From the RE100 2017 annual report.
In 2016, many companies publicly set goals of energy independence to reduce their carbon footprint—and attract forward-thinking consumers.
According to Advanced Energy Economy, 43% of Fortune 500 companies have renewable energy or sustainability targets, and 22 companies have committed to powering all operations with renewable energy.
IKEA pledges to be energy-independent by 2020 by producing as much renewable energy as the stores consume using renewable sources like wind and solar power.
Google committed to 100% renewable energy by 2017 by purchasing enough renewable energy to match 100% of its operations.
From the RE100 2017 annual report.
Even the alcohol industry is in on it—Anheuser-Bush said the company will secure 100% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Many companies are feeling a push from consumers to pursue sustainability. Others are committed to the environment.
First GREEN Bank founder Ken LaRoe said he built a green company because he is an environmentalist, above all. He said even if businesses don’t share his sustainable values, they should commit to sustainability for marketing and economic business sense.
“It’s tremendous for recruiting talent. We get tremendous press. We’re absolutely adored, for instance, by the city of Orlando,” LaRoe said. When employees and customers see the solar panels on the roof, they know the company is forward-thinking and they want to be involved.
An organization driving the corporate renewable revolution is The Climate Group. Its initiative RE100 is “a collaborative, global initiative of influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity, working to massively increase demand for—and delivery of—renewable energy.”
From the RE100 2017 annual report.
RE100 defines renewable energy as biomass (including biogas), geothermal, solar, water and wind.
Eighty-nine companies, from Adobe to Walmart, have made some type of commitment to increase their renewable energy usage, whether by purchasing renewable energy from utilities or installing onsite solar.