Partnership Spotlight: 3 Cross-Sector Partnerships from This Week

Energy Partnership To Simplify Industrial Solar Power Plans In Houston

HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA  

A partnership between Cypress Creek Renewables and NRG Energy plans to simplify solar power accessibility for large and mid-sized businesses around Houston, Texas. According to the article, Cypress Creek will develop and operate 25 megawatts of solar projects and deliver the produced energy to NRG, which already has food service company Sysco as a first client. This partnership would eliminate the high prices that consumers face when demand for solar energy rises. At the same time, sourcing solar energy from one provider serves customers with more stable plans, according to Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Chief Energy Officer at the University of Houston.

WHY IT MATTERS: The partnership is important because it will make sustainable energy more attainable for mid-sized and large businesses in this area, and shows that sustainable energy is becoming more accessible and affordable.

Coca-Cola Foundation Grants $1 Million to The Recycling Partnership to Help Prevent Marine Debris at the Curb

BUSINESS WIRE

The Coca-Cola Foundation is contributing $1 million to The Recycling Partnership to support a new coastal and waterway community grant program. The program plans to provide lidded curbside recycling carts to communities along the coast, reaching from southeast Texas to Maine, along the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, and in the Pacific Northwest. Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, stated this program would ensure that recycling debris along the coastlines stays in its container and does not end up in the water, curbing marine debris and waste along these communities. By donating this grant, Coca-Cola is actively addressing the challenge of marine waste that ends up in waterways and the harmful effects it has on marine life and ecosystems.

WHY IT MATTERS: Although seemingly small, this program is important as it initiates a dialogue between large for-profit organizations and nonprofits, and allows non-profits to elevate their mission by granting them necessary funds from organizations that generate a higher degree of profit. It also creates an example, and hopefully a trend, for other large for-profit organizations to utilize their success to improve the world for future generations by supporting environmental causes. 

A community public private partnership in action

RNEWS

Qhubeka, a South African nonprofit, has collaborated with its community of major metros and business supporters to donate 350 bicycles to schoolchildren in Orlando, Soweto. The children are from Selelekela Secondary School, Orlando High School, Lofentse Girls High School, and Bona Comprehensive School. Nonhlanhla Makhuba, MMC for Transport in the City of Johannesburg, said on the subject, “We believe that the more bicycles we distribute in a particular area, the greater momentum and sustainability there is for the bicycle promotion programme and the safer it is for individual cyclists.”

WHY IT MATTERS: This is a great example of how partnerships can move communities forward. The donation of these bicycles has a direct impact on the children’s daily lives – they are now able to travel to school faster, participate in more extracurricular activities, and have more time in their day for different activities.