Support for Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Going Green and Going Smart

Our community engagement approach led us to establish distinctive programs effectively maximizing social economic and environmental impacts throughout the state. In collaboration with Compass CBS Foundation, APS created Going Green & Going Smart to teach small business owners in Arizona how to save on energy costs and become greener through rebates, incentives or adoption of smart technology.

Small business chart

Implementing sustainable practices in small business can lead to big improvements in energy and cost savings. The inaugural Going Green & Going Smart Summit provided workshops and small business resources and featured APS’s CEO, Ted Geisler as a featured speaker. Community engagement in partnership with rural chambers of commerce in Flagstaff, Prescott, and Winslow enabled the program to reach business owners of many industries beyond metro Phoenix. Nearly 500 businesses enrolled throughout the state, received their certificate and a template to customize a sustainability plan for their business.

Business in Focus

The Black Chamber of Arizona has launched the third cohort of Impact AZ, a business accelerator program APS has supported since its inception, welcoming over 20 underrepresented entrepreneurs. Thanks to generous support from corporate sponsors, participants are able to join the program at no cost. The cohort will benefit from targeted workshops designed to help entrepreneurs scale their operations and build long-term capacity. The program also emphasizes peer-to-peer engagement, fostering meaningful relationships between current participants and alumni. $100,000 in scholarships will be distributed to 20 different small business owners. This capital infusion is expected to create new jobs and contribute to Arizona’s economic growth.

APS is proud to support local minority chambers, and partner with Local First, Moonshot AZ, Compass CBS and ASBA.

This program is funded by APS shareholders and is not included in customer rates.