Going greener, thanks to Menlo entrepreneur

Entrepreneur Brett Battles presides over a virtual entity known as Castanea Labs from the comfort of the office in his West Menlo home. From there, he marshals far-flung forces to produce start ups like his current effort, EcoRebates, a single-source stop for all ‘green’ rebate programs nationwide.

At heart a very large database, EcoRebates has a free consumer site;  type in your zip code to find all the incentive programs in your area to help ease the expense of a new appliance like a washing machine or refrigerator. They also provide their service to merchants – Sears is one customer – allowing the prospective buyer to find out, online or in-store, what rebates they may qualify for as an incentive to purchase a new appliance.

Asked how 94025 does in the category of green rebates, Battles replies “It’s great. We often use 94025 to demo the product. California utilities are relatively progressive and offer lots of incentives for consumers to upgrade their appliances to more environmentally-friendly models.”

And Battles, of course is doing his part in the green crusade: His “commute,” from bedroom to home office, could hardly be greener.