White Wave, the US-based producer of Silk soy milk, has announced that it is to stop using electrical power at all of its soyfood manufacturing and operations and replace it instead with clean, sustainable and renewable wind energy.
White Wave claims to be the largest US company to replace all of the power it uses in manufacturing and operations with wind power.
The group began its wind energy support programme last month by purchasing 20 million kilowatt hours of green tags, the industry term for wind power credits. White Wave purchased the green tags for 2003 from two renewable energy suppliers: Renewable Choice Energy and Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
The purchase means the energy White Wave draws from the US power grid will be replaced by wind energy, thus increasing the quantity of clean energy available for every electricity user in the United States.
"Conventional electricity generation is the nation's single largest industrial source of air pollution," said Kurt Johnson, director of the US Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership. "White Wave is the largest US company to purchase 100 per cent new wind power for all of its operations, providing an outstanding example of environmental leadership."
Coal, gas and nuclear energy are the primary sources of fuelling the power grid in the US, with less than 2 per cent of the energy offered to electricity users coming from renewable sources such as wind or solar power, according to the EPA.
White Wave's substantial purchase of green tags will result in an increased percentage of wind power in the national grid and a corresponding reduction in non-renewable, polluting sources. According to the EPA, White Wave's purchase of wind power will save approximately 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year - equivalent to taking 3,200 cars off the road.
"White Wave has always been committed to socially responsible and environmentally sustainable business practices," said Steve Demos, company founder and president. "We have previously demonstrated this through our 25-year devotion to the processing of non-genetically-modified, organically raised soybeans. Today our announcement to purchase wind energy is another legitimate step in creating a business model that is both profitable and environmentally sound."
The wind energy purchased by White Wave will be supplied by wind farms throughout the United States, beginning with Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, Iowa and Texas. The supply will account for all of the power used to manufacture Silk and other White Wave branded products. While White Wave management estimates this commitment will increase its expenses by several hundred thousand dollars per year, prices for the company's soy products will not increase as a result of this initiative.
"We believe this initiative is a partial fulfilment of our corporate responsibility to return to the marketplace a portion of the profits we derive to meaningful and environmentally sustainable business practices. We are delighted to do so without economic impact to the consumer," Demos said.