Big Business Can Make a Big Difference!?

Actually, I am anti-capitalism, BUT I realize I live within a system that’s stuck with the concept, and I’m willing to work within it (which, in my experience has yielded more positive change than trying to overthrow it….or maybe I’m just getting old!) So I was pretty fascinated by the fact that 40 countries on the Fortune 500 list are buying renewable energy – and some in large amounts. As reported by CNN:

The EPA is calling for Fortune 500 companies to double their green power purchases to more than 5 billion kilowatt hours by the end of next year – or enough electricity to run more than 400,000 homes in the U.S. a year.

It’s interesting to see which companies are involved. I’ve copied the whole list here and you can see more after the jump. I like to see that some companies are already at 100% like Whole Foods (predictable) and Liz Claiborne and Apple HQs (not expected!). As the CNN article noted, glaringly absent from the list are Fortune-500 toppers Wal-Mart (yes, I can hate them again!) and Exxon-Mobil.

1. Wells Fargo & Company

Green Power Usage in Kilowatts: 550,000,000
Percent Total of Electricity: 42%
Organization Type: Banking, Financial Services
Provider of Energy: 3 Phases Energy
Type of Energy: Wind

2. Whole Foods Market

463,128,000
100%
Retail
Austin Energy, Community Energy, PNM, Renewable Choice Energy, Sky Energy
Biomass, Geothermal, Small-hydro, Solar, Wind

3. Johnson & Johnson

306,418,000
30%
Manufacturing
On-site Generation, 3 Phases Energy, PECO Energy, Sempra Energy, Sterling Planet
Biomass, Small-hydro, Solar, Wind

4. Starbucks

185,000,000
20%
Food, Food Services
3 Phases Energy
Wind

5. DuPont Company

180,000,000
4%
Chemical
3 Phases Energy
Biogas, Wind

6. Staples

121,404,000
24%
Retail
3 Phases Energy, Avista Utilities, Pacificorp, Portland General Electric, Tennessee Valley Authority
Biogas, Biomass, Solar, Wind

7. IBM Corporation

109,704,000
4%
Manufacturing
3 Phases Energy, Austin Energy, Tucson Electric, Xcel Energy
Solar, Wind

8. Cisco Systems, Inc.

107,957,846
18%
Manufacturing
Austin Energy, Silicon Valley Power/3 Phases, TXU Energy
Various

9. Sprint Nextel

87,600,000
47%
Telecommunications
Kansas City Power & Light
Wind

10. Safeway Inc.

87,000,000
2%
Retail
3 Phases Energy
Wind

11. Office Depot

76,000,000
12%
Retail
Cadence Network Inc.
Biomass, Wind

12. FedEx Kinko’s

54,690,033
20%
Retail
Various
Various

13. Advanced Micro Devices / Austin, TX Facilities

52,447,783
100%
Manufacturing
Austin Energy
Biogas, Wind

14. Mohawk Fine Papers Inc.

45,000,000
38%
Manufacturing
Community Energy, Sterling Planet
Wind

15. Nike, Inc.

38,500,000
27%
Manufacturing
Sterling Planet
Biogas

16. Hewlett-Packard

25,000,000
2%
Information Technology
City of Palo Alto Utilities (3 Phases), Pacificorp, Roseville Electric
Various

17. Liz Claiborne, Inc./NJ Corporate Headquarters

25,000,000
100%
Manufacturing
3 Phases Energy
Wind

18. Kohl’s Department Stores

24,000,000
2%
Retail
Clear Sky Power
Biomass

19. Lockheed Martin / Washington Metro Operations

17,000,000
12%
Manufacturing
Sky Energy
Wind

20. Lowe’s Home Centers in NC, NM, SC, TN, TX

16,473,000
4%
Retail
GT Energy, NC GreenPower, Palmetto Electric Co-op (Santee Cooper), PNM, Santee Cooper, Tennessee Valley Authority
Biogas, Solar, Wind

21. General Motors / Service Parts Operations

12,364,900
7%
Automotive
Other
Biogas

22. Apple Computers / Austin, TX Facilities

9,155,700
100%
Information Technology
Austin Energy
Biogas, Wind

23. Pitney Bowes

6,969,000
10%
Information Technology
Sterling Planet
Biogas, Wind

24. The Coca-Cola Company

6,000,000
2%
Food, Food Services
3 Phases Energy
Wind

25. Oracle Corporation / Austin Facility

5,400,000
81%
Manufacturing
Austin Energy
Biogas, Wind

26. State Farm / Austin Operations Center

3,375,060
37%
Insurance
Austin Energy
Biogas, Wind

27. Applied Materials, Inc.

2,280,000
3%
Manufacturing
Silicon Valley Power/3 Phases
Solar, Wind

28. Herman Miller Inc. / Michigan Facilities

2,183,000
4%
Manufacturing
On-site Generation, Sterling Planet
Biomass, Wind

29. Roche/Palo Alto HQ

1,968,000
5%
Health Care
City of Palo Alto Utilities (3 Phases)
Solar, Wind

30. Lockheed Martin / Palo Alto Facilities

1,800,000
11%
Manufacturing
3 Phases Energy
Solar, Wind

31. Agilent Technologies/Santa Clara location

1,608,000
6%
Information Technology
Silicon Valley Power/3 Phases
Wind

32. Time Warner Cable – Austin

1,500,000
27%
Entertainment and Broadcasting
Austin Energy
Biogas, Wind

33. 3M / Austin, TX Facilities

1,249,503
13%
Manufacturing
Austin Energy
Biogas, Wind

34. FedEx Express/Oakland Hub Facility

1,075,924
18%
Transportation, Shipping
On-site Generation
Solar

35. GE Healthcare Technologies – Surgery

900,000
21%
Manufacturing
Rocky Mountain Power
Wind

36. Intel Corp / Austin, TX Facilities

840,000
10%
Manufacturing
Austin Energy
Biogas, Wind

37. Yahoo! Inc./Santa Clara Sites

804,000
10%
Information Technology
Silicon Valley Power/3 Phases
Solar, Wind

38. United Parcel Service (UPS)/4 CA Facilities

724,600
13%
Transportation, Shipping
3 Phases Energy, On-site Generation
Solar

39. GE Consumer Finance – Corporate Payment Services

678,000
30%
Banking, Financial Services
Rocky Mountain Power
Wind

40. GE Healthcare / Headquarters

600,000
3%
Manufacturing
We Energies
Biogas, Small-hydro, Solar, Wind

41. Monsanto / Agracetus Campus

357,000
7%
Biotechnology
Madison Gas & Electric
Wind

42. John Deere Co./Dallas, TX Facility

154,333
10%
Manufacturing
Green Mountain Energy
Wind