The Greenest Contractor award celebrates the greenest contractors making their companies and communities as environmentally friendly as possible.
The efforts of an individual are valuable, but this year’s Greenest Contractors understands the threat of climate change needs to be addressed at an institutional level. Cincinnati, Ohio-based solar EPC Melink Solar has taken its position in the renewables market seriously, enacting company-wide policies for facilities and employees to be as green as possible.
-Steve Melink, founder and CEO, Melink Solar
At a personnel level, the company created a pledge to have every Melink employee select the clean power option from their utility and drive an electric vehicle powered by clean energy by 2025. As of 2019, 57% of Melink employees drove electric vehicles and many of them also serve on boards or are members of local organizations promoting renewable energy, green living and general wellness, including the Greater Cincinnati Green Building Council, Green Energy Ohio, Sonlight Power and EV Cincy. The rest of the company has four more years to meet the Melink 2025 Pledge, and Melink will support employees in this process if they encounter financial barriers by offering benefit incentives, leasing programs and lower market prices for EVs.
Melink is also ensuring its facilities produce little to no carbon. Both of the company’s headquarters are classified as zero-energy buildings. The first was retrofitted with geothermal heating, LED lighting and other clean technologies to reach that status, and the second was built with zero-energy consumption in mind. The second HQ uses a patent-pending “Super Hybrid Geothermal” HVAC system and 85 kW of large-scale solar carports with bifacial modules. The carports power the entire building and 39 additional EV charging stations. Additionally, Melink has wind turbines on site. From 2018 to 2019, onsite renewables produced 94,236 kWh of solar energy and 1,379 kWh of wind energy.
Despite being in a state with regions dedicated to fossil fuel extraction and policies unfriendly toward renewables, Melink is making southern Ohio and the entire country greener.
Hi, giving your employees electric cars is great. Bicycles would be even better. However i understand that distance from work could be problematic. How about electric motorbikes or scooters? Much cleaner, and cheaper!
I understand the regions dedicated to fossil fuel extraction and policies unfriendly toward renewables, Melink is making southern Ohio and the entire country greener.
Finding similar problems globally. Best wishes
Steve Smith