Source: Press Release, United for Trees
United for Trees is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that reduces atmospheric carbon and provides environmental study grants to make the earth more sustainable. We do this nationwide by sub-contracting with ESCOs (Energy Services Companies) to offer these sustainability services in performance contracting proposals. Launched Spring of 2021, we are developing a new channel to fund and deliver sustainability.
Planting a forest is a well-established type of Carbon Offset. Forestry Offsets plant trees to sequester atmospheric carbon, and funding environmental education for our children is perhaps the ultimate sustainability measure. These are their primary offerings.
The United for Trees delivery process is focused on making it simple for ESCOs. They produce short proposal sections for project add-ons. When projects are awarded, and if their measures survive value engineering, United for Trees takes care of all the details going forward. To pay for individual projects, ESCOs and their sub-contractors donate a small percentage of their profits. United for Trees pools this money with matching funds when they are available.
Public expectations are evolving: ESCO customers (schools, governments, universities, etc.) want more comprehensive projects, and they want projects that solve multiple problems. ESCO customers also want popular sustainability projects, and people like tree planting. You can see how popular Forestry Offsets are by looking at the dozens of major utilities which sponsor the Arbor Day Foundation.*
As Sasha Wedekind, an analyst with Navigant Research, wrote in March 2020, “Though growth is expected to continue [in the ESCO market], it is expected to be challenging to capture due to pressure from competing energy services models and changing customer expectations.”**
Or as United for Trees co-founder Tom Laufenberg put it, “We offer a new set of ‘green’ services for the ESCO industry. For a long time, people have talked about how our end-customers define the problem in terms of atmospheric carbon, sustainability, and energy savings. ESCOs address those issues with 1) energy efficiency and 2) renewable technologies. Now, by offering carbon offsets and environmental education grants, United for Trees adds another leg to the sustainability platform. We support ESCO funding for the zero-carbon vision, and this creates stronger sustainability proposals! Our goal is to plant one million trees in the next 5 years.”
ABOUT UNITED FOR TREES
United for Trees is a not-for-profit that clears a path for ESCOs to improve sustainability. We offer a quick, turn-key process for proposing and funding sustainability: planting trees and teaching environmental programs. Adding Educational Grants and Carbon Reduction to a traditional Energy Efficiency or Renewable Energy project pleases many customers. For more information, please contact Dan d’Heilly at 617-792-7472 or [email protected].
* Arbor Day Foundation, Major Utility Donors List – https://www.arborday.org/partnerships/
** Navigant Research, “Global Annual Revenue for Energy Service Companies Is Expected to Near $29B by 2029,”
