The North Face recently became one of eight organizations awarded a 2013 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market.
The award recognizes EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through purchases of power from a utility green-pricing program or a renewable energy certificate (REC) supplier.
The outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear company says it installed a one-Megawatt solar system at its distribution center in Visalia, Calif. and worked closely with its parent company VF Outdoor, Inc., and sister brands Lucy and Jansport, to install a 950-kW system at their new headquarters in Alameda, Calif.
The EPA also recognized The North Face for purchasing nearly 21 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power annually through renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Bonneville Environmental Foundation, enough power to meet 100 percent of the organization’s purchased electricity use.
The North Face has also implemented programs such as “Hot Planet/Cool Athletes” and the Explore Your Parks program to help raise awareness about the impact of climate change and engage communities with the outdoors.
“We believe the success of our business is fundamentally linked to the preservation of our planet and have made sourcing green energy a top priority as a result,” said Adam Mott, senior manager of corporate sustainability at The North Face. “We… look forward to building on both of our efforts to spread the message that clean energy is a sound business decision.”
"Green power" is defined as electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass and low-impact hydro. Using sustainable power sources accelerates the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide and helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, The North Face says.
The EPA claims The North Face's current renewable energy purchase of nearly 21 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of more than 3,000 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly more than 2,000 average American homes annually.
The North Face recently was among nearly two-dozen major U.S. companies and close to 50 investors with more than $900 billion in collective assets that announced their support for new carbon pollution standards proposed by the EPA for new power plants. The group, which also included Unilever, Levi Strauss & Co., Symantec, Patagonia and the country’s largest public pension fund, CalPERS, urged President Obama to finalize the rule soon and proceed with plans to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Oct 2, 2013 12am EDT / 9pm PDT / 5am BST / 6am CEST