When Will Ferrell installed solar panels on his home, he tapped into star power, too; through the BP Solar Neighbors Program, Ferrell’s solar power purchase sponsored the installation of a 48-panel solar system for the St. George Hotel, a permanent residence for the formerly homeless run by the Skid Row Housing Trust.

The St. George’s solar system was unveiled today by actor/director Ed Norton, who helped create the BP Solar Neighbors Program, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The Solar Neighbors Program donates a solar system to a low income family for each solar system installed by a celebrity. Norton explained the program’s mission:

“Many people perceive environmentally friendly practices as costly and available only to the wealthy”¦We need to expand our awareness of the many ways environmentally sustainable development and construction can apply to affordable housing. The installation of the BP solar panels on the St.George is a great example of a dynamic solution to our intensifying economic and environmental crisis.”

Norton’s green do-goodiness is in his DNA; he’s on the board of the Enterprise Community Partners, a non-profit co-founded by his grandfather, James Rouse. Enterprise, whose goal is “to see that all low-income people in the United States have the opportunity for fit and affordable housing and to move up and out of poverty into the mainstream of American life,” is a partner in the BP Solar Neighbors Program. How’s that for a shining example of the golden rule?

Learn more about Enterprise’s excellent endeavor at enterprisecommunity.org.