I work as a sustainability consultant in a major city. In this position, it is my job to tell the companies that hire me what they can do to decrease their carbon footprint and increase their energy efficiency. Many of the companies that hire me have huge office buildings all over the country. If you think about it, that means there is a whole lot of electricity and heating and cooling in those buildings. I always start by reviewing what type of services my client’s use for energy. There are many ways to integrate solar electricity. I also recommend that my clients switch to geothermal heat pumps for their heating and cooling operations. A geothermal heat pump is hands down the most energy efficient option when it comes to heating and cooling. A geothermal heat pump is more efficient than other heat pumps because it uses the temperature of the earth as the source for heating and cooling. While the geothermal heat pump can be an expensive purchase, it operates at high efficiency and has the lowest operating costs of any type of heating and cooling system. Additionally, they are capable of lasting between 25 and 50 years. When I propose the geothermal heat pump to my clients, they usually take the leap and make the change, despite the upfront cost. Afterall, these are businesses that truly want to make a change to their carbon footprint.