NRG Energy’s Sustainable Workplace Goals and Performance

The energy future we envision requires involvement from all our approximately 8,500 full-time employees (as of Dec. 31, 2016). Providing a sustainable work environment helps us align our actions with our core values, vision and mission. This means providing a workplace that allows our employees to execute at the highest levels and return home safely to their loved ones. It means actively engaging in our communities and supporting our partners. It means investing in our colleagues and supporting causes and organizations
 in which we believe. Ultimately, we’re a product of the people and places that surround us, and ensuring a sustainable workplace is important to our work and how customers, suppliers and communities perceive us.

We’ve established goals that will help all our offices and facilities become truly sustainable workplaces by 2020. We’re also developing a strategy to measure, report and improve our e orts to reach those goals. That includes tracking program participation, increasing employee engagement and benchmarking companywide participation in all NRG sustainability initiatives. By cultivating a sustainable workplace, we will cultivate sustainability advocates throughout.

Princeton headquarters

Opened in June 2016, NRG’s 130,000-square-foot LEED Platinum headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, embodies the ways we’re realizing the potential
of energy, together. Everything, from the way the building is powered to its interior design, enhances
our workplace culture and showcases the technologies and products we over.

After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, we decided to create a safe, reliable workspace that can endure the most extreme weather conditions and support critical 24/7 business operations. Our headquarters represents the intersection of our business and sustainability objectives beautifully and effectively by showcasing a variety of cleaner, versatile and highly efficient energy and water technologies we over our customers.

Highlights of the building’s energy systems and design features include:

• Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels: The rooftop solar wing showcases the power of renewable technology for passersby while providing shade and scenic views for employees and visitors. The parking lot solar canopies help keep cars cool but also generate clean energy and aid in rainwater capture. The combined installations generate about 30 percent of the HQ’s annual electricity use. During sunny periods, however, solar generation can exceed our demand and cause the meter to actually spin backward.
• Green roof: The green roof helps with waste diversion, storm water management, air quality and building insulation in summer and winter. That means less energy used by the HVAC system.
• Wind turbines: A pair of horizontal wind turbines, similar to the ones we installed at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, represents our nationwide utility-scale wind portfolio.
• Solar thermal system: The solar thermal system uses the sun’s energy to heat water for the building’s bathroom, kitchen and gym facilities.
• Rainwater capture system: Rainwater from the roof is fed underground into four 15,000-gallon cisterns (two on-site locations) and used for non-potable water needs such as toilet flushing. This helps save approximately 150,000 gallons of local water annually.
• On-site generation farm: Our combined heat
 and power (CHP) plant can generate most of the building’s annual electricity demand while also producing thermal energy to supplement HVAC needs. Conventional central power plants typically have a combined 45-percent efficiency. Thermal energy from the CHP plant also assists with baseboard heat and an ice-melting system in the sidewalks. A 45-ton absorption chiller also converts residual heat from the CHP plant into cooling for our trade floor and main data center.
• Generators and energy storage: Two generators
– one diesel and one natural gas – are ready to 
kick in if we lose power from the grid or demand response warrants their use. Our lithium-ion battery storage system further supports demand-response capabilities and solar PV energy smoothing.
• Daylight harvesting: All the building’s light fixtures connect to sensors that gauge the presence of natural light. On sunny days, lights near the windows are either o or dimmer than those closer to the building’s interior. This feature allows us to better manage our energy consumption and save money.

Download NRG Energy’s Sustainability Report here.

Learn more about NRG Energy’s sustainability initiatives here.

About NRG
NRG is the leading integrated power company in the U.S., built on the strength of the nation’s largest and most diverse competitive electric generation portfolio and leading retail electricity platform. A Fortune 200 company, NRG creates value through best in class operations, reliable and efficient electric generation, and a retail platform serving residential and commercial businesses. Working with electricity customers, large and small, we continually innovate, embrace and implement sustainable solutions for producing and managing energy. We aim to be pioneers in developing smarter energy choices and delivering exceptional service as our retail electricity providers serve almost 3 million residential and commercial customers throughout the country.