Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Participates in Pilot

September 4, 2009, White River Jct., Vt. --- Socially responsible companies are offering new forms of benefits to their employees – incentives for carpooling, gym memberships, home-efficiency assistance. Now there’s a new employee benefit that taps into consumers’ rising interest in renewable energy.

groSolar, the nation’s premiere solar company, announced today its latest innovation in the solar market: the groSolar Employee Green Benefits Program, which offers group-discounts on solar power systems for employees.

Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) is the first company to offer “green benefits’’ to its employees through groSolar.

groSolar’s Green Benefit Program complements GMCR’s Changing Climate Change program, an enterprise-wide effort focused on reducing and mitigating GMCR’s carbon footprint through operational incentives, grantmaking programs, carbon offsets and employee benefits. groSolar presented a series of seminars in August to GMCR employees explaining how solar works, and why it is easy, simple and more affordable than ever.

“As we take steps to reduce our carbon footprint at GMCR, more employees want to make environmentally responsible decisions at home as well,” said Paul Comey, VP of Environmental Affairs for GMCR. “By offering this new benefit from groSolar, home installations of solar arrays become an achievable option for our employees.”

The program calls for the employer to contribute financially to each system purchased by their employee. groSolar in turn discounts the cost of the system to the homeowner by approximately $0.25 per watt, which would be a $1,250 discount on a 5kw system. Combined with state and federal incentives and local financing options, the program makes solar power affordable by significantly reducing the up-front costs.

“This program has been very well received by employers and employees alike,” said Tim Roper, Northeast Regional Sales Manager for groSolar. “We’ve already had dozens of GMCR employees sign up and it’s obvious they are grateful to work for a company that supports them in this way.”

Employees must sign up for a site-evaluation during a limited-time open-enrollment period to qualify. groSolar is able to offer these aggressive discounts because of reduced cost of sales, and improved installation efficiencies due to larger groups of employees going solar within a specific time-frame.

“The groSolar Green Benefits Program is an inexpensive benefit for companies to offer their employees,” said Gaelan Brown, VP of Marketing for groSolar. “It’s good for employee retention and publically demonstrates that employers are socially and environmentally responsible. This approach also creates efficiencies across the board, supporting our mission of making solar power accessible to everyone.”

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About groSolar
groSolar is North America’s premier distributor, installer and integrator of solar energy solutions for residential and commercial installations. Founded in 1998, groSolar is the largest 100 percent U.S.-owned distribution company in the solar industry. The company has offices and warehouses across the continent, distributing solar electric and solar hot water systems from offices in VT, NJ, NY, CT, MA, MD, DE, PA, MT, and CA. groSolar integrates components from leading solar manufacturers including Evergreen Solar, PanelClaw, Motech, Heliodyne, SMA, Fronius and UniRac into simple solar energy solutions for customers that generate clean, reliable energy for decades. groSolar is a mission-driven company dedicated to providing high quality solar energy solutions and whole energy appreciation. groSolar’s venture capital investors include NGP Energy Technology Partners, SJF Ventures, and Calvert Social Investment Fund. Learn more at groSolar.com or call 800.374.4494.