Green-Powered Corporate Citizenship

Commentary by Jonathan Lash

The energy sector in the United States -- plagued by unprecedented blackouts, bankruptcies, fluctuating prices, and record levels of pollution emissions -- would do well to look at making some innovative and sustainable changes. The U.S. Congress is currently debating an energy bill that could offer a long-term vision for addressing these problems. But it falls far short of the mark, favoring giveaways and pork-barrel projects over pursuing serious solutions.

In the absence of leadership from Washington, however, a number of corporations have begun to pursue projects that are forging the way toward a more sustainable U.S. energy economy.

It all began three years ago when 10 major U.S. companies agreed to work with us at the World Resources Institute to do something about their power emissions. This month those efforts began to bear significant fruit: we just announced some of the largest green power purchases in U.S. history -- 97 megawatts (MW) in all, enough to power 73,000 homes with electricity from renewable sources.

Things got started in 2000 when WRI decided that we should "walk our talk." We pledged to reduce our net carbon dioxide emissions to zero by 2005 (which we achieved this month). We also formed the Green Power Market Development Group, which brought together a set of prominent corporations and challenged them to begin to make similar advances that would help find ways to lower the climate impact of U.S. energy use.

The group -- Alcoa, Cargill Dow, Delphi, DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, Kinko's, and Pitney Bowes (Dow Chemical and Staples joined later) -- set the goal of creating 1,000 MW of new, cost-competitive green power by 2010. That's enough electricity to power 750,000 homes or eliminate the need for a coal-fired power plant.

It has not been easy to find the right green power suppliers and products and structure workable deals. But we are confident that we have created a solid business model for green power and partner companies now look for green power when they make energy sourcing decisions.

Promoting the use of green power has taught us that if done well, good corporate citizenship not only solves environmental and social problems but also provides business benefits. Some companies are reducing costs; others are reducing their exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.

And the purchases are starting to make an impact. By the end of September WRI and its 12 corporate partners will have purchased a total of more than 110 MW of green power. These purchases will reduce approximately 500,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to taking more than 95,000 cars off the road. Some of these green power projects include:

Dow Chemical and General Motors are collaborating in the world's largest hydrogen fuel-cell deal in history. Dow will use 500 GM fuel cell units at its Freeport, Texas manufacturing facilities to generate up to 35 MW of power. The hydrogen fuel is already generated as a by-product from chemical processing at the manufacturing plant.

Johnson & Johnson is now using more than 11 MW of wind and 1.5 MW of solar electricity, making it the largest corporate user of solar photovoltaic panels in the United States and one of the largest users of wind power.

General Motors and Interface carpeting are now using landfill gas as an energy source at their manufacturing facilities, shifting away from their reliance on increasingly expensive natural gas.

Staples, Pitney Bowes, and Kinko's are now purchasing green power for 10 percent of their annual U.S. electricity consumption.

While we are working to blaze the trail with large corporations, smaller organizations can reap the benefits as well. WRI is a nonprofit organization with a budget under $20 million, but we partnered with our building owner and manager to purchase green power for our energy-efficient offices. With additional purchases, we are now one of the first nonprofit organizations in the country -- and certainly the biggest in metropolitan Washington, DC -- that purchases 100 percent green energy.

The Green Power Market Development Group is creating a model for good corporate citizenship, but it cannot be a substitute for government leadership. The group recently took this message to Capitol Hill, meeting with congressional leaders to discuss climate change and the future of green power.

The private sector cannot solve the problem of climate change by itself. In the United States, Congress should set renewables-friendly mandatory CO2 targets. A cap-and-trade system would create incentives for reductions and guarantee a level playing field for all corporations. Then companies can make smart long-term investments and the green power markets will take off. (WRI Features, 789 words)