A voluntary programme with more than 1,700 partner organisations, the Partnership encourages US companies to use green power to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.
By the end of 2020, more than 700 partners – including Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sizes businesses, government departments, colleges and universities – had signed up, using nearly 70 billion kilowatt-hours of green power annually.
This is equivalent to the annual electricity use of nearly 6.6 million average American homes and represents 43% of the total voluntary green power market in the US. However, it represents only 2% of the country’s total annual retail electricity sales, so there’s a long way to go.
Important to be a leader
BBU said it uses nearly 418 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough to meet 100% of the company’s electricity use. This puts it at the 41st spot on the EPA’s National Top 100 List of the largest green power users signed up to the Partnership.
“As the largest commercial bakery in the US, we know how important it is to be a leader in sustainability practices,” said Ramon Rivera, senior VP of Operations at BBU.
“We are proud and honoured to join the EPA’s Green Power Partnership as we work to further reduce our organisation’s emissions footprint.”
By moving the needle in the voluntary green power market, BBU and other Green Power Partners are helping to reduce the negative health impacts of air emissions including those related to ozone, fine particles, acid rain and regional haze.
“EPA applauds the leading organisations in the Green Power Partnership’s Top Partner Rankings for their notable commitment to expanding their use of green power and protecting the environment,” said James Critchfield, programme manager of the Green Power Partnership.
For the past four consecutive years, BBU has also been recognised as an EPA Energy Star Partner of the Year. In 2020, the company’s bakery in Escondido, California was awarded the Green Plant of the Year, while its facility in Denver, Colorado, received the Bronze Environmental Achievement Award. In 2021, the company received the Sustained Excellence award for its company-wide commitment to energy management strategy and leadership in the baking industry.
Wider commitment
The commitment to preserving the environment stretches across the entire Bimbo realm – the world’s largest bakery manufacturer.
In 2018, the Mexican-headquartered company signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Invenergy, a privately-held global renewable energy provider. The agreement provides Bimbo with 100 megawatts of wind energy generated at Invenergy’s Santa Rita East wind farm in Texas. Grupo Bimbo said its offtake from the wind farm is equal to 100% of the energy used in the company’s operations and helps offset approximately 260,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.