November 21, 2011
New York, 18 November 2011. Major global companies including Motorola Mobility, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, Method and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.) have produced or have pledged to procure at least 25 percent of their operations' power consumption from wind energy. They announced their commitment to become certified under the new WindMadeTM consumer label at a Global Launch event in New York.
The companies pioneering the use of the world's first wind power consumer label were unveiled today at an event hosted by WindMadeTM and the UN Global Compact in New York.
The label allows participating companies to communicate the share of wind power and other renewable sources as part of the overall power demand of their operations. The objective behind WindMadeTM is to drive demand in wind power, thereby boosting investment and growing the renewable energy market.
"These companies are at the forefront of the global sustainability movement," said Henrik Kuffner, WindMade's CEO. "We are delighted to have them on board the unique WindMadeTM initiative, and are confident that many others will follow suit in the coming weeks and months."
"Consumers are ready to act. 67 percent of 31,000 consumers globally have told us they would favor WindMadeTM products, even at a premium," said Morten Albæk, SVP Global Marketing and Customer Insight at Vestas Wind Systems, the company spearheading the WindMadeTM initiative. "WindMadeTM empowers people to choose brands that choose wind."
"We believe clean growth is good economics," said Sabine Miltner, Group Sustainability Officer for Deutsche Bank. "We are committed to leveraging our core business expertise towards a cleaner and more energy efficient global economy. We believe in leading by example and have increased our use of clean electricity from seven percent to 65 percent over the last four years. WindMade is an important step toward more market transparency and we are pleased to join this new partnership."
"It is Motorola Mobility's intent through our participation in the WindMadeTM initiative to encourage greater use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar around the globe," said Bill Olson, director office of sustainability and stewardship, Motorola Mobility.
"The supply side of the clean energy sector can clearly deliver, but now it is time to galvanize demand. Government has done their part, and it is now up to the corporate community to demonstrate leadership by committing to clean energy development. WindMadeTM provides us with a roadmap for achieving this," said Curtis Ravenel, head of sustainability, Bloomberg.
"Corporations investing in wind energy technology need a global set of standards if they are to provide the transparency that's critical to their stakeholders as well as gain the competitive advantage that such investments can mean for their businesses," said Kathy Nieland, U.S. sustainable business solutions leader, PwC.
"Using wind power helps BD become a more sustainable organization, and the WindMadeTM label sends a message to our customers and the industry that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice in reducing a corporation's environmental footprint," said Glenn Barbi, vice president, Global Sustainability, BD.
The WindMade corporate pioneers and founders are:
- Motorola Mobility (mobile device and set-top manufacturer)
- Deutsche Bank (financial services provider)
- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.) (medical technology)
- Method (maker of home and personal care products)
- Better Place (electric car infrastructure)
- Widex (hearing aid manufacturer)
- Droga5 (independent advertising agency)
- G24 Innovation (solar energy)
- Engraw (textile producer)
- RenewAire (energy recovery ventilator
- TTTech (supplier of communication and control platforms)
- Vestas Wind Systems (wind turbine manufacturer)
- PwC DK (professional services)
- Bloomberg (financial news and data service)
- LEGO Group (toy manufacturer)
For more information on the founders and pioneers, see www.windmade.org.
According to the WindMadeTM requirements, companies using the label must source a minimum of 25 percent of the electricity consumed from wind power. The wind energy share can be procured through a company-owned wind power generation facility, a long-term power purchase agreement for wind power, or the purchase of high quality Renewable Energy Certificates approved by WindMadeTM. The exact percentage of the wind energy share will be stated on the label. Companies can choose to certify global, regional or facility level operations, a distinction that will be clearly communicated on the label itself.
WindMadeTM, which was introduced to the world at this past year's World Economic Forum in Davos, is backed by the UN Global Compact, Vestas Wind Systems, World Wildlife Fund, Global Wind Energy Council, Bloomberg (as the official data provider), and the LEGO Group. PwC is the official verification partner.
A separate label for products is in development and will be released during 2012.
