Kohl’s Department Stores Achieves 100 Percent Green Power

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE: KSS) announced today that the company has purchased enough green power to meet 100 percent of its purchased electricity use with an annual green power purchase of nearly 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). With this latest purchase of renewable energy, Kohl’s increased its ranking to no. 2 overall and among Fortune 500 companies on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) listings of top green power purchasers. Kohl’s retains its top ranking among retailers.

“EPA's Green Power Partners are raising the bar for clean, renewable energy use”

“Through our green power purchases, Kohl’s is proud to support energy partners and programs that have a positive and lasting environmental impact,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s executive vice president of store planning and logistics. “We recognize the importance of encouraging environmentally smart energy practices, and we aim to set a positive example in how we operate our buildings and run our business. Starting 2010 at 100 percent green power helps reduce our carbon footprint and brings us another step closer to achieving our goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this year. We also continue to make energy management a priority and are pleased that our 400th location recently earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR label.”

According to the U.S. EPA, Kohl's Department Stores' green power purchase of 1,367,376,000 kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 188,000 passenger vehicles per year or the amount of electricity needed to power nearly 128,000 average American homes annually. Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind and solar. These resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions while offering a superior environmental profile compared to traditional green power sources. Green power purchases also support the development of new renewable energy generation sources nationwide.

"EPA's Green Power Partners are raising the bar for clean, renewable energy use,” said EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy. “By using green power, Kohl's Department Stores is doing its part to fight climate change and proving every day that sound environmental practices can also be economically sound.”

Kohl's purchases a combination of renewable energy certificates (RECs) and utility green power products in the areas of solar, wind and biomass generation. Several Kohl’s initiatives reflect the use and support of green power, including:

Waste Management/Landfill Gas: At Kohl’s stores that have been built according to its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified store prototype, up to 35 percent of the 100 percent green power is generated by landfill gas in partnership with Waste Management.
Solar: As the largest retail host of solar power in North America, Kohl’s generates solar power on-site at nearly 80 locations in six states. Depending on geographic location, solar generates 20 to 50 percent of the location’s energy. The company’s largest system at its San Bernardino, Calif. distribution center has 6,208 panels and generates one megawatt of power – enough to power 400 homes on an annual basis. Kohl’s Milwaukee-based photo studio is also powered in part by 800 solar panels on its rooftop.

Kohl’s currently ranks 12th on EPA’s list of Green Power Partners that generate and consume the most green power on-site with 15,000,000 kWh of annual on-site green power usage from solar, accounting for one percent of Kohl’s total electricity use.

Wind: Kohl’s actively supports wind farm projects in Texas and North and South Dakota by purchasing 100 mWh of renewable wind power annually.

Kohl’s has been a member of EPA’s Green Power Partnership since 2006 and was named a 2009 Green Power Partner of the Year. Kohl’s was also honored in 2007 and 2008 with Green Power Leadership Awards for green power purchase and on-site generation. In addition, the company’s green initiatives were recognized in 2009 with an EPA SmartWay Excellence award and a ranking of no. 1 in retail on Newsweek’s Green Rankings.

For more information about Kohl’s environmental initiatives, visit www.kohlsgreenscene.com. For more information about EPA’s Green Power partnership, visit www.epa.gov/greenpower.

About Kohl’s Department Stores

Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. Kohl’s operates 1,059 stores in 49 states. A company committed to the communities it serves, Kohl’s has raised more than $126 million for children’s initiatives nationwide through its Kohl’s Cares for Kids® philanthropic program, which operates under Kohl's Cares, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. For a list of store locations and information, or for the added convenience of shopping online, visit www.kohls.com.

About EPA’s Green Power Partnership

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,000 Partner organizations 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, and colleges and universities. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.