Deluxe Corp. is writing a check for renewable energy.
The Shoreview check printer and business services company recently turned up at No. 3 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
list of top green power purchasers in the printing industry.
In the 12 months ending Oct. 5, Deluxe Corp. bought wind energy certificates to cover 25.5 million kilowatt hours, or about 41 percent of its total electricity usage. Put another way, the green power purchase covers the electricity used to produce nearly all of its checks for financial institution customers, says Pete Godich, vice president of fulfillment for Deluxe Corp.
The credits were purchased through ConEdison Solutions and Renewable Choice Energy, which are similar to Xcel Energy's WindSource program in Minnesota. Godich says purchasing renewable energy credits is the second piece of its two-pronged green energy strategy. The first was simply reducing energy consumption at its various facilities around the country.
It's paying a little extra to buy electricity generated by wind farms, but its electricity bill is still shrinking because of energy conservation efforts. "Our investments in reducing our overall consumption across the
enterprise far outweighs whatever nominal premium we pay for renewable
energy," says Godich.
On one hand, it's just the right thing to do, says Godich. But there are also financial benefits to reducing energy use, and supporting renewable energy is something many employees and customers want.
"It's good for the community. It's good for Deluxe, in terms of our profit, and it's good for consumers and our employees as well," says Godich. "It's not often that we can find win on top of win on top of win, but that's what happened."
Source: Pete Godich, Deluxe Corp.
Writer:
Dan Haugen