Corporate America takes steps to curb global warming

LAST MONTH, Wells Fargo & Company announced that it would buy renewable energy certificates (RECs) to support generating 550 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable wind energy a year for three years. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this makes the company the largest

The RECs are supplied by 3 Phases Energy, a national clean power company based in San Francisco's Presidio that is also working with other purchasers such as Safeway, Starbucks and HSBC Bank. The nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions' Green-e program certifies the RECs. The three-year purchase agreement began October 1,2006.

The purchase will offset 40 percent of Wells Fargo's electricity consumption with 100 percent Green-e? certified wind energy. It will help develop renewable energy and prevent the emission of 380,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of reducing the CO2 emissions of 75,000 cars annually or by reducing the equivalent CO2 emissions associated with 40,000,0OO gallons of gasoline each year.

"Wells Fargo is a leading example of how corporate America can reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity use," said Kathleen Hogan, Director of the Climate Protection Partnership Division for EPA. "Our commitment to this purchase is not just good for the environment, it's good business," said Don Dana, head of the company's Corporate Properties Group, which has achieved energy savings of up to 20 percent at many Wells Fargo locations. "Energy conservation is one part of the equation. The second is supporting generation of cleaner, alternative sources of energy. Combined, these efforts will result in a healthier environment and a stronger economy."

Wells Fargo recently invested in a Texas-based wind farm and has provided $720 million in financing to develop Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) certified buildings. Replacing cooling equipment at Wells Fargo Plaza in Phoenix with high-efficiency equipment reduced the building's energy consumption by nearly 30 percent. Two Wells Fargo buildings in San Francisco have been designated as Energy Star buildings (among the top 10 percent of energy-efficient buildings in the country.) In California, Wells Fargo has been recognized for its 20 percent reduction in energy use at its administrative buildings, a reduction it has sustained since 2001.

Wells Fargo &. Company is a diversified financial services company with $500 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance to more than 23 million customers from nuire than 6,200 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere internationally.