Green Light New Orleans

Green Light New Orleans is a local non-profit organization that travels to houses and small businesses around New Orleans to install Compact Florescent Lamp (CFL) light bulbs, free of charge. CFL light bulbs use about 75% less energy than a traditional incandescent bulb and last at least 6 times longer. They save people money on electricity costs. Green Light New Orleans was founded in 2006 by Andreas Hoffman. Andres Hoffman, a Swiss native, was a musician who, after leaving Switzerland, found New Orleans to be his new home. Upon returning to New Orleans after Katrina, Andreas wanted to find a way to help the re-building of New Orleans, as well as offset the pollution of his touring band. Ever since then, Green Light has been going to various low income homes and installing the CFL light bulbs free of charge, creating an improvement of energy, emission, and utility costs. As the website’s mission statement says, “Green Light New Orleans invests energy in people by assisting New Orleans residents in person, one household at a time. Our volunteers install free energy efficient light bulbs to demonstrate that a mass movement of individual actions creates a significant impact on our environment and community. We connect New Orleans residents to relevant, local opportunities and encourage individual actions so that everyone can benefit from a vibrant, resilient, and sustainable community (“Green Light New Orleans Mission.” Green Light New Orleans – a free CFL light bulb direct installation program. Accessed June 11, 2017. http://www.greenlightneworleans.org/greenmission).

Activities & Programs

Green Light New Orleans has many different programs they’ve established beyond going to houses and installing the light bulbs.

• Citizens for Light
  Citizens for Light was an initiative set up by GLNO to install 343,829 CFL light bulbs by May of 2012. By doing this, they were successful in reducing the city’s carbon footprint by 154 million pounds of CO2. This saved residents $15.8 million dollars in utility costs and established a city-wide movement of individuals in support of sustainable, energy efficient solutions (“Green Light New Orleans Mission.” Green Light New Orleans – a free CFL light bulb direct installation program. Accessed June 11, 2017. http://www.greenlightneworleans.org/greenmission).
• Tip the Block
  The Goal of Tip the Block is to change New Orleans, one community at a time. By choosing a 9 block radius and approaching the homes in these neighborhoods, Green Light New Orleans has a chance to not only connect with their specific communities, but also reach out further in helping these neighborhoods in other ways. By getting to talk to the communities they are helping, they can see what else is needed to gain sustainable living conditions. GLNO also works with other non-profit organizations to help them. “Word of mouth and effective promotion will encourage other residents in the block to make changes as well, until eventually the entire block will ‘tip’ to more sustainable living. Multiple blocks ‘tip’ the neighborhood and eventually lead to a more sustainable New Orleans”(“Tip the Block.” Green Light New Orleans – Universities. Accessed June 11, 2017. http://www.greenlightneworleans.org/tiptheblock).
• Buy Green Give Green
  Buy Green Give Green is a program established by GLNO, where people purchase their CFL light bulbs through GLNO, and for every light bulb sold, another gets donated to someone of need. This program allows people to help out their environment in their homes, and in the rest of New Orleans as well.

Economic Impact

The major economic impact of GLNO is that it lowers resident’s utility bills. Green Light helps low-income families by giving them the lights for free. Not only do they save money by not having to purchase the lights, but they also have over-all lower electricity costs. A household on average could save about $1,400 by installing 30 CFL light bulbs (“Green Light New Orleans Mission.” Green Light New Orleans – a free CFL light bulb direct installation program. Accessed June 11, 2017. http://www.greenlightneworleans.org/greenmission).

Cultural Impact

Using CFLs reduces greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, reducing the cause of global warming. CFL installations on average save more than 11,800 KWH of electricity and reduce 13,410 pounds of carbon dioxide from being exerted. According to Peter Hoffmann’s NGO Funding Request, “because more efficient electricity usage reduces the need for local electric companies to pay higher rates for outsourced power at peak demand times, savings experienced by the households Green Light directly serve benefits the whole community.” Green Light New Orleans also creates a more caring community of New Orleanians. The people volunteering to install the CFLs in homes and the people receiving the light bulbs generally come from different areas and live completely different lives. While going around a stranger’s house and installing light bulbs, it allows for the people to connect and share stories. The volunteers get to learn about a side of New Orleans they most likely haven’t seen yet, and the home owners get to learn about the environmental impact and other ways they can help reduce their carbon footprint (“Green Light New Orleans Green Facts.” Green Light New Orleans – a free CFL light bulb direct installation program. Accessed June 11, 2017. http://www.greenlightneworleans.org/greenfacts).

Similar Organizations

For more information on other groups with related missions, please visit these websites:

1. The Green Project
2. Global Green
3. Rebuilding Together New Orleans