Top U.S. retailers buy green power for 82,000 homes

WASHINGTON, DC, US, February 22, 2006 (Refocus Weekly)

Ten retail companies in the United States purchase 878,000 MWh a year of green power, equivalent to the power consumed by 82,000 homes.

The latest ‘top ten’ list of the Green Power Partnership shows the top partner is Whole Foods Market, which buys 463,128 MWh of biomass, geothermal, hydro, solar and wind power to supply 100% of its corporate needs. Its purchases are placed with five suppliers: Austin Energy, Community Energy, PNM, Renewable Choice Energy and Sky Energy.

Starbucks is in second place on the quarterly placing, at 150,000 MWh from windfarms to meet 20% of its consumption, while Safeway purchases 87,000 MWh of wind to meet 2% of its demand. Staples is in fourth spot with its purchase of 49,457 MWh from biogas, biomass, solar and wind to meet 10%, followed by FedEx Kinko’s purchase of 40,600 MWh to meet 15% of corporate demand.

The balance of the list includes HEB Grocery (27,600 MWh for 26%), Liz Claiborne (25,000 MWh for 100%), prAna (16,500 MWh for 100%), Lowe’s Home Centers (16,473 MWh for 4%) and Shaw’s Supermarkets (2,000 MWh for 6% of demand).

“Their purchases are helping to drive the development of new renewable energy sources,” says the Environmental Protection Agency which administers the Partnership. “A growing number of retail companies are buying green power to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the electricity that powers their facilities.”

Participation in the Partnership demonstrates to employees, customers and investors that it “is an environmental leader in its community and is proactively reducing its exposure to risks related to climate change.” There are more than 600 Partners in the voluntary program, which is open to organizations which switch to green power for a portion of their electricity in return for EPA technical assistance and recognition.
“Our green power purchase demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and is consistent with Liz Claiborne Inc.'s socially conscious business practices,” says chairman Paul Charron. The company purchases Green-e certified tradeable renewable energy certificates from wind power for its corporate headquarters in New Jersey.

“These specific RECs represent the environmental benefits of clean wind power energy production as replacement for other non-renewable energy sources from regional and national electric grids,” explains the company. “By purchasing these RECs, Liz Claiborne Inc. is investing in the future of wind power, helping construct new wind farms and bolstering existing farms to create a wider base for future wind power production.”

This purchase is the first time that Liz Claiborne has made a significant investment in the use of green power. The company was introduced to the Green Power Partnership through its acquisition of prAna, a designer and wholesaler of lifestyle apparel that is involved in the natural power movement.

prAna launched its Natural Power Initiative last fall to offset the conventional electricity consumed by 250 of its retailers, 100% of its headquarters and all homes of its full-time employees. For 2006, this will offset 16,500 MWh of brown power, and PrAna plans to eventually offset 100% of electricity from its entire North American dealer base of 1,000 retail partners as well as its contracted U.S.-based sewing facilities to deliver clothing made with certified Green-e, wind-generated power

The EPA, using data on national average avoided CO2 emissions, estimates that Liz Claiborne's purchase is equivalent to avoiding 34.5 million pounds of CO2, and the purchase of 25,000 MWh of green power is comparable to eliminating the emissions of 3,000 cars for one year or planting 4,660 acres of trees each year.


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