Innovation

Bullfrog Power provides a range of products including green electricity, green natural gas and green fuel, all of which serve as an alternative to other less-environmentally conscious options. Instead of injecting green electricity or green natural gas directly into a customer’s home or business, Bullfrog puts clean energy onto the grid on the customers’ behalf. In fact, the company sources its electricity from low-impact hydro and wind facilities. Bullfrog Power sources its green natural gas from a landfill site in Quebec. At the site, energy-rich gas is captured from decomposing matter, cleaned up and injected onto the pipeline. Like conventional natural gas, it’s used to heat homes and power appliances. This product is a renewable alternative to fossil-fuel based natural gas. Finally, the company produces green fuel as an alternative to gasoline. Sourced from waste streams like restaurant cooking oil, this rapidly biodegradable, carcinogen-free product allows climate-conscious Canadians to reduce the environmental impact of their transportation. Overall, Bullfrog Power is continuously striving to “hit all the angles while giving their clients as much choice as possible to go green."

Inspiration

Walking through his parents’ farm in Orangeville, Ontario in November 2005, Tom Heintzman heard the sound of bullfrogs croaking. “What gave me pause were the characteristics of the frogs – they’re green, among the first to feel the effects of climate change, and have such a loud, far-reaching voice for such small creatures,” says Tom. “These are all attributes we wanted the new company and community we were building to represent” And so, the name was spawned.

Now more than ever, with climate change threatening the very future of our planet, it has become increasingly clear that much of the problem is related to our energy usage. Human reliance on fossil fuels is contributing to climate change, which includes rising tides, extreme weather, and storms and drought. In 2005, Canadians did not have a choice on where to source their energy – they had to choose conventional energy sources. Heintzman and Kiessling saw an opportunity where there had not previously been one and decided to begin offering homes and businesses the option to “choose renewable energy sources and address the energy-related emissions of their own energy usage,” (S. Piroteala, personal communication, October 5, 2018). Both founders wanted to inform Canadians of the various ways they can involve themselves in transformative change, and educate them on alternative energy sources that would allow for a change in the country’s energy mix overtime. The company subsequently became one of the very first social enterprises and accredited B. corps in Canada to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Their first product paved the way for green initiatives and soon after more products were created to meet other recognized demands of the marketplace. Ever since, Bullfrog Power continues to discover new and innovative ways to create a better, cleaner world for future generations by changing the way we use and consume energy now.

Overall impact

Clearly, with the worsening environmental degradation of the planet we all inhabit, a profound collective behavioral change is necessary and in such, we all share equal responsibility to act accordingly. In order to effectively have an impact on our environment, we need to do something substantive and systematic – and soon. Bullfrog Power is aware of the crucial and pressing need for change and decided to create an idea that everyone can benefit from. Today, one person’s decision to choose green energy sets an important example for friends, neighbours, business leaders and policy makers. If more people demand clean, renewable power, the message’s impact becomes even stronger.

Currently holding 10,000 residential customers and 1,500 businesses, Bullfrog Power continues to grow and evolve while maintaining a community of truly committed supporters. The impact that is immediately identified with Bullfrog Power is that of environmental change, yet environment impact and societal impact are strongly interconnected. Aside from providing clean, pollution-free energy from facilities all across Canada, Bullfrog Power also “supports more than 140 community-based green energy projects,” across Canada – these include solar and wind projects with schools, community centres and Indigenous Peoples.

With the help of their customers, Bullfrog Power has put more than three million MWh of green electricity on the grid since 2005. They have injected more than 700,000 litres of green fuel into the Canadian fuel system and they have injected more than six million GJ of green natural gas into the pipeline (Bullfrog Power, 2018). In total, these products have allowed for the displacement of over one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from the environment, a very impressive feat. In order to put the effects of harmful emissions on our planet into perspective, we can use the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculator to translate abstract measurements into more understandable terms. In such, Bullfrog Power’s 1.3 million tonnes of emissions displaced from the environment is equivalent to 278,373 vehicles taken off the road or 452,962 tonnes of waste recycled instead of landfilled.

Business benefit

Sustainable business practices such as Bullfrog Power’s renewable energy solutions have become powerful and strategic approaches for many companies across Canada. Currently holding 11,000 residential customers and 15,000 business, Bullfrog Power continues to grow and evolve while maintaining a community of truly committed supporters. A rise in concerns for climate change and air pollution in recent years has encouraged people to change their behaviour in order to make an impact, and since Bullfrog provides such an easy way to do that, many people are turning towards the company’s products to meet their energy needs.

Although Bullfrog Power started out with only one renewable energy product when they first began operations in 2005, they have now developed various options offering customers the heightened ability to choose how they would like to get involved. Throughout our interview, Sandra detailed how the company has recently been acquired by Spark Power, a leading renewable energy service provider that builds and maintains solar panels and other larger scale energy solutions. This merger has given Bullfrog access to more capital, putting them in a position of pivot where they are now able to explore advanced opportunities and use this funding to investigate and research new products. This year, the company hopes to be a major influencer in the continuous evolution towards a renewably powered future. From coast to coast, Bullfrog has already had significant impact, but their recent acquisition provides them with even more opportunity to begin lobbying for environmental change and get additional support so that customers can benefit from green energy regardless of policy that may currently stand in the way of this.

Social and environmental benefit

In order to effectively have an impact on our environment and our society, we need to do something significant and methodical – and soon. Bullfrog Power is aware of the crucial and pressing need for change and decided to create an idea that everyone can benefit from. Today, one person’s decision to choose green energy sets an important example for friends, neighbours, business leaders and policy makers, and “sends a powerful message that new renewable energy is important to our environment and our economy." If more people demand clean, renewable power, the message’s impact becomes even more powerful.

Despite the “truly inspiring response of Canadians in embracing green energy and taking action on climate change,” there is still so much progress to be made. Canada still relies on numerous forms of polluting energy for many of our everyday energy needs, such as coal, oil, gas, and nuclear waste, and so Bullfrog hopes to have an impact on the widespread adoption of renewable energy. With Bullfrog Power, consumers can play a significant role in the future of the planet we all share, reducing their emissions footprint and supporting the development of the renewable energy landscape in Canada. Undoubtedly, Bullfrog Power is always learning and adapting their business to strive for better environmental excellence, in order to create a cleaner and healthier tomorrow one incremental change at a time.

Interview

Sandra Piroteala, Manager, Customer Experience & Operations