Environmental Initiatives Fund anniversary

Our Environmental Initiatives Fund

$45,000,000

amount of grant money distributed over 25 years

Our pledge to environmental stewardship

For 25 years, we’ve partnered with our communities to protect and restore coastlines, forests and wildlife habitat. We accomplish this through volunteerism and our Environmental Initiatives Fund. Since the Environmental Initiatives Fund was established in 2001, Entergy shareholders have invested nearly $45 million in environmentally beneficial projects and programs.

Our Environmental Initiatives Fund in action

Click below to read more about some of our grant recipients

1. Entergy Arkansas and the EIF inspire the next generation of conservation leaders

Quiz bowls, wild-game cooking and outdoor skills challenges were among the events that drew more than a thousand K-12 students to the inaugural Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Generation Conservation Summit in 2025 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The summit was sponsored with a $100,000 grant from the company’s Environmental Initiatives Fund. The EIF invests in programs that connect young people to sustainability, conservation and STEM‑focused career pathways. The two‑day summit brought together students from across the state for hands‑on learning, friendly competition and real‑world exposure to conservation careers.

Activities included:
• Conservation‑themed quiz bowls.
• Outdoor skills challenges led by AGFC game wardens.
• Wild‑game cooking demonstrations.
• Air riflery and casting accuracy competitions.
• Fly‑tying, habitat education and more.

To make the conservation program accessible statewide, AGFC hosts regional competitions across Arkansas to give students a chance to practice before the main summit or participate locally if travel is a barrier.

Schools can also take part through in‑school competitions, allowing students to submit projects for judging without leaving campus. AGFC provides instructional support and even professional development credits for educators who want to integrate conservation learning into their classrooms.

Entergy’s EIF grant will also help fund other future AGFC educational events.

“The overwhelming response to the summit shows how passionate the next generation is about protecting our natural resources. These experiences not only inspire stewardship but also help build the workforce and innovation needed to deliver more power and better power for our communities as part of our Next Generation Arkansas vision.”

Laura Landreaux,
President and CEO
Entergy Arkansas

2. Entergy, the EIF and Ducks Unlimited help farmers improve wildfowl habitats

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, historically known as the Mississippi Delta, is the largest contiguous floodplain and wetland ecosystem in North America. It covers roughly 24 million acres across seven states, including three in Entergy’s service territory: Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

In the nearly 10 million acres of irrigated cropland in the valley, water withdrawals in many areas exceed replacement rates. To address that concern and help farmers grow sustainable crops, in 2019, Entergy’s Environmental Initiatives Fund provided $250,000 to help Ducks Unlimited’s Rice Stewardship Partnership work with farmers, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and other agricultural producers in economically distressed areas of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi to improve the sustainability of natural resources. The project’s goals include increasing energy efficiency, converting ground water to surface water usage, improving water quality, optimizing irrigation water systems and providing wildlife habitat. The project includes 200 farms on approximately 20,000 acres in the region.

In addition to EIF funding, Entergy offers an array of technical and financial assistance to rice producers within our service territory to improve farming efficiencies and environmental performance. Programs include electric line extensions to serve new irrigation wells, line extensions for diesel-to-electric pump conversions, automation of electric irrigation wells and special rate packages to help Entergy manage peak demand loads in summer.

“Entergy employees and customers depend on the same water, land, and food resources that Ducks Unlimited’s Rice Stewardship Partnership is working to sustain and improve, and many rice growers are also our customers.”

John Weiss,
Vice President
Entergy Sustainability and Environmental Policy

3. Entergy Louisiana and the EIF support sustainable farming methods

An Entergy Environmental Initiatives Fund grant to the UL Lafayette Foundation is helping research a way to better protect the environment. The 2025 grant enables researchers to work with regional rice farmers to test methods of trapping carbon through a variety of farming practices.

Agricultural carbon sequestration uses photosynthesis and soil microbes to capture carbon dioxide in soil. The study includes more than 25 farms, representing more than 30,000 acres of land in the rice belt surrounding Acadia, Jefferson Davis and Vermilion parishes. The project monitors soil carbon and nitrogen levels over a growth cycle, where standard farming methods versus carbon sequestration farming methods will be evaluated on a per-acre value for earning and selling carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are used as a means of reducing negative impacts of industrial and other processes on the environment. Researchers have so far gathered more than 300 soil samples for the study.

