Introduction
When your company’s service it providing clean renewable energy everyday and every sale is an act of corporate social responsibility. This is the key difference that separates multinational corporations that sell terrible products but make commitments to responsible business, and companies that make commitments to sustainability such an ingrained aspect of their business that they can’t imagine making or selling a subpar product. Ultimately it is not the rhetoric but the actions that differentiate a company’s “commitment” to better governance, and by extension, corporate social responsibility.
Case Study: Green Mountain Energy
Dedicated to offering clean electricity products, and carbon offsets to residential and commercial customers, Green Mountain Energy from its inception in 1997, has made a name for itself as the, “longest serving green power marketer in the United States”.[1] In 2005, “As part of its corporate commitment to sustainable business practices and focus on improving the community in which it does business,”[2] Green Mountain Energy announced that it would “offset a full 100 percent of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.”[3] The Director of EPA's Climate Protection Partnership Division at the time, Kathleen Hogan, noted that "Green Mountain Energy Company's voluntary participation in the EPA's Climate Leaders program demonstrates a serious commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives."[4] Formed with the mission of making clean power available to the most number of people, Green Mountain Energy, in 2009 became the United States’ leading provider of energy from renewable sources.[5]
Seeking to further its commitment to better governance and CSR, Green Mountain Energy took it upon itself to “created partnerships with groups such as American Forests, EarthShare and the Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) to further expand its contributions to the preservation of the environment.”[6] Additionally, the company developed an “incentive scheme for the top commuters among its employees, since using mass transport greatly reduces the carbon emissions of an individual driving an automobile.”[7] Continuing its commitment to CSR, Green Mountain Energy announced on May 5th 2011 that in honor of the 41st Earth Day, “the University of Houston and Austin-based Green Mountain Energy Company announced several new green initiatives for the University;”[8] not the least of which is the a check for 140,000$ for university’s first solar array.
[1] http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20110406005499/en/Polllution-Free-EV/Green-Mountain-Energy-Company/eVgo [2] http://www.greenmountainenergy.com/release-archive/530-green-mountain-energy-company-goes-carbon-neutral- [3] Ibid. [4] Ibid. [5] http://www.propel-earth-initiatives.com/green-mountain-energy/ [6] http://www.propel-earth-initiatives.com/green-mountain-energy/ [7] http://www.propel-earth-initiatives.com/green-mountain-energy/ [8] http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20110505/commemorate-earth-month-green-mountain-energy-company-presented-university-houston-with-140-000-fund.htm
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