Kohl's honored for being green

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. Kohl's announced that according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) quarterly listings, Kohl’s is the number one purchaser of green power among retailers, third overall and third among Fortune 500 companies.

EPA’s National Top Partner lists, released earlier today, highlight EPA Green Power Partners that have completed the largest annual voluntary green power purchases through April 7. According to EPA, green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources like wind and solar. These resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions.

In 2009, Kohl’s purchased more than 600 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power through renewable energy credits (RECs) in areas such as solar, wind and landfill gas.

“Kohl’s recognizes the significant value of green power for our business, our customers and the environment,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s EVP store planning and logistics. “Purchasing renewable energy credits not only helps Kohl’s work toward the goal of reducing our carbon footprint, it also helps fund additional renewable energy projects that will have a positive impact on our communities far into the future. We are pleased to support these initiatives and will continue to explore and embrace environmentally sound practices that conserve resources, manage energy use and support long-term sustainability.”