Green Power Purchasing—The Benefits
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Making the commitment to clean power brings with it important dividends—the right to make claims about renewable energy use and to seek the positive recognition that goes along with it. To do this right, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have developed recommendations companies can follow.
First of all, companies need to determine the quantity of emissions avoided, including greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other pollutants like particulate matter (PM). One tool that can help is EPA’s Green Power Equivalency Calculator (http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/pubs/calculator.htm), however, the agencies’ urge caution in making claims based on these estimates “because the ability to make emissions reduction claims vary according to the regulatory policies affecting the emissions in question.”
For example, “Under voluntary programs, such as EPA’s Climate Leaders program, it has become common practice to use the zero emissions attributes of green power purchases to reduce indirect or “Scope 2” emissions (from purchased electricity) as permitted by the program’s reporting guidelines.” Other factors like mandatory cap and trade programs can also have an impact and companies should check with the EPA or other authorities about updates to GHG reporting rules before making new claims.
Companies that have completed GHG emissions inventories can also gain credibility by recording their emissions information in official government registries such as The Climate Registry, Wisconsin’s Voluntary Emissions Reduction Registry, the U.S. Department of Energy’s l605b Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reporting program, the American Carbon Registry, and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Registry. This public reporting is done using GHG accounting standards developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI)/World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) GHG Protocol Initiative.
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Similarly, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program also awards credit “proportional to generation and purchase amount. For purchased renewable energy, LEED requires that renewables meet the criteria of Green-e Energy.”
Once a company has established the GHG emissions avoided by its green power purchases, the next step is to get the word out both internally and externally. According to the EPA and DOE, improved employee morale is one of the benefits of buying green power, and companies should do two things to maximize this:
1) Promote “energy news” to employees and other stakeholders through internal publications like newsletters to provide ongoing support for the company’s “mission, growth, and development.”
2) Create a staff adoption and recognition program that encourages employees to use green power at home. Such a program should “create incentives, provide information, set milestones for staff purchases over time, and recognize individual achievements.”
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Informing the public is also essential to maintaining momentum and realizing the benefits of positive publicity for green power purchases, and the EPA and DOE offer the following recommendations:
Construct a public relations plan that pinpoints target audiences and uses diverse distribution channels like e-mail, websites, and direct mail to promote the company’s commitment to renewable energy.
Utilize the media by sending press releases to local, state, and national news outlets or by pitching story ideas to “local environmental writers and publications to encourage feature stories about the organization and its commitment to improve the environment.”
Educate staff to promote green power purchases to customers and to be ambassadors who can answer general inquiries about renewable energy.
Maximize all promotional opportunities like speaking engagements that offer a venue for talking about the company’s commitment and encouraging others, like suppliers and affiliates to do the same.
Work with third-party organizations like EPA’s Green Power Partnership and the Green-e Marketplace that “can help provide credibility to green power purchases that meet minimum purchasing benchmarks.” They also may sponsor award programs that recognize green power leadership.
Create marketing partnerships with green power suppliers that “Offer retail customers the opportunity to sign up for green power, and reward them with benefits such as gift or discount cards, merchandise, or collateral products (e.g., T-shirts, hats) that tout the company’s image as an environmental leader.”
Note that, according to the EPA and DOE, “organizations must be sure to substantiate any claims made, per Federal Trade Commission and National Association of Attorneys General marketing guidelines. More information is available at www.epa.gov/greenpower/documents/purchasing_guide_for_web.pdf.