Kohl's earns green accolades

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores has been recognized with a 2012 Sustained Excellence in Green Power Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The award was presented Monday at an event held in conjunction with the 2012 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in Washington, D.C. This is the company’s sixth consecutive year receiving a Green Power Leadership Award.



“Kohl’s takes its commitment to green power and sustainable operations seriously and has set several goals to ensure we continue to strategically advance our programs,” said John Worthington, Kohl’s Chief Administrative Officer. “From offsetting 100% of our energy use to having 200 solar locations by 2015 to educating our partners about how to establish successful programs of their own, Kohl’s is proud to do our part to support green power use. We are honored to receive this recognition for sustained excellence.”



Kohl’s purchased 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power in 2012 and generates more than 28 million kWh through its solar program, offsetting more than 100%of the company’s electricity use for the third consecutive year. EPA defines green power as electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. These resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions, while offering a superior environmental profile compared to traditional power generation sources. Green power purchases also support the development of new renewable energy generation sources nationwide.



“EPA applauds Kohl's Department Stores for its continued, exceptional support of the voluntary green power market,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. "Kohl's long-standing commitment to green power is a notable achievement.”



Currently, Kohl's operates more than 120 solar locations in 10 states and has more than 700 Energy Star labeled locations – more than half of the company’s stores and more than any other department store. Since fall 2008, Kohl’s has also committed to building all new, ground-up stores according to LEED precertified prototypes and has most recently earned LEED Gold precertification for its new and existing new store prototypes from the U.S. Green Building Council. To date, Kohl’s has nearly 300 LEED-certified locations nationwide.