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Insights > Trees, The Lungs of the World: Entergy in Louisiana Partners with Customers to Decorate Nature Green
Trees, The Lungs of the World: Entergy in Louisiana Partners with Customers to Decorate Nature Green
01/15/2020
The benefits of planting a tree are deep like its roots and far-reaching like its branches.
That’s why, since fall 2018, Entergy Corporation has provided free trees to customers through the Arbor Day Foundation’s Energy-Saving Trees program. Since then, 2,700 trees have been delivered directly to customers’ homes across the company’s four-state utility service area, including Louisiana.
This fall, 250 Louisiana homeowners reserved free trees. The trees came with instructions for determining the best place to plant for energy-saving benefits. The free tree program provides an interactive website where customers can virtually place their trees on their properties for guidance to optimize the benefits.
The program also helps customers plant trees in areas that won’t interfere with the company’s overhead lines or other equipment. This helps improve safety and service reliability for customers.
While customers benefit, so do our communities and the environment. Last year, Entergy’s Environmental Initiative Fund and vegetation management organization:
- Avoided over 1.5 million pounds of carbon
- Absorbed cver 3,000 pounds of air pollutants
- Filtered over 6 million gallons of storm water in Louisiana
“The positive impact of tree-planting is significant for our customers, communities and the environment,” said Kelli Dowell, Entergy’s director of environmental policy who manages the fund. “These benefits are a good example of how the work we do on behalf of one of our stakeholders, like customers, often has additional benefits for others. This program also demonstrates the triple bottom line of sustainability: environmental, social and financial.”
Since 2018, the trees planted through funding provided by Entergy’s environmental grant program and the corporation’s vegetation management organization have helped sequester/avoid 12 million pounds of carbon, absorbed 27,000 pounds of other air pollutants and filtered 50 million gallons of stormwater across Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas. For Entergy’s investment of approximately $100,000, the combined energy savings and community benefits exceed $1.1 million.
“Partnering with utilities and other companies to encourage tree-planting and care is an effective way to help protect the environment and reduce the impacts of climate change,” said Kristen Bousquet, the Arbor Day Foundation’s program manager. “Trees help enhance and sustain our urban environments by providing shade, improving the air we breathe, and supporting water and soil management.”
Customers can watch for new opportunities to reserve free trees from Entergy in 2020.
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