The Estée Lauder Companies has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for the Ponderosa wind farm in Beaver County, Oklahoma, adding renewable energy to the electricity grid.

 

According the American beauty giant, it is the first prestige beauty company to execute a VPPA1; 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.

 

FIGHTING FOR A ‘LOW CARBON FUTURE’

“The Estée Lauder Companies is committed to innovating to help achieve a low-carbon future,” says 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.

 

‘HELPING FUEL AMERICA’S CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY’

“We are proud to partner with The Estée Lauder Companies on this forward-looking investment in renewable energy,” adds 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 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognised 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.