News Type: Press Release

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. 

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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.”

First class customer service and strong industry relationships pave way for 3Degrees to stay at the top 

3Degrees announced today that it has been named the 2015 Best Trader for North American RECs by Environmental Finance Magazine.  The designation is based on reader assessment through the largest and most closely watched survey of the world’s environmental markets. 

3Degrees is known for managing a diverse portfolio of renewable energy certificates (REC). “Having a range of REC options means 3Degrees clients can support the type of clean energy that is most relevant to their business and geographic location,” says Scott Eidson, 3Degrees’ Head of Origination and Trading. 

The company has a long history of working with developers from project conception through contractual purchases of RECs and power. In 2014 alone 3Degrees took receipt of more than 11.5 million megawatt-hours from over 350 different renewable energy facilities. 47 percent of those were sourced from facilities that came on line in 2010 or more recently. The purchases were made under 255 distinct contracts. “Strong relationships with project developers and brokers are what help 3Degrees stand apart in the industry — and meet our mission to connect people with cleaner energy on a massive scale,” says Eidson. 

This is the fourth time 3Degrees has earned a top designation by Environmental Finance readers in this category. The company was also named EPA Supplier of the Year for the eighth time earlier this year. 

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.

Companies join together to offer comprehensive range of renewable energy and climate solutions for U.S. and global clients

Today, 3Degrees and Origin Climate announced that 3Degrees will acquire Origin Climate. Many U.S. and global organizations, from corporations to utilities, are navigating the complex world of carbon, renewable energy and sustainable development goals without the necessary resources. The combined company brings together industry-leading pioneers to offer a comprehensive range of renewable energy and climate expertise to transform clients’ organizational goals into impactful strategies and results.

Erin Craig and Mark Mondik, the managing directors of Origin Climate, will take on leadership roles within the newly expanded 3Degrees. Craig will lead the consulting organization that will serve clients’ climate and renewable energy needs. Mondik will lead the carbon market business, including carbon credit origination. Both Craig and Mondik will join the 3Degrees executive leadership team and board of directors. Dan Kalafatas will remain the executive chairman and Steve McDougal will continue to serve as the CEO.

 “We are pleased to join forces with Origin Climate. Our product and service offerings complement one another exceptionally well, enabling us to serve the tailored needs of more customers and serve them more comprehensively, both in the United States and around the world,” said Kalafatas.

Expanded Custom Offerings for Commercial and Industrial Clients

Over the past several years, many organizations have significantly broadened their climate and energy goals. These leaders need a wide range of products and an evolved set of services to ensure their success. In recent years, Origin Climate has quietly advised on more than 1400 MW of completed renewable power procurement transactions, and become a major force guiding corporate renewable energy strategy in the United States. By joining forces with Origin Climate, 3Degrees will enhance the depth of its offerings across consulting and transaction services—including PPAs, contracted purchases from competitive energy providers, green tariffs, and tax equity and other owner-investment options—as well as customizable renewable energy certificate (REC) and carbon offset products sourced from around the globe.

 “Origin Climate guided our organization as we committed to achieving 50% renewable energy and an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for our highly distributed content delivery network spanning 120 countries,” said Nicola Peill-Moelter, Ph.D., senior director of environmental sustainability for Akamai Technologies. “They helped us develop our procurement strategy and led us through our first virtual PPA (VPPA) process. We are excited to see how Origin Climate will bring success to more companies as part of the 3Degrees team.”

The expanded 3Degrees team provides energy users an unbiased assessment of a variety of climate-smart energy supply options. Their approach enables internal stakeholders to weigh in on the costs, risks and benefits of all possibilities, navigate the regulatory complexities, and help determine the best option. As a result, execution can proceed quickly and without surprises.

“We’re seeing a number of companies with impressive renewable energy goals rushing to sign VPPAs,” said Craig. “VPPAs are a great structure, but they’re not for everyone. The companies we work with are seeking renewable energy as a primary objective; participating at-risk in wholesale power markets is not on their ‘to-do’ list. By combining 3Degrees’ leadership in commercial, industrial and utility sectors with Origin’s experience advising companies on a wide variety of energy supply structures, we are now uniquely positioned to help clients identify and implement the solution that best meets their needs—whether a VPPA or otherwise.”

Serving the Utility of the Future

For more than a decade, 3Degrees has helped investor- and publicly owned utilities across the United States with custom compliance and voluntary REC products in order to meet renewable portfolio standards, as well as create successful voluntary renewable programs that engage their customers and drive satisfaction.

As utilities seek to retain customers and attract new economic development to their service territories, 3Degrees is now better equipped to help utilities navigate the renewable energy requirements of their largest energy users. 3Degrees’ leadership in managing community solar and voluntary green power programs is augmented by Origin Climate’s trail-blazing work designing and implementing one of the first utility “green tariffs” to allow electricity users to buy 100% project-specific renewable energy through their utility.

“For more than a decade, 3Degrees has helped us deliver compelling renewable energy choices that meet the commitments and interests of our customers. With the integration of Origin Climate, 3Degrees is even better positioned to serve a growing interest among our largest customers and position Silicon Valley Power as a utility of the future,” said Larry Owens, customer services manager of Silicon Valley Power, one of the top utility sellers of renewable energy.

Strong Alignment of Culture and Values

Both Origin Climate and 3Degrees are certified B Corporations. The combined company retains the 3Degrees name and now has more than 100 employees spanning offices in San Francisco, Portland, Ore., Seattle, and Richmond, Va. The Origin Climate team members will relocate to the 3Degrees headquarters in downtown San Francisco.

Added McDougal, “3Degrees and Origin Climate’s core values and company cultures are perfectly aligned, providing foundation to craft creative, impactful solutions for clients and make a greater impact on energy markets and climate change.”