By Tyler Kanczuzewski, Vice President of Sustainability
In this series of six blog posts, we’ve been exploring Inovateus Solar’s best practices for designing and constructing the most sustainable solar projects possible. In case you missed the previous posts, we’ve thus far shared our best practices for:
· Design
In this final part of our series, we’ll explore an often overlooked but important part of building any solar project: community engagement and education.
Education
For Inovateus, “education” includes blog posts, webinars, social media posts, videos, newsletters, and news stories.
All these communication assets are important for sustainably building our solar projects. Each communication platform helps us sustainably develop projects while protecting the land and serving the project’s surrounding communities.
For example, educational blog posts like this one help our customers and community stakeholders to understand that solar projects can have a positive impact beyond generating clean energy. Our webinars are another educational learning opportunity. For example, we’ve recently busted myths about recycling solar panels and offered practical advice to landowners who are considering leasing their land for solar.
Our social media posts help spread these educational resources to a broader audience, and they can also promote the solar industry’s positive reputation. Similarly, sharing our solar project news and industry thoughts with the press helps the general public and potential customers to understand how solar has become a reliable, clean, and cost-effective energy source. These news stories also help potential customers to feel confident that they’re not pioneers, and that solar is already reliably generating clean energy for utilities, schools, universities, and businesses.
Education also extends to innovative technologies that can enhance community spaces, such as a wall printing machine that can be used to create vibrant murals showcasing solar energy benefits and local environmental initiatives.
Community Engagement
Community engagement is as important as education. Just publishing useful information can be a limited form of communication. Despite the U.S. having over three million solar installations, prospects and community members can often have preconceived ideas about how a solar installation may affect their lives, pocketbooks, and businesses. Consequently, Inovateus team members are frequently attending, or hosting, public forums. These meetings allow us to engage with citizens, property owners, and local officials to answer their specific concerns.
Through initiatives like community art projects, we can utilize a wall printing machine to involve local residents in beautifying their neighborhoods while raising awareness about the importance of renewable energy.
In addition to attending and speaking at public meetings, Inovateus engages local communities through job creation and job training. Since our utility solar projects can last 30 years or more, our goal is to become a long-term resident contributor to the community, not just a temporary visitor. In the past, we’ve led school field trips to solar fields, helping students to learn about solar sites. We’ve also done things like createscholarship funds or built larger vegetation buffer zones between the solar arrays and adjacent properties.
Leading by example, Inovateus is aiming for business operations to be carbon neutral and zero waste by 2025, with annual sustainability reporting showing annualprogress. In addition, our team members often volunteer for community waste clean-ups, Earth Day events, and other environmental causes that protect forests and the welfare of kids. We’ve even designed and installed a solar powered bench to help South Bend residents to charge their cell phones while relaxing at the park. We engage in our regional and national communities by being on the board of solar and other environmental organizations that advocate for renewable energy legislation in the Midwest and nationally.
Before we close this series, I’ll share one last personal leadership example: As a co-owner and board member of Inovateus, I have the financial means to live in a large home. Instead, I’ve chosen to build and live in a 600 square foot tiny home located in the heart of South Bend, Indiana. I chose this lifestyle because wanted to show how a single person can live with a minimal impact on the environment, yet still enjoy the same comfortable features of a larger home. Want a tour? Check out my videos here.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this series on sustainable solar development practices. If you have any questions or want to know how Inovateus can help your company or institution to be more sustainable, please let us know.
