Trying to undo damage

Companies that use lots of electricity pay a premium to offset the global warming they cause

At the Pepsi Bottling Ventures plant in Raleigh, machines fill thousands of soft drink containers each minute to the steady whir of conveyor belts.

Bottling all those fizzy drinks requires lots of power. And like a growing number of companies in the era of global warming, Pepsi Bottling has vowed to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions. That creates a quandary.

So the Raleigh-based bottler recently announced that it will spend about $75,000 over three years to pay renewable energy producers to make clean electricity. The investment will help offset the power that Pepsi uses each year at its own facilities.

"Our consumers are younger people who have an interest in green initiatives," said George Suddath, Pepsi Bottling's vice president for corporate affairs. "We feel this could be the tie-breaker between us and our competition."

Paying extra for green energy for years was dismissed by many as a frivolous, tree-hugging throwaway. But with the emergence of climate change as a social concern, more companies are volunteering to pay a small premium for the privilege of claiming that they are offsetting their electricity use.

The contributors often receive nothing more for their financial good deeds than paper certificates and positive feelings. But by embracing the values of environment-conscious customers, the businesses can convert the green energy cause into a marketing strategy.

Skeptics say the increasing popularity of the renewable certificates could lead to exaggerated claims of environmental righteousness, particularly by corporations seeking to minimize poor environmental records.

"The term of art is 'green-washing,'" said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, who generally supports the certificates. "A company may do a fraction of a percent, and they'll run around and blow their horn to the world about it."

Sales of green power offsets are more than doubling each year and will reach 10 million megawatt hours this year in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's program. That's equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 1 million passenger automobiles annually, the EPA reports. The agency tracks the bulk of the nation's certificate purchases.

Boosting solar, wind

The system of letting companies buy their way out of a carbon dioxide predicament is providing a valuable economic boost to fledgling solar, wind and other renewable producers that once struggled for public acceptance. The extra money from Pepsi and other corporations helps renewables compete with conventional electricity, which is generally less expensive to produce.

Major purchasers of renewable energy certificates run the gamut of nonprofit groups, government agencies, financial institutions, heavy industry and private individuals. In North Carolina, Lowe's Home Improvement and Duke University are two large participants.

Burt's Bees, the Morrisville maker of lip balms, lotions and other personal care products, is spending about $25,000 a year to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

The 300-employee company has a corporate goal of getting off the power grid and relying entirely on solar, wind and other forms of green energy by 2020. Toward that end, the company wants to accelerate the development of the renewables industry.

"We certainly have a reputation as an earth-friendly, natural personal-care company," said chief executive John Replogle. "You have to show credible proof that you're willing to take the giant leap forward."

Renewable energy certificates are typically independently audited by a third party, and many are tracked by the EPA.