NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for the Ponderosa wind farm in Beaver County, Oklahoma, adding renewable energy to the electricity grid. This agreement makes The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. the first prestige beauty company to execute a VPPA1 and bolsters its renewable electricity footprint in the U.S. and Canada.
The VPPA is the company’s largest renewable energy contract globally. The Ponderosa wind farm alone will cover more than half of the company’s global electricity footprint with renewable energy technologies, putting the company on target to meet its global 2020 Net Zero carbon emissions RE100 commitment. The company announced it would build upon this existing Net Zero commitment and set a science-based target covering Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by the end of 2020. Through the company’s renewable energy solutions in its portfolio, the company has achieved 100% renewable electricity (RE100) in the United States and Canada ahead of schedule.
“The Estée Lauder Companies is committed to innovating to help achieve a low-carbon future,” said Nancy Mahon, Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability of The Estée Lauder Companies. “We’re so pleased to meet our 2020 RE100 commitment for North America early. Projects like the Ponderosa wind farm and others in our Net Zero portfolio are all significant achievements toward our commitments to address climate change.”
Under the VPPA, the company will purchase the energy produced by 22 megawatts (MW) of the Ponderosa wind farm, owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, which equates to approximately 10 wind turbines. The wind energy the company will buy from Ponderosa is equivalent to powering more than 9,000 typical U.S. homes and will reduce fossil fuel emissions equivalent to removing more than 14,000 cars from the road annually. Construction of the Ponderosa wind farm is scheduled to begin in early 2020.
“We are proud to partner with The Estée Lauder Companies on this forward-looking investment in renewable energy,” said John Di Donato, Vice President of Development for NextEra Energy Resources. “In addition to low cost, homegrown energy, the Ponderosa Wind project will create good jobs and millions of dollars in additional revenue for the local community – helping fuel America’s clean energy economy.”
The Ponderosa VPPA is the latest renewable energy project in the company’s renewables portfolio, which also includes a 1 MW solar PV system at its Whitman Laboratories in the U.K. and 1.4 MW ground-mounted solar array recently constructed at the company’s Melville campus in New York, among other projects in the pipeline. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. as one of the top ten retail partner green power users in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership’s most recent rankings. The company is one of a select few RE100 signatories in the beauty industry.
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This press release contains information about our citizenship and sustainability goals and efforts. These involve certain risks and uncertainties, such as changes in our business (e.g., acquisitions, divestitures or new manufacturing or distribution locations), the standards by which achievement is measured, the assumptions underlying a particular goal and our ability to accurately report particular information. Actual results could differ from our stated goals or the results we expect. We also may change, or decide not to pursue, certain goals or initiatives. Moreover, the standards by which citizenship and sustainability efforts and related matters are measured are developing and evolving, and certain areas are subject to assumptions. The standards and assumptions could change over time. In addition, statements made about our company, business or efforts may not apply to all business units (e.g., ones that are recently acquired). We assume no responsibility to update the information contained in this press release or to continue to report any information.
About The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, M·A·C, Kiton, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan New York, DKNY, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Michael Kors, Darphin, Tom Ford, Smashbox, Ermenegildo Zegna, AERIN, Tory Burch, RODIN olio lusso, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, By Kilian, BECCA and Too Faced.
1 According to the Business Renewables Center Deal Tracker.