From Green Right Now Reports
Kohl’s Department Stores has moved into second place among Fortune 500 companies for green power purchasing as recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the company announced today.
A Kohl's store in Laguna Niguel, Calif., features solar panels and has received the Energy Star certification
The Wisconsin-based retail chain retains its No. 1 ranking among retailers, buying 1,367,376,000 kWh of power annually from biogas, biomass, small hydropower, solar and wind installations.
The other top retailers, after Kohl’s, on the EPA’s Top 20 Retail Green Power Purchasers are: Whole Foods Markets, Walmart Stores (in Texas and California), Starbucks, Staples, Lowe’s and Safeway Inc.
The list of Fortune 500 Green Power Purchasers includes No.1 ranked Intel Corporation, followed by Kohl’s, PepsiCo, Whole Foods Market, Dell Inc. and The Pepsi Bottling Group.
Kohl’s now gets 100 percent of its power from green sources, as do the other corporations topping these lists, with some businesses listed as using 100+ percent power from renewable sources, meaning their power generation exceeds their needs and can be sold back through the grid.
The power sources factored into the formula for designating the EPA’s green power partners includes buying Renewable Energy Credits, which are green power equivalency units that can be paid to a utility that is unable to provide all of a companies needs with direct connection to renewable sources.
Kohl’s can now claim it is 100 percent powered by green energy.
“We recognize the importance of encouraging environmentally smart energy practices, and we aim to set a positive example in how we operate our buildings and run our business. Starting 2010 at 100 percent green power helps reduce our carbon footprint and brings us another step closer to achieving our goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this year,” said Kohl’s executive vice president of store planning and logistics Ken Bonning.
Kohl’s Department Stores’ green power purchase of 1,367,376,000 kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 188,000 passenger vehicles per year or the amount of electricity needed to power nearly 128,000 average American homes annually, according to the EPA.
“EPA’s Green Power Partners are raising the bar for clean, renewable energy use,” said EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy. “By using green power, Kohl’s Department Stores is doing its part to fight climate change and proving every day that sound environmental practices can also be economically sound.”
Kohl’s power purchases include:
- Waste Management/Landfill Gas: At Kohl’s stores built according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, up to 35 percent of the store’s power is generated by landfill gas in partnership with Waste Management.
- Solar: As the largest retail host of solar power in North America, Kohl’s generates solar power on-site at nearly 80 locations in six states. Solar power generates 20 to 50 percent of these store’s energy needs, depending on the location. The company’s largest system at its San Bernardino, Calif. distribution center has 6,208 panels and generates one megawatt of power – enough to power 400 homes on an annual basis. Kohl’s Milwaukee-based photo studio is partly powered by 800 solar panels on its rooftop.
- Wind: Kohl’s actively supports wind farm projects in Texas, and North Dakota and South Dakota by purchasing 100 mWh of renewable wind power annually.
Kohl’s details other green initiatives on its website. The retailer has been a member of EPA’s Green Power Partnership since 2006.