6. Environment >
6.2 Energy Use & Air Emissions >
6.2.4 NativeEnergy & Green Tags
NativeEnergy & Green Tags
A CO2 offset (also referred to as a green tag or carbon credit) is an environmental component of renewable energy. Energy is energy regardless of the source, but when there is a renewable component to it (such as wind, biogas, solar or hydro) there is a secondary value — the environmental benefit. Ben & Jerry’s purchase of these environmental attributes helps fund new renewable energy projects, and we use the clean energy environmental benefits to compensate — “offset” — the CO2 pollution from our energy sources that don’t come from renewable energy.
Working with NativeEnergy, Ben & Jerry’s continues to invest in the Rosebud St. Francis wind turbine project in South Dakota. The project represents phase two of the Tribe’s wind development initiative. In 2002 and 2003, our offsets purchases helped build the phase one Rosebud Single Turbine Project, a single 750 kW NEG-Micon turbine. Through our offset purchase we were able to help NativeEnergy pay approximately 25% of the cost of the turbine for the Rosebud St. Francis tribe, making a necessary and very significant contribution to its financing and development.
In 2006, Ben & Jerry’s offset 5,160tons of CO2 emissions with NativeEnergy. This is equivalent to eliminating over 10 million car miles, driving around the world 415 times, or removing 860 cars from the road for a year! It’s also the fifth year in a row that Ben & Jerry’s has offset 100% of the carbon emissions from our manufacturing operations and employee air travel.