The program integrates several innovative approaches including:

• Clean Energy Corps - the deployment of a Clean Energy Corps to support community groups and their residents as they move step-by-step up the "food chain of sustainable energy usage,"
• Performance-Based Rewards - a three-tiered rewards and recognition program that allows residents to earn points based on their actions and that can then be redeemed by towns like Green Stamps for valuable energy efficiency rewards,
• Technology - program delivery and data collection processes that utilize enabling technologies like mobile apps, iPads, and Salesforce.com
• Campaign Management - continuous program analysis utilizing campaign plans, dashboards, pipeline reports and acquisition marketing tools to support ongoing refinement of outreach and marketing strategies, and
• M&V - robust measurement and verification to support generation of revenue quality energy savings certificates for the state's energy efficiency resource standard and evaluation of sustainable business models

Kerry O'Neill is the co-founder and president of Earth Markets. She is an executive with over 20 years of progressive management experience in diverse sectors including direct marketing, e-commerce, business outsourcing services, and financial services holding increasingly senior roles in operations, strategy and marketing. Kerry is also the executive director of the Clean Energy Finance Center, a non-profit organization that develops innovative approaches to attract greater private and public sector capital to finance large-scale energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon reduction initiatives.

Bryan Garcia is the co-founder and chief community officer of Earth Markets. He is an executive with over 10 years of progressive management experience in the energy, environment and economic development sectors within organizations that operate in the public, private, non-profit and academic sectors. Bryan is the program director of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, an initiative of the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies that prepares environmental leaders for business and society to solve the problems that matter.

Background

The grant is administered by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and the program is managed by Earth Markets and draws resources and experience from several partner organizations, including the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, Celtic Energy, Clean Water Fund, EMpower Devices/MIT, Mobile Genius, SmartPower, Snugg Home and the Student Conservation Association.

The Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge is a community energy savings program made possible by a $4.17 million Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the BetterBuildings program, funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.