Kohl’s honored with green power award from EPA

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wisconsin -Kohl’s Department Stores has once again been recognized with a 2014 Sustained Excellence in Green Power Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The annual awards honor leading green power users for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market. Most recently, Kohl’s added solar arrays to 19 locations in 2013 and five locations in 2014, for a total of 161 solar locations in 13 states representing more than 50 megawatts of power. The company also achieved an initial goal of achieving net zero emissions from 2010-2012 and in 2013, extended this goal three more years through 2015.

“We aim to be a corporate sustainability leader, which is demonstrated in our commitment to on-site generation thorough our solar program and a continued investment in support of green power,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s senior executive VP. “Through these initiatives and our sustainable operations strategies, we are pleased to share that we are on track to meet our goal of achieving net zero emissions through 2015.”

With 161 solar locations that generate more than 50 megawatts of on-site green power, Kohl’s is one of the largest hosts of solar electricity in North America. Each Kohl’s store with solar arrays generates enough power to offset 20 to 50% of the store’s energy use. Kohl’s also has two wind locations – its Findlay, Ohio distribution center and Corpus Christi, Texas store.

The company is also currently purchasing more than 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. According to the EPA, Kohl's current green power use of more than 1.5 billion kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 223,000 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 146,000 average American homes annually.

Kohl’s also has longstanding leadership in operational efficiency, including waste reduction, building design and operation, transportation, supply chain and energy management. More than 80 percent of Kohl’s stores have earned EPA’s Energy Star certification, and more than a third have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Kohl’s is also an active participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, through which it has committed to reduce its energy use in more than 112 million square feet of occupied building space by at least 20 percent by 2020.