Kohl's, Staples Named EPA Green Power Partners of the Year

November 17, 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented the 11th annual Green Power Leadership Awards to 19 EPA Green Power Partners, including retailers Kohl’s Department Stores and Staples.

Kohl's store front image Both retailers were given the highest honor of Green Power Partner of the Year as were the Empire State Building, Google Inc. and Intel Corporation.

EPA's Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program helping to increase the use of electricity generated from renewable resources among leading U.S. organizations.

With this year's award, Kohl's is the first retailer to be named a Green Power Partner of the Year for three consecutive years. Staples has now won the award three times as well, in 2004 and 2007 and this year.

In 2011, Kohl's purchased 1.4 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) of renewable energy, offsetting more than 100 percent of the company's purchased electricity use. Kohl's current green power purchase is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 192,000 passenger vehicles per year, or the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of more than 122,000 average American homes annually, according to EPA.

Kohl's currently ranks number one on EPA's Top 20 Retail list and number two on the National Top 50 and Fortune 500 lists. The company joined EPA's Green Power Partnership in 2006 and made an initial purchase of more than 80 million kwh of renewable energy credits in 2007.

"Recognition as Green Power Partner of the Year demonstrates Kohl's leadership in the use and support of renewable energy as part of our commitment to being an environmentally responsible retailer," said John Worthington, Kohl's chief administrative officer. "In 2011, Kohl's strengthened its commitment to the use and support of green power by increasing our total green power purchase by more than 52 million kilowatt-hours and purchasing enough green power to offset the purchased electricity requirements for each of our 39 new stores that opened in 2011. We were also pleased to add 16 new solar locations this year in addition to our first two wind locations, and we continue to explore additional opportunities to expand our green power and energy efficiency initiatives."

Staples’ Achievements
When Staples first committed to use green power nearly a decade ago, the goal was to purchase 2 percent of its total energy load, or nearly 9.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of green power. Staples exceeded those goals and has continued to increase its green power use ever since. In 2011, Staples purchased green power equal to nearly 53 percent of its total electricity consumption, or 340 million kWh – double its 2010 purchase levels.

Staples also deploys green energy technology at many of its facilities, including solar, fuel cells, and on-site generation controls. In 2010, Staples expanded the number of sites where it hosts solar arrays from 28 to 34. The company's on-site electricity generating capacity is 10 megawatts, and within five years Staples plans to increase the total installed capacity of alternative energy sources to 50 megawatts, a 500 percent increase, according to EPA.

Other Winners
Winning partners range from iconic commercial buildings and Fortune 500 companies to local governments and higher education institutions. Through the use of clean, renewable energy sources, partners are increasing the country’s energy security, reducing harmful pollution and helping protect people’s health and the environment, according to EPA.

“EPA’s Green Power Leadership Award winners are at the forefront of our economy, driving the development of innovative, renewable energy sources and demonstrating that green power makes as much sense for our health and our environment as it does for our business' bottom lines,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “We applaud their efforts to cut pollution and advance the market for green energy, one of the most important frontiers of our economic future. We hope that they will be an example for other organizations.”

Other 2011 Green Power Leadership Award winners include:

Green Power Community of the Year: Portland, Ore. and Washington, D.C.
Green Power Purchasing: Adobe Systems Inc., Allegheny College, Datapipe Inc., Franklin & Marshall College, Jackson Family Wines, Mercyhurst College, MetLife, Santa Clara University, State Street Corporation and the University of Central Oklahoma.
On-Site Generation: City of San Francisco and S.C. Johnson & Son

Staples, Kohl’s, the City of San Francisco and Intel are all previous winners of EPA's Green Power Leadership Award. Washington, D.C. also won EPA’s 2010-11 Green Power Community Challenge title for using the greatest amount of green power annually, according to EPA.

EPA presents the Green Power Leadership Awards in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy and the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions.

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Keywords: green power, renewable energy

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