To meet sustainability goals, appeal to green consumers, improve employee relations and address investors’ environmental concerns, corporations and other institutions are increasingly purchasing renewable energy. Often they are doing so in the form of voluntary renewable energy certificates (RECs), which represent the generation and delivery of green power to the U.S. grid. In fact, from 2005 to 2009, commercial and institutional REC purchases increased more than 350%. And, as stakeholder demands for corporate sustainability grows, many corporations and institutions customers are trying to better understand how their organizations can utilize RECs, and participate in the REC market.

In this briefing, leading sustainability and green power experts will cover the basics of voluntary renewable energy certificates, offer best practices for purchasing RECs, review best practices for communicating the impact of renewable energy purchases to stakeholders, and discuss the future of the REC market.   Whole Foods Market, a national grocery chain, has utilized RECs to offset 100% of their purchased electricity use.  Whole Foods is the third-largest RECs purchaser in the U.S. purchasing more than 750 million kWh of green power annually. Whole Foods Market was recognized for their leadership and impact on the green power market receiving the EPA’s Green Power Partner of the Year award for the third time in 2010.

RECs are the primary method of acquiring green power for commercial customers, accounting for more than 80% of their renewable energy purchases.  Key questions among potential corporate and institutional buyers include: 

• How do RECs lead to the development of new renewable energy projects?
• How can your organization participate in the REC market? 
• What percentage of electricity should you match with renewable energy purchases?
• How do you effectively integrate renewable energy purchases into your sustainability strategy?
• What is the relationship between off-site renewable energy purchases and on-site renewable energy installations?
• How do you effectively communicate the impact of your renewable energy purchase to stakeholders, and prevent accusations of "greenwashing”?

Providing a customer perspective, Kathy Loftus from Whole Foods Market will discuss how the company has incorporated RECs into its corporate sustainability strategy, what factors they considered when buying RECs, and how the impact of their renewable energy purchase is communicated to stakeholders.  She will also discuss the benefits their organization has realized from purchasing RECs, including how RECs are supporting their green building, greenhouse gas emission reporting and reduction and other sustainability efforts. 

Steve McDougal, co-founder of 3Degrees, will present a high-level discussion on the basics of purchasing RECs and answer large institutional buyers’ most commonly asked questions:

• How do RECs help organizations realize their sustainability objectives?
• What is the difference between the compliance and voluntary REC markets?
• What are current REC prices? How are REC prices set?  How do prices vary by technology and region?
• What other criteria do customers need to consider when purchasing RECs?
• How do RECs compare to other green power purchasing options and on-site renewable generation?

Don Bray, president of AltaTerra Research, will start the briefing by introducing and providing an overview on renewable energy certificates and discuss who is purchasing RECs and why.