Using renewable power and the RE100 initiative
Purchasing power from renewable rather than conventional sources has been a key measure of our Greenhouse Neutral Programme. After starting to use renewable power at four European locations in 2005, we set ourselves the goal of using 100% renewable power at all locations where it is available in reliable and trustworthy quality by the end of 2013. Based on our quality assessments of available energy sources, we believe we reached this goal and used 100% renewable power at 25 locations in Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania at the end of 2013.
In making these quality assessments and selecting suitable sources, we have relied on a “minimum standard” that clearly states how we define renewable power and what requirements it needs to meet. At our Zurich headquarters, for example, we only buy “naturemade star” electricity (www.naturemade.ch), which meets high ecological quality standards in its production, beyond those required by environmental legislation. In Munich, we purchase our electricity from NaturEnergie (www.naturenergie.de), one of Germany’s premier suppliers of renewable energy.
The RE100 initiative
In many countries where we want to grow our business, there is a lack of renewable energy supplies in reliable quality. Currently, around 10% of the power we use globally still comes from non-renewable sources. This is a key reason why we have helped to establish the Climate Group’s RE100 initiative as a founding member.
Officially launched at the sixth Climate Week NYC (www.climateweeknyc.org) in September 2014, RE100 aims to unite 100 of the world’s largest companies in a shared commitment to use 100% renewable power by 2020. The group approaches policy makers and regulators at national and sub-national level to make renewable energy more available, focusing on countries such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa over the next three years.