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It can be a struggle just to put the environment on the agenda. This is where Fresh Energy comes in; it is a St. Paul based non-profit organization that focuses its efforts on influencing green policy.

“We’re pretty much a policy shop from [the Minnesota legislative session] of January through May,” said Carin Skoog, Fresh Energy’s global warming solutions coordinator.

Founded in 1990 under the former moniker of Minnesota for an Energy Efficient Economy, the organization underwent a name change in 2006 because it wanted to move beyond Minnesota. Fresh Energy collaborates with organizations across the Midwest, including the Dakotas, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, according to Daryl Sager, Fresh Energy’s energy justice program associate. Fresh Energy has a staff of 13, and the growing number of “green-collar” jobs has put Fresh Energy on the search for five additional staff.

Inside the historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul, Fresh Energy’s offices are made up of recycled materials and cost-effective flooring. The entry way flooring is rapidly renewable bamboo grass rather than wood, which takes longer to grow and is being depleted faster. The carpet is made up of tiles so individual squares can be replaced when they wear. Workstations are made of wheat stock covered in linoleum rather than typical petroleum or formaldehyde-based work surfaces.

Although Fresh Energy sponsors events such as resource fairs and lunch presentations, it is more committed to doing intensive lobbying for green energy policy. Skoog would not separate the two courses of action, however. She said most of the outreach events are simply ways to “get people to know and understand the policies.”

Fresh Energy focuses on important energy bills, and there are two in the current Minnesota legislature: the carbon emissions “cap and trade” legislation and the California Clean Cars law.

The “cap and trade” legislation would assign a limit or cap on carbon emissions and carbon-emitting industries. Businesses that are under their limits could trade their credits to those who are not, with the goal of making incentives for reducing emissions.

The California Clean Cars law requires vehicles to have tougher standards for carbon emissions. According to Skoog, a clean cars law in Minnesota would cut 13 million metric tons of carbon emissions and would save $216 million in fuel-consumption costs by 2025.

Fresh Energy is more likely to be heard by legislators than other lobbyists because it is well-respected, Sager said. It focuses on energy policy and it does not let itself become distracted by other, less-important issues.

“Energy is what we do and we do it well,” Skoog said. “We have been around a while and we bring credibility and strength to the table.

Fresh Energy Media Relations Coordinator Elena Velkov says Fresh Energy has three pillars of focus: To promote renewable energy, to reduce global warming emissions and to reduce energy consumption.

Skoog and Sager work directly with all three of Fresh Energy’s main goals. Skoog was hired in August 2007 and her position as global warming solutions coordinator is only two years old. She tries to find unlikely partners in an attempt to innovate.

“A [Minnesota Gov.] Pawlenty campaign donator or business partner would be more effective than me in delivering a message,” she said. “I try to find people who can communicate our message other than the usual suspects.”

Skoog said that it is noble for individual consumers to make green choices, but building one carbon-emitting plant negates individual efforts.

“The government has to take a leadership role for consumers and everyone,” she said. “We have to work on both a state and federal level and get our Congress signed onto federal policies.”

Sager was hired in August 2006 after Fresh Energy had been working on securing rights for Cree Indians in the Manitoba Hydro issue. Sager, who is Native American, made the decision to work on energy efficiency in Native American communities.

“Most of the homes are horrid around Leech Lake and Red Lake communities,” Sager said. “Seventy percent of them need to be weatherized. $618 can be saved just by weatherizing your home.”

With Xcel Energy extending its Prairie Island nuclear power plant stay by 20 years, Sager does not see energy justice being done.

“[Nuclear power] is not a positive alternative solution when there is solar and wind energy,” Sager said. “You wouldn’t see nuclear waste in [Twin Cities suburbs] Eagan or Apple Valley.”

To do his job better, Sager tries to make personal connections rather than relying on e-mails and phone calls.

“If people can see your face and know who you are they will want to work with you,” he said.

Fresh Energy receives 90 percent of its funding from foundations, including the Bush Foundation, the Legacy Foundation and the Energy Foundation. Six percent of its funding comes from private donations, three percent from earned income and one percent from corporations.

According to Sager, Fresh Energy has about 800 donors. It also has thousands of e-mail subscribers who do not contribute but are updated on Fresh Energy action and green energy policy.

Fresh Energy did 12 presentations on Earth Day. Skoog and Sager appreciate Earth Day because it is a hook for people to take notice about environmental issues. But at Fresh Energy, every day is Earth Day.

“We keep the drum beat going all year long,” Skoog said.