Kettle Foods Offsets 100% of Conventional Energy Use
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO 
on 10. 3.06
Last year, Justin claimed that Oregon's Kettle Foods was "...pretty darn sustainable." That was a fair assessment at the time, with the company operating a fleet of vehicles on biodiesel made from their own used cooking oil, and powering its Oregon factory with one of the state's largest solar arrays. Kettle, apparently, is not one to rest on its laurels. Earlier this year, the potato chip and tortilla maker declared their intentions to seek organic certification for the grounds at the Willamette campus, and yesterday, they announced a partnership with Renewