Natural Personal Care Products Sustainability Leader Offsets 100 Percent of Its Electricity with Wind Power

DURHAM, N.C. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) February 12, 2008 -- Burt’s Bees, a leading manufacturer of natural personal care products, today announced it has purchased 3,954,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy credits (RECs) generated by wind farms across America. Burt’s Bees’ REC purchase from Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy will offset 100 percent of the company’s electricity use.

Burt's Bees is committed to supporting the development of clean renewable wind energy and to continuously improving our company's overall environmental footprint

In addition to the energy and resource conservation efforts we currently have in place, this purchase of wind RECs is a step in the right direction as we do our part to move our country toward a more sustainable energy future.

Burt's Bees' purchase of RECs is a prime example of how environmentally responsible companies can play a significant role in developing our nation's wind energy infrastructure

Corporate REC purchases play a critical part in providing developers with more opportunities and flexibility to get wind projects built. We're excited to work with Burt's Bees and other progressive companies to create demand for an increase in our nation's supply of clean renewable wind power.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that this purchase helps avoid the same amount of CO2 emissions produced by nearly 563 passenger vehicles annually.

"Burt’s Bees is committed to supporting the development of clean renewable wind energy and to continuously improving our company’s overall environmental footprint,” said John Replogle, president and CEO of Burt’s Bees. “In addition to the energy and resource conservation efforts we currently have in place, this purchase of wind RECs is a step in the right direction as we do our part to move our country toward a more sustainable energy future.”

For information about how RECs work, please see below.

Burt’s Bees is encouraging its employees to join the company in supporting wind power by participating in Renewable Choice Energy’s home wind power program, which enables consumers to purchase RECs offsetting their home energy use. When employees sign up for the wind power program, the company will pay 50 percent of the employee’s first year charges as part of its employee benefits package. As part of its commitment to Burt’s Bees, Renewable Choice Energy held an on-site educational training for employees on renewable energy and the REC market.

"Burt’s Bees’ purchase of RECs is a prime example of how environmentally responsible companies can play a significant role in developing our nation’s wind energy infrastructure,” said Quayle Hodek, CEO of Renewable Choice Energy. “Corporate REC purchases play a critical part in providing developers with more opportunities and flexibility to get wind projects built. We’re excited to work with Burt’s Bees and other progressive companies to create demand for an increase in our nation’s supply of clean renewable wind power.”

How RECs Work

Over seventy percent of U.S. electricity comes from fossil fuels like burning coal and gas. Every time we burn fossil fuels to generate electricity, harmful greenhouse gasses are emitted into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Wind power-generated electricity is renewable, sustainable, and does not produce environmental pollution.

Renewable energy credits (RECs) help get more clean power online. A REC is created every time a renewable energy facility adds one MWh of electricity to the national electricity grid. Every renewable energy developer considers REC sales when deciding whether or not to build new facilities. RECs allow government and consumers to price the positive value of renewable energy, making its generation more competitive financially with electricity generated from fossil fuels.

More than twenty states rely on RECs to track and verify government renewable energy mandates. Consumers purchased approximately 12 million megawatt hours of RECs in 2006. Organizations supporting the use of RECs include the World Resources Institute, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Green-e program, administered by the non profit Center for Resource Solutions, certifies and verifies every transaction to ensure that each REC meets the highest environment and regulatory standards and is not double counted. Green-e provides transparency, marketing guidelines, and consumer disclosure for renewable energy credits.

About Burt’s Bees

Since 1991, Burt’s Bees has been offering distinctive natural personal care products. Today, Burt’s Bees is the leading manufacturer in natural personal care with over 150 Earth-friendly, natural personal care products, including face care, body care, hair care, lip care, personal wash, men’s grooming, baby care, outdoor remedies, and kits & gifts. Burt’s Bees has a rich tradition in corporate social responsibility and stands for The Greater Good with all their products having the highest levels of natural ingredients, nature-safe processes, and environmentally sensitive packaging. Burt’s Bees has nearly 400 employees with products available through approximately 40,000 retail stores in the United States, as well as Canada, UK, Taiwan and on its website (www.burtsbees.com).

About Renewable Choice Energy

Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy (www.renewablechoice.com) is the award-winning, full-service provider of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and carbon offsets to organizations and individuals. The company’s mission is to move society towards a more sustainable energy future by connecting renewable energy and mitigation project developers with forward-thinking companies, municipalities, academic institutions and residential consumers. Since its inception in 2001, Renewable Choice has developed innovative and meaningful programs on behalf of organizations and Fortune 500 companies. In 2006, Renewable Choice shared the Beacon Prize with its client Whole Foods Market for their campaign to educate customers about wind power. Renewable Choice helped develop many industry standards and best practices, and is the leading REC supplier to LEED certified green building projects. All Renewable Choice RECs are certified by Green-e, the nation’s leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. For more information, visit www.renewablechoice.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Wind farm b-roll and still photography available upon request.

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