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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Luana Hancock
WhiteWave Foods Company
(303) 635-4448
luana.hancock@whitewave.com
WhiteWave Foods Recognized as One of the Nation’s
Top Green Power Purchasers
Company Honored with EPA Green Power Leadership Award
BROOMFIELD, Colo., December 5, 2006 – Today WhiteWave Foods Company was named a 2006 Green Power Leadership Award winner by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at an award ceremony at the National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference in San Francisco, Calif. The company, which has been on the list of top 25 green power purchasers each year since 2004, was recognized for the contributions its Silk® and Horizon Organic® brands have made toward the development and use of renewable energy.
"At WhiteWave Foods, thinking green and making every effort to reduce our environmental footprint is part of our DNA,” said Joseph E. Scalzo, President and CEO of WhiteWave Foods. “Renewable energy is an investment that realizes invaluable return to our environment, our health and our quality of life. Being recognized with a Green Power Leadership award is a great honor. It goes to show that responsible business practices can be profitable and make a difference.”
WhiteWave Foods and its brands have a proud tradition of supporting renewable energy. Both Silk and Horizon Organic offset 100 percent of the electricity used in manufacturing their products by buying wind energy Green Tags from Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Green Tags represent the real savings in carbon dioxide and other pollutants that occur when clean, renewable power replaces power produced from burning fossil fuels, including coal and natural gas, in the national electric grid.
In 2006, WhiteWave Foods further expanded its support of wind by offsetting the energy used in its Broomfield, Colo. headquarters with renewable energy. These additional Green Tags, coupled with those bought by both Silk and Horizon Organic to match each kilowatt-hour of electricity used in production of their products, results in a total purchase of almost 54,000 megawatt-hours of wind energy being added back into the national grid annually. The resulting benefit of the renewable energy is equivalent to the elimination of
35,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That benefit is the same as taking over 6,000 cars off the road or planting more than 10,000 acres of trees each year. Additionally, WhiteWave Foods instituted a Zero Waste Recycling and Composting Program at its headquarters to dramatically reduce the company’s environmental impact.
The company also supports green energy beyond its walls:
- Silk and Horizon Organic promote the use of green power on product packaging and online. Educating consumers about the benefits of renewable energy helps drive further development of new renewable energy sources resulting in reduced pollution and cleaner air.
- WhiteWave Foods sponsored the “greening” of New Hope Natural Media’s Expo West and East events, which are the largest natural and organic products trade shows in the nation.
- Silk reduced the environmental impact of this year’s Farm Aid concert in Camden, N.J. through the purchase of Green Tags to offset all of the electricity used at the concert and the energy used for an estimated 25,000 attendees to drive to the venue, replacing it with sustainable wind energy.
- Horizon Organic, which launched a mobile tour to educate retailers and families about the benefits of organic foods, “greened” its tour van by purchasing green tags to offset the energy used for the trip.
“EPA is pleased to recognize WhiteWave Foods Company with a Green Power Purchaser Award for its distinguished commitment to buy green power and reduce the environmental impacts associated with its electricity use,” said Bill Wehrum, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. “This commitment demonstrates that an organization can make a real environmental difference by purchasing green power.”
Wind power is an affordable and inexhaustible energy source that does not cause pollution, generate waste, or deplete natural resources. It also has the potential to supply as much as 20 percent of the nation’s electricity; it currently represents approximately two percent. For more information on wind energy and purchasing Green Tags, visit www.silksoymilk.com or www.horizonorganic.com.
The EPA Green Power Leadership Awards were awarded at the National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference in San Francisco, Calif. December 4-6, 2006. A panel of judges reviewed nearly 100 nominations based on criteria ranging from the amount of green power purchased to each organization’s strategy for incorporating green power into its operations and communications. For more information about the event, visit www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower.
For more information on Horizon Organic and the HOPE program, please visit www.horizonorganic.com
About Silk
Silk Soymilk was launched in 1996 and is the best-selling soymilk brand in the country. Not only do Silk products taste delicious, a cup of Silk contains as much calcium as a cup of milk and is loaded with soy protein, which when consumed as a part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. Silk is available in virtually all major supermarket chains and the complete product line includes a number of varieties and flavors to meet specific tastes and nutritional needs. For more information, visit www.silksoymilk.com
About HORIZON ORGANIC
Horizon Organic, founded in 1991, was the first certified organic dairy to distribute products nationally in the United States. The company remains true to its vision for a more organic planet, purchasing milk from 353 certified organic dairy farms and providing certified organic dairy products to natural foods retailers and supermarkets across the country. Horizon Organic products are produced without the use of antibiotics, added growth hormones or harmful pesticides and always will be. That’s the organic promise from our farmers to consumers. For more information on the growing world of organic, visit www.horizonorganic.com
About the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership
EPA’s Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to purchase green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use. The Green Power Partnership currently has hundreds of Partners voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, trade associations, as well as colleges and universities. For a full listing of EPA’s Green Power Partners and information about buying green power, visit the Partnership’s Web site at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/
About the Bonneville Environmental Foundation
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in 1998 to restore watershed ecosystems and further the development and use of new renewable energy resources. Through revenues generated from the sales of green power products, BEF funds projects that restore damaged watersheds and support new renewable energy projects from solar, wind and biomass. BEF pioneered the sale of Green Tags in 2000 and has helped establish national standards for certification and trading. More information is available on the web at www.greentagsusa.org.
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Food produced without antibiotics, added growth hormones or pesticides means better health and a cleaner environment.
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