April 15, 2024

Green Business Partners Allies are organizations or companies that work directly with businesses in Fairfax County to further the mission and vision of the GBP program. On this page, we are featuring a conversation with Vybe Energy. 

Can you tell us how your organization supports businesses in Fairfax County?

Vybe Energy has been working with Fairfax County businesses on a number of initiatives.  Our CEO, Nisha Thirumurthy spoke at the GBP Forum in March 2023 on the Fundamentals of Benchmarking, providing a step-by-step guide for small businesses looking to reduce costs.

We are the technical lead on the Charge Up Fairfax project that assists community associations in Fairfax in assessing the viability of installing EV charging infrastructure.  Specifically, we develop EV charging feasibility reports that contain high level engineering designs and cost estimates.  We also highlight engineering and technical challenges to installing charging infrastructure. Communities in this program can use the information in the feasibility study to move forward confidently as they solicit quotes from local contractors for these projects. 

Finally, Vybe is currently piloting our Whole Building Optimization and Control Platform that turns a facility (50,000 sq/ft and above) into a “smart” building by synergistically managing all of its energy usage, generation, and storage under a single master controller. As a participant of the Virginia PTAC at George Mason University, an APEX Accelerator, we hope to bring this cutting-edge technology not only to Fairfax businesses, but nationwide.

Are there particular types of business that your organization focuses on?

Vybe Energy provides strategic consulting services, as well as software and hardware controls and monitoring. Our clients include multi-family residential, commercial, industrial, and utility scale projects and organizations.  We work with our customers to develop energy strategies that meet their most important internal strategic goals.  

What types of resources are available from your organization for businesses to support sustainable business practices? Or, Fairfax County in general as a location for green businesses to thrive?

As a starting point, Vybe Energy performs benchmarking to establish a baseline energy use or our clients.  It is important to understand how energy is used within a facility before we can reduce or offset it with cleaner options.  We focus on understanding our clients’ goals, whether it’s to reduce their GHG emissions or reduce energy usage and costs. We start by putting together a framework to help them meet those individual goals.  Do they just want to buy renewable energy credits or RECs to meet their objectives?  Or do they want to develop energy efficiency and renewable projects? What is the impact of those projects on their goals and which projects will help them get to their goal the fastest?  

What do you see as the key incentives or motivators for businesses to adopt sustainable business practices?

Cost reduction and sustainability work hand in hand. If you energy benchmark your business, you inform yourself or the decision makers about where they stand and what could be improved. A reduction in electricity use directly impacts your bottom line at the same time reduces stress on the electric grid and emissions related to producing energy. When businesses think about the issue holistically, you can easily see the connections.

Additionally, businesses need to think about their customers and what their demands are for sustainable business practices. These days, both consumers and businesses are concerned about sustainable suppliers or a sustainable pipeline and are making that clear in their buying decisions.

How does the mission of the Green Business Partners program fit into the mission of your organization as a whole?

Vybe’s mission is to advance climate action by addressing a gap in the energy management solutions (EMS) market which in turn allows businesses to reduce energy usage and emissions.

Learn More

Visit Vybe Energy's website for more information.