USA TODAY: Whole Foods Market plans to become the largest buyer of wind energy credits in North America by purchasing credits equal to 100% of its projected energy use for 2006.
That will make Whole Foods the only Fortune 500 company to purchase renewable energy credits — which subsidize the production of energy from renewable sources such as wind — to offset 100% of its electricity use, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says.
Wind energy is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the USA. The Whole Foods purchase will help avoid more than 700 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution in 2006, says the EPA. That’s the rough equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road, the EPA says.
“From a branding perspective, it’s a stroke of genius,” says Barbara Brooks, president of the Strategy Group, a consulting firm. “It shows they understand where their customers are coming from not only nutritionally, but environmentally.”
“We’re looking to show our customers and team members that we walk our talk,” says Michael Besancon, the regional president overseeing the chain’s green efforts.
Swing over to my blog, http://www.sheagunther.org/blog/, to get some details on the deal. I was a founder of Renewable Choice, the company chosen by Whole Foods to provide the wind power.