By Jim Cavan

Rollinsford-based and Green Alliance Business Partner Pixels & Pulp Design Studio recently partnered with Unitil on a new program that allows their NH electric residential and small business customers to contribute to the growth of renewable energy and add it to their monthly bill.

For the studio's green-minded ownership, Elise Weeks and Megan Keogh, working with Unitil was far and away their most high profile, local client to date.

“We were really excited when we found out we were chosen to work with Unitil,” said Weeks. “As far as local clients go they were definitely our biggest to date, and the fact that the program is oriented towards green fit into our overall focus really well.”

Under the program, eligible residents can choose to place 25, 50, or 100% of their montly energy usage toward participation. For an average household that uses 500 kilowatt hours of electricity a month, the 50% option would amount to just over a $5 monthly contribution. The donation is tacked on to the customer’s existing energy bill.

Using the funds from the Green Neighbor program, Unitil will then purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). 1 REC purchased is equivalent to 1 megawatt of electricity generated by a renewable source, including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, or tidal power. The hope is that contributions from Green Neighbor participants will help make renewable energy more affordable and accessible for Granite Staters going forward.

When the project began, Unitil’s Stephanye Schuyler had a clear idea of what they were looking for to help with this project: a firm that was as green-minded as they were design-savvy.

“We’d heard of Pixels & Pulp and knew they fit with our interest to work with a group that had a green perspective,” says Schuyler. “We also wanted to work with a group that had strong design and web capabilities, which they also had.”

On top of developing the microsite’s online landing page and content—with the help of local copywriter Matthew Grocki and web developer Leah Shaver of Leah Creates—Weeks and Keogh helped Unitil design brochures, postcards, and stickers for the utility’s customers, as well as magnets for display on utility trucks.

According to Schuyler, Pixels & Pulp were able to create a design campaign that combined their uniquely green-minded voice within the brand guidelines developed by Unitil’s branding agency partner, Calypso Communications

It certainly didn’t hurt that Pixels & Pulp has, since its inception, built much of its design and branding reputation on a similarly green-minded philosophy. The team sources primarily Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified paper, matches that with local printers who use vegetable-based inks and chemical-free finishing processes – all while staying squarely within the client's budget.

In 2009, Pixels & Pulp was one of the first businesses to join the Green Alliance, a sort of “green business union” that helps raise the profile of sustainability-minded businesses in the region.

In fact, both Pixels and their chief partner on the printing side of the Green Neighbor project, East Hampstead-based RAM Printing, are Green Alliance Business Partners.

“When we were originally bidding for the project, we provided Unitil with examples of the things we’d done for the clients in the Green space, including work we had done for the Green Alliance,” Weeks noted. “We think that definitely helped.”

The Green Neighbor microsite features an extensive FAQ section, as well as a contribution calculator which prospective participants can use to tabulate how their contribution towards the program.

The program was officially launched in early September.

To learn more, click here.