The project is being managed by the Energy Institute of Louisiana at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on behalf of the UL Lafayette Foundation. The study could support a new income stream for farmers and a carbon sequestration industry in Louisiana, since a well-functioning agricultural operation can lock tons of carbon in the soil each year. These tons equate to offsets, which can then be sold to other farmers and industries to reduce their environmental impacts.

“Farming is a longstanding strength of our state’s economy, and we’re proud to work with farmers through the UL Lafayette Foundation on this important environmental study.”

Phillip May,
President and CEO
Entergy Louisiana

4. Entergy Mississippi and the EIF power a green pedestrian trail through downtown Jackson

Where locomotives and boxcars once rumbled through Jackson, Mississippi, residents and visitors will soon be able to walk or cycle through the city’s historic downtown.

Entergy Mississippi provided $250,000 in funding through the Entergy Environmental Initiatives Fund for the Capitol Green Connector phase of the Museum Trail, a multi-use greenway led by the Jackson Heart Foundation. The trail provides access to recreation areas, local culture and history, public art, nature and transportation alternatives.

The Capitol Green Connector will add 2.5 miles to the trail and will reach from the state fairgrounds through the downtown district near restaurants, museums, the newly renovated McNair-Davis Planetarium, and the historic GM&O Railroad Depot.

Beyond recreation, the Museum Trail Greenway will connect people and places while transforming underutilized land into a healthier, greener and more resilient public realm for future generations.

“This new phase will boost walkability, sustainability and economic advancement in the center of our capital city. Through our Environmental Initiatives Fund, we aim to make lasting impacts on the communities we serve.”

Haley Fisackerly,
President and CEO
Entergy Mississippi

5. Entergy New Orleans and the EIF support greener options for the annual Mardi Gras celebration

As the Mardi Gras season in New Orleans entertains millions of residents and visitors each year, it also presents landfill waste and other sustainability challenges for the city.

In response, Entergy has provided grants over several years to Grounds Krewe, a nonprofit organization that promotes waste prevention, recycling and sustainable products for New Orleans-area events.

Each year since 2019, EIF funds have supported the group’s Sustainable Throw Catalog and recycling programs. The Sustainable Throw Catalog promotes eco-friendly parade throws and aims to reduce landfill waste during Mardi Gras. Products are made with over 95% compostable or recyclable materials and support a throw economy of locally sourced, functional, re-catchable goods.

The products are assembled by volunteers from academic, corporate and social organizations. Their work takes place at Grounds Krewe’s Throw Assembly Center, a year-round storage and assembly space to engage thousands of student, corporate, social club and conference volunteers.

Since 2018:
780,000 throws sold
36 local product vendors
12,000 volunteers engaged
14 krewes served

“We are proud to support organizations that are dedicated to protecting the environment and strengthening communities. Through the Environmental Initiatives Fund, we are able to contribute to projects that have a positive impact on both local ecosystems and residents.”

Deanna Rodriguez,
President and CEO
Entergy New Orleans

6. Entergy Texas and the EIF support environmentally friendly lighting at Girl Scout camp properties

Entergy’s longtime support of the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council through the Environmental Initiatives Fund has helped improve facilities at campsites in Texas since 2017. The council is one of the largest in the country, serving more than 39,000 girl members and 18,000 adults in 26 southeast Texas counties. Each camp offers activities designed to give girls, troops and families an opportunity to grow and learn in the outdoors – an activity that is a pillar of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. A wide variety of experiences are offered, depending on the camp location. These include cycling scenic paths, paddling canoes, observing local wildlife, flying down ziplines, swimming and riding horses.

Entergy’s grants funded the conversion of camps’ legacy fluorescent lights to environment- and budget-friendly light-emitting diodes. LEDs use approximately 80% less energy, last longer and emit less heat than conventional fluorescent bulbs. These attributes reduce environmental impacts and help lower energy costs. Converting to LED lighting can be challenging, however, due to the initial investment required. Funding from Entergy allowed the council to accomplish the conversion, saving money, protecting the environment and helping sustain the Girl Scout camping experience for generations to come.

Other funding for the council from the Environmental Initiatives Fund in the past supported a reforestation project with 250 cedar trees.

“At Entergy, our mission is to power life today and for future generations, so we’re pleased to be able to support environmentally sound lighting for Girl Scouts who will be an important part of that future.”

Ryan Magee,
Public Affairs Director
Entergy Texas

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