Green Empowerment

Principios que nos Guian en Español

Mission Scope:
Green Empowerment provides technical, organizational, media, public relations, and financial support to community-based renewable energy projects internationally.

Overhead:
A volunteer board, small staff, and volunteers perform administrative and fundraising work. Keeping overhead costs down is a high priority. In 2004, Green Empowerment spent only 7.8% of its revenue on admiinistration and fundraising

Public Benefit:
All our projects, whether using communal or microentrepreneurial models are geared to providing the maximum benefit and are charitable in intent and structure.

Project Orientation:
Our work concentrates directly on the design, development, and construction of community-based renewable energy systems associated with residential electricity, economic development, potable water and watershed protection.

Technology:
We support community-based renewable energy projects that utilize small hydropower, biomass, wind and solar technology and are designed, built and maintained locally.

Social Justice:
Projects must have the maximum positive impact on basic human rights such as employment, health, education, personal opportunity and other indices of a healthy society. We feel that for projects to be successful both men and women must be actively involved in the development of their community’s renewable energy system.

Local Leadership:
We support projects that have strong community backing and leadership. Local people are trained in the skills necessary to operate and maintain their projects. We promote the leadership of local technical NGO organizations, as their skills are vital to the planning and building of the projects.

Sustainability:
Our goal is to insure that the projects become self-sufficient early on and each one must have a plan for long-term sustainability, both economically and environmentally. Rural electrification is supported by community tariffs on residential use of electricity, as well as micro-enterprises that generate revenue for the long-term viability of the projects.

Environmental Impact:
The projects we support must include a strong environmental component. Watershed protection and community environmental plans promoting conservation and restoration are integral to our work.