ERA'S
Green Power (
Partnership
An Environmental Choice for Your Organization
Addressing climate risk is increasingly recognized as an impor-
tant strategic issue for businesses and other organizations.
Green power purchasing can reduce your organization's climate
risk and identify your organization as an environmental leader
to important stakeholder groups, such as customers, Wall Street
analysts, shareholders, investors, government officials, and
employees. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's)
Green Power Partnership is ready to assist you in determining
if a green power purchase is right for your organization.
Reducing the Risk of Climate Change
EPA's Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program helping to increase the use
of green power among leading U.S. organizations. Organizations are encouraged to
purchase green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated
with conventional electricity use.
The Green Power Partnership works with hundreds of leading organizations,
including Fortune 500 companies, local, state, and federal government agencies,
manufacturers and retailers, trade associations, as well as a growing number of
colleges and universities. Partners are purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours (KWh) of
green power annually, which has the equivalent impact of removing the emissions
of hundreds of thousands of passenger cars from the road each year.
Your organization can benefit from partnering with EPA's Green Power Partnership
by taking advantage of the credibility, expert advice, recognition, and up-to-date market
information that EPA provides.
Join Now and Position Your
Organization for the Future
&EPA
GREEN
POWER
PARTNERSHIP
Clean Renewable
Energy
Green power is electricity
generated from environ-
mentally preferable
renewable resources,
such as solar, wind,
geothermal, low-impact
biomass, and low-impact
hydro resources.
An Environmental
Choice
Conventional electricity
use can be one of
the most significant
environmental impacts
associated with your
organization's operations.
A green power purchase
is one of the easiest
ways for an organization
to reduce its carbon
footprint.
Supporting Domestic
Energy Supply
A green power purchase
helps to accelerate
the development of new,
domestic renewable
energy sources, while
playing an important role
in the security of America's
energy supply.
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Why Are Organizations
Buying Green Power?
U.S. AIR FORCE
UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA
Differentiation and Competitiveness
Whole Foods Market, a leading grocery store chain, strives to "satisfy and delight"
its customers through inviting store environments, wise environmental practices, and
retail innovation. In part, Whole Foods is accomplishing this by implementing a store-
level green power purchasing strategy that allows store managers to respond to
local customer needs, stay competitive, and differentiate their retail environment from
competitors.
Climate Change Commitment and Energy Stability
As part of its broader environmental strategy, Johnson & Johnson, a leading healthcare
products manufacturer, has committed to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions 7 percent
below 1990 levels by 2010. Johnson & Johnson believes that investing in green power is
an excellent strategy to help the company achieve its corporate environmental leadership
goals, as well as a good business decision because it provides the company with a
reliable supply of energy that exhibits long-term price stability.
A Cost-Effective Energy Strategy
The U.S. Air Force's green power purchase of over 300,000 MWh annually is playing an
important part in controlling its long-term energy costs. For example, Edwards Air Force
Base in California purchases 138,000 MWh annually, enough to cover 60 percent of its
power needs. The Base is utilizing long-term fixed-price green power contracts as a
financial hedge against electricity market volatility and estimates its dollar savings over
a five-year purchase period at almost $42 million.
Local Impact and Community Leadership
The University of Pennsylvania understands the important role it plays within the
local community and sees green power as an opportunity to demonstrate its environ-
mental leadership. By purchasing green power, the University of Pennsylvania is able
to effectively engage local stakeholders, protect the environment, and take a leadership
position in supporting a sustainable future. In the same way, other organizations
are also recognizing that green power purchasing is one of the easiest and most cost-
effective options to make a measurable impact within their local communities.
The above organizations have earned EPA recognition by making a leading green
power purchase. For a full list of Green Power Leadership Award winners, please visit
www.epa.gov/greenpower/winners/booklets.htm.
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Benefits for Green
Power Partners
EPA's Green Power Partnership is ready to assist you in achieving your environ-
mental goals through a green power purchase. The Green Power Partnership
offers the following assistance to organizations that join the Partnership.
Expert Advice
EPA's Green Power Partnership will
assist you in identifying the green
power products that best meet your
organization's goals. EPA is committed
to making your green power purchase
as easy as possible by:
Saving you time, effort, and cost by
identifying green power products
that meet your organization's goals
Providing relevant and timely
answers to your questions
Publicity and
Recognition
The Green Power Partnership actively
promotes and recognizes Green Power
Partners as environmental leaders.
Your organization can benefit from EPA's
recognition and publicity efforts by:
Identifying your organization as
an environmental leader
Capturing positive attention in
communities where you operate
Differentiating your organization
and its brand from the competition
Increasing your organization's
competitiveness through sustainable
management practices
Tools and Resources
EPA offers organizations a variety of
tools and information located on the
Partnership website (www.epa.gov/
greenpower). EPA's tools and
resources can be invaluable by:
Explaining and taking the guesswork
out of your green power purchase
• Assisting you in promoting the
concept of green power internally
and externally
Providing you with a means to
estimate the environmental benefits
of switching to green power
Credibility
Participation in the Green Power
Partnership signifies that your organiza-
tion's green power purchase meets
nationally accepted standards in terms
of size, content, and resource base.
Partnering with EPA's Green Power
Partnership can provide great value to
your organization by:
Allowing you to compare your
green power commitment to others
Increasing stakeholders' confidence
in your green power purchase
Why Buy
Green
Power?
Purchasing green
power is an easy and
effective way for
your organization to
reduce the environ-
mental impact of its
operations.
Long-term green
power contracts can
provide a hedge
against electricity
price volatility and
help ensure energy
price stability.
• Green power is an
effective way to
differentiate your
organization and
its brand from
competitors.
A green power
purchase can
generate goodwill,
pride, and loyalty
among employees,
customers, and
communities.
A green power
purchase can earn
your organization
significant public
relations benefits,
including favorable
coverage in local
and national media.
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Join the Green Power Partnership
EPA invites your organization to join the hundreds of other U.S.
organizations that are improving their environmental performance
and reducing the risks associated with climate change by
switching to green power.
It is easy for organizations to join EPA's Green Power Partnership:
A green power purchase involves little to no complicated logistics
Minimal staff time is required to initiate or maintain a green
power purchase
Joining the Partnership entails completing a simple voluntary
Partnership agreement—no contract
Join other leading U.S. organizations and partner with EPA today!
After signing a partnership agreement, Partners have one
year to purchase green power at a level that meets or exceeds
Partnership benchmarks, measured as a percentage of total
annual electricity consumption (as outlined in the chart below).
Green Power Purchase Requirements
Your Organization's
Baseload
If your annual electricity use
in kilowatt-hours is...
> 100,000,001 kWh
10,000,001 -100,000,000 kWh
1,000,001 -10,000,000 kWh
<1,000,000 kWh
Green Power
Partner
Requirements
You must, at a minimum,
Green Power
Leadership Club
Requirements
You must, at a minimum,
purchase this much green purchase this much green
power within one year of
joining the Partnership
2% of your use
3% of your use
6% of your use
10% of your use
power
20% of your use
30% of your use
60% of your use
Not Applicable
In addition, the minimum Partner and Leadership Club purchase requirements must be
entirely met with power from "new" renewable facilities (i.e., installed after 1/1/1997).
•
Earned
Recognition
The Green Power Partnership
promotes the actions of its Partners
through a variety of earned recogni-
tion opportunities.
• The Top 25 Partner List recognizes
those Partners who have completed
the largest green power purchases
nationally within the Partnership.
Due to its wide distribution, the list
provides Partners with measurable
recognition.
• The Top 10 Sector Lists acknowledge
the leadership of Partners within
various sectors. An organization
holding a position on a Top 10 Sector
List demonstrates to stakeholders—
employees, customers, and investors
—that their organization is an envi-
ronmental leader.
The Green Power Leadership Awards
are competitive awards that recog-
nize outstanding commitments and
achievements in the green power
marketplace. EPA and the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) sponsor
these awards annually and recognize
market participants in the following
categories: Green Power Purchaser,
Green Power Partner of the Year,
Green Power Supplier, and Green
Power Market Development Awards.
&EFA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Air and
Radiation (6202J)
EPA-430-F-06-015
November 2006
www.epa. gov/g reen power
For more information, contact
Elaine Collison at (202) 343-9139
or collison.blaine@epa.gov,
or visit our website at
www.epa.gov/greenpower
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