18 Michigan Companies and Investors Urge Gov. Snyder's Timely Implementation of EPA's Clean Power Plan

BOSTON, July 31, 2015 /3BL Media/ - Today, 18 businesses and investors with a significant presence in Michigan issued a letter to Governor Rick Snyder offering strong support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan for existing power plants, and encouraging the state’s “timely finalization” of its implementation plan. The letter was coordinated by the nonprofit sustainability advocacy organization Ceres.

“Our support is firmly grounded in economic reality,” states the letter. “Clean energy solutions are cost effective and innovative ways to drive investment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Increasingly, businesses rely on renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions to cut costs and improve corporate performance.”

The EPA Clean Power Plan is the nation’s first comprehensive effort to reduce carbon pollution from existing electric power plants—the single largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S. The plan sets unique emissions reduction targets for each state to achieve by 2030 and allows the states flexible approaches to meeting the reductions in their implementation plans, such as through deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The letter follows a trend in which a growing number of businesses are increasingly relying on renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions to cut their costs and boost their competitiveness. A 2014 study co-authored by Ceres, Calvert Investments and the World Wildlife Fund found that 60 percent of Fortune 100 companies have set their own clean energy targets and have saved more than $1 billion a year in the process.

"At Brewery Vivant, we have a deep commitment to balancing the financial health of our business with our impact on the natural environment and our community," said Kris Spaulding, co-founder of Brewery Vivant. "We have worked to have all of our facilities 100% renewably powered through Consumer's Energy Green Generation program, and we are the first LEED Certified commercial microbrewery in the United States. We urge Michigan's leadership to make a commitment to sustainability and renewable energy, starting with full implementation of the EPA's Clean Power Plan."

In recent years, Michigan has made significant progress in reducing greenhouse gas pollution through energy efficiency and renewable energy standards. The state reduced its carbon emissions by 12 percent between 2008 and 2013, and is well positioned to make additional reductions set out in the Clean Power Plan, thanks in large part to a 10% by 2015 Renewable Energy Standard. Clean energy development has brought thousands of jobs to Michigan and billions of dollars in cumulative capital investment, enough to earn the state the ranking of 5th in the country for clean energy job creation in Q1 2015.

“Staples is actively committed to minimizing our environmental footprint and helping our customers do the same. It’s simply smart business”, said Mark Buckley, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Staples. “Implementation of the Clean Power Plan is key to enabling us to go further by providing more predictability and energy options."

The businesses listed below emphasize that there is no tradeoff between continued economic growth and cutting carbon pollution, and strongly encourage Gov. Snyder to ensure Michigan's timely finalization and implementation of our state's carbon pollution reduction plans.

“As you develop your implementation plan we hope you will include the building blocks of renewable energy and energy efficiency, which will allow you to mitigate the risks of climate change and the volatility of fossil fuel prices,” they state.

Signatories to the letter include: Asean Corporation (Stalkmarket brands); Blue Chip Technologies LLC; Brewery Vivant; Calvert Investments; Cocoa Corporation; EILEEN FISHER, Inc.; General Mills, Inc.; Green Advantage Consultants; Nestle; OgreOgress Productions; Portfolio Advisory Board, Adrian Dominican Sisters; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Rockford Brewing Company; Staples, Inc.; The Leadership Council of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; Unitarian Universalist Association; Wespath Investment Management; and Worthen Industries.

To download the full text of the letter, please click here.

Bold indicates companies with >$100M in annual revenue and investors with >$2B in assets under management.

About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization mobilizing business and investor leadership on climate change, water scarcity and other sustainability challenges. Ceres directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $13 trillion. Ceres also directs Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), an advocacy coalition of dozens of companies committed to working with policymakers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation. For more information, visit www.ceres.org or follow on Twitter @CeresNews