefits of supporting renewable energy,” says Steve McDougal, 3Degrees CEO. “3Degrees offers a customized approach and can work with companies to identify competitively priced clean energy.”

Often called power purchase agreements (PPAs) or direct procurement, these new renewable energy strategies have generated significant interest in the private sector.  Given the growing market demand for these services, 3Degrees has built a team exclusively dedicated to this service line, including appointing Sarah Penndorf to head up the Renewable Energy Procurement business.  3Degrees has also recently joined the Business Renewables Center (BRC), an industry collaboration aimed at accelerating corporate renewable energy procurement.

“I am excited to help clients expand their participation in renewable energy,” says Sarah Penndorf. “With our industry knowledge and strong developer network, we work with clients to navigate these multi-faceted deals.”

3Degrees, a leader in utility green power programs, was recently awarded a contract by a large California investor owned utility (IOU) to support the launch of their new community solar program.

Through this contract, 3Degrees will provide marketing and consulting services including the implementation of customer acquisition and retention strategies and tactics. This work will encompass a wide variety of marketing tactics including web, social media, direct mail, and community outreach support.  All activities are focused on generating awareness, interest and participation in this new solar offering.  3Degrees will also help the utility meet Green-e certification requirements for the marketing and customer disclosure elements of this program.  Green-e is a voluntary certification program that sets consumer protection and environmental standards for renewable energy.

“Community solar is a great opportunity to provide utility customers with choices about where their energy comes from,” says Adam Capage, vice president of Utility Partnerships at 3Degrees. “We look forward to helping our client launch this groundbreaking new community solar offering.”

Brings more than 10 years of renewable energy expertise to new group

3Degrees announced today that it has joined the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Center (BRC) as a transaction service provider.

The BRC was created to develop standards and best practices to reduce the complexity of large scale renewable transactions. This, in turn, would allow more corporations to invest in renewable energy, locking in long-term cost savings for their organization.

For more than 10 years, 3Degrees has been working with Fortune 500® clients, developing programs to help them meet their renewable energy goals. During this time, 3Degrees has played a leadership role in the renewable energy sector and has been named an EPA Supplier of the Year seven times.

“With renewable energy prices dropping, this is a great time for companies to consider new options such as power purchase agreements (PPAs),” says Sarah Beth Penndorf, head of Renewable Energy Procurement for 3Degrees.  “We look forward to working with the BRC to help grow the market for large scale renewable energy procurement.”

“We are excited to welcome 3Degrees to the BRC and look forward to working with them to develop new tools and refine existing solutions in order to scale up corporate renewable energy procurement,” says Lily Donge, principal at Rocky Mountain Institute.

Progressive policies and creative businesses practices earn recognition, keep and attract employees 

3Degrees announced today that it has been named a 2015 San Francisco Bay Area Best and Brightest Company. The designation is based on employee assessment of corporate culture, available benefits and opportunity for professional growth. 

At 3Degrees, the executive  leadership looks to develop policies and programs that keep staff interested and invested in the company. The company gives more than 75 percent of its employees stock options, offers ‘socially and environmentally focused’ 401(k) investments and covers time off for volunteering. 

In 2012 3Degrees became a BCorp, an alternative structure of incorporation that allows businesses to factor in the ‘benefit of all,’ not just shareholder goals, when defining success. That means community, suppliers, consumers, environment and of course employee well-being are all considered when setting practices and policy. Find out more about the BCorp approach and read the 3Degrees Annual Reportshere. “3Degrees is only as good as our employees,” said CEO Steve McDougal. “BCorp status is one way we stand apart as a business and an employer,” continued Steve.

This is the second year in a row 3Degrees has earned Bay Area Best and Brightest Company in San Francisco. 

Want to be part of this? Join our team!

Innovative projects and products help secure seventh win 

3Degrees Group, Inc. received its seventh Green Power Leadership Award today from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The annual awards recognize the country’s leading green power suppliers for outstanding efforts, initiatives and programs that significantly advance the nation’s voluntary green power market.  EPA will present 3Degrees with the award at an event held in conjunction with the 2014 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in Sacramento, California on December 3, 2014.

Steve McDougal (L) and Adam Capage (R) receive award

“We are honored to again be named Supplier of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Steve McDougal, President of 3Degrees.  “We think this seventh win is directly tied to two things: 3Degrees’ extensive outreach capabilities that blanket the country in one-to-one conversations about renewable energy and our continued focus on projects that are meaningful to our customers and have lasting positive impacts on the communities where they are located.”

In fact, 3Degrees is known for supporting innovative projects that generate more than just renewable energy. The projects also often hold additional benefits, such as:

• Developing leading edge technology through the nation’s first grid-tied tidal power project
• Reducing the environmental impact of farming and waste management
• Funding needed social services through creative revenue payment arrangements
• Increasing visibility in high-profile locations such as schools 

“EPA is pleased to recognize 3Degrees with a Green Power Supplier of the Year award for its leadership in expanding the nation’s renewable energy industry,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Through its support and development of new renewable energy capacity, 3Degrees is helping to address climate change and put our country on a path to a future powered by renewable resources.”

In 2013, 3Degrees supported utility green power and carbon offset programs that serve 215,000 residential customers through its 11 utility partners in 12 states. The company also delivered more than seven billion kWh of Green-e Certified and Green-e Eligible RECs to meet demand of direct commercial customers and utility green pricing programs, sourcing RECs from over 400 facilities in 25 states.

About EPA’s Green Power Partnership

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,300 Partner organizations collectively purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500® companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities.  For additional information, please visit https://www.epa.gov/greenpower.

About the Green Power Leadership Awards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) co-sponsors the annual Green Power Leadership Awards in conjunction with the Center for Resource Solutions. EPA recognizes winners in the following awards categories: Green Power Partner of the Year; Sustained Excellence in Green Power; On-site Generation; Green Power Purchasing; Green Power Community of the Year; and Green Power Supplier of the Year. EPA’s Green Power Partner awards recognize the exceptional achievement among EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through green power procurement, market leadership, overall green power strategy, and overall impact on the green power market. EPA’s Green Power Supplier awards recognize green power suppliers for outstanding efforts, initiatives and programs that significantly advance the development of green power sources serving the voluntary market. The Awards are held in conjunction with the Renewable Energy Markets Conference. For additional information please visit https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/awards/.

From advisory services to program management to marketing: 3Degrees offers both a la carte and turnkey Community Solar solutions 

3Degrees, which has offered Community Solar marketing and advisory services since 2012, has recently expanded its offerings to include additional a la carte as well as turnkey program management and development services.  These offerings help clients address issues such as product design, project sizing and location, ownership, customer acquisition and retention, and billing and risk mitigation.

“Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, 3Degrees works with each client to provide custom services that specifically meet their needs,” says Dan Kalafatas, CEO.  “For some, that may be a full end-to-end solution.  But we have found that many utilities appreciate the ability to tap into our expertise for specific challenges they may be having.”

While Community Solar is a hot topic and is starting to experience significant growth, many utilities are unsure of how to get started or how to best manage and grow their program. The Community Solar offerings of 3Degrees are designed to help utilities investigate options and opportunities enabling a utility to design a program with confidence.  Then, once an approach has been selected, 3Degrees helps clients turn that plan into a reality.

“We see community solar as a logical extension of utility renewable energy programs,” said Adam Capage, Vice President of Utility Partnerships at 3Degrees.  “Our clients come to us for help in building and launching programs that provide their customers additional options at low cost and risk.”