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Why Should
Businesses Buy Green Power?
Businesses buy green power for a variety of reasons. Chief among these are to achieve consistency with corporate environmental goals, and to assert a leadership role in their communities. Most small businesses are acting on the personal beliefs of their owners. They do it because it's the right thing to do for the environment. Large companies, however, may have a more complex set of priorities. Organizational values top the list of motivations. These companies exhibit a strong and pervasive commitment to public health and the environment. Sustainable environmental behavior is not only consistent with their mission, but it is also integrated into their internal policies. If this describes your company, then green power is a good choice for you. As part of a corporate environmental strategy, some businesses may be interested in the US Green Building Council. One of the activities of the Council is the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED™) program, which has developed a Green Building Rating System™. LEED™ is a self-assessing system designed for rating new and existing commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings. The rating system evaluates environmental performance from a "whole building" perspective over a building's life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a "green building." Credits are earned for satisfying a variety of criteria. Different levels of green building certification are awarded based on the total credits earned. One of the criteria is the use of green power, intended to encourage the development and use of grid-source energy technologies that have zero net pollution. By contracting to purchase qualifying green power for a two-year period, owners earn a credit towards designation as a green building. A second motivation rated highly by large corporations is civic responsibility. They know they are important to the communities in which they are located, and feel a responsibility to be community leaders, not just advocates for the environment. A third motivation for the purchase of green power is employee morale. Businesses think that by positioning themselves as environmental leaders they will help their employees feel greater pride in their employer. It's easier to go to work for a company if they "walk the talk." An important benefit, especially for large companies, is a desire for positive public relations and recognition. Buying green power can boost their image with consumers if it is consistent with other company behavior, and may lead to increased market share for their products and services. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has acted on these business motivations by creating the Green Power Partnership [external link?], a recognition program for businesses that meet minimum criteria when buying green power. Finally, businesses may choose to buy green power as a hedge against rising electricity prices or price volatility. Credit for emission reductions Another benefit of purchasing green power may derive from the value of emission reductions or offsets. In the United States there is currently no official market for carbon trading, but carbon reductions can be registered against the day when that may come to pass. In the meantime, some private trading of carbon reduction credits does take place through independent brokers. In addition, a company buying clean energy may realize monetary value if it acquires SO2 (sulfur dioxide) allowances at the same time. Not all plants are equal in this respect, however, because only polluting plants are awarded allowances for emission reductions. NOx (nitrogen oxides) emission reductions may also create monetary value, as well as help meet emissions reduction goals. |
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American Wind Energy
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