Burt's Bees backs offsets

Company is subsidizing renewable energy certificates that its workers buy

Some companies blow hot air about saving the environment. Burt's Bees is paying its employees to embrace wind energy.

The Morrisville producer of eco-friendly creams and cleansers is encouraging its workers to support a green lifestyle by becoming "carbon neutral." Toward that end, Burt's Bees is among the first companies in the nation to subsidize its employees' purchases of renewable energy certificates, also known as carbon offsets.

The employee subsidy is akin to a company offering matching contributions to a charity that an employee chooses. In this case, the money supports for-profit wind energy producers in the U.S.

Once an exotic commodity designed to help industry meet emissions goals, renewable energy certificates are entering the mainstream.

A San Francisco seller of carbon offsets, 3Degrees, for more than a year has been promoting corporate programs to let businesses defray their employees' carbon offset costs. The Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL announced in spring 2007 that it would reimburse workers who support wind energy.

Burt's Bees plans to pay half of each employee's cost of achieving carbon neutrality in the worker's household. The company will contribute as much as $100 to offset one year of household carbon emissions. About 30 Burt's Bees workers are participating and receiving a company match to support wind energy projects nationwide, said John Replogle, Burt's Bees' CEO.

Julie Col-n, a brand design manager at Burt's Bees who lives in Raleigh, spent $60 in December to offset her household carbon footprint for one year. She received $30 from Burt's Bees. It's her first purchase of a renewable energy certificate.

"When the company's going to reimburse you for half the cost, it's an incentive," she said. "I'll do anything that I can to help the environment."

Burt's Bees, whose facilities rely on electricity from Progress Energy and Duke Energy, has said it hopes to eventually use only renewable energy, or "get off the grid." Until technology improves and more renewable energy sources are available, the company, for now, has committed about $25,000 a year to subsidize wind energy production and offset its annual energy usage.

Environmental stewardship and energy efficiency are key component of Burt's Bees' corporate philosophy. The company makes more than 150 products -- such as balms, lotions and soaps -- with mostly natural ingredients. It emphasizes its sustainability culture and appeals to environmentally conscious consumers.

"It's a cultural thing here," Replogle said. "Our business model is quite simply to impact the triple bottom line: people, planet, profits."

By subsidizing wind energy through the purchases of renewable energy certificates, Burt's Bees can claim that it has offset its own greenhouse gas emissions, effectively cancelling out the carbon dioxide it contributes to the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the leading greenhouse gas thought to be contributing to the warming of the planet.

In September, Burt's Bees began offering to help employees by buying carbon offsets through Renewable Choice Energy, a Colorado retailer.

Joining the bandwagon

"That is the next phase of environmental action: companies working with their employees to increase the power of their environmental impact," said Ted Rose, vice president of business development at Renewable Choice Energy. "It means that the people of North Carolina can contribute to the development of wind power, even though wind resources [in North Carolina] might not be the best."

Renewable energy certificates have exploded in popularity as businesses and the public seek ways to mitigate environmental damage. But the certificates, which are unregulated, face criticism for unsubstantiated claims and deceptive advertising. In response to concerns, the Federal Trade Commission recently began reviewing the marketing claims and is devising guidelines to aid consumers.

Rose said the certificates sold to Burt's Bees have been verified by a third-party organization to make sure that the money ultimately supports legitimate green-energy companies.

As part of its goal of attaining carbon neutrality, Burt's Bees is also supporting small wind energy projects in North Carolina through N.C. GreenPower, a nonprofit organization in Raleigh that distributes the public's contributions to alternative energy producers throughout the state.

Burt's Bees' purchases from Renewable Energy Choice will support enough wind energy to provide power for about 315 homes for a year.

Burt's Bees has a three-year commitment. The money supplements revenue that wind power generators get from the electric utilities, which buy the electricity that the companies produce, but at rates that are insufficient for producers to make a profit or, often, to break even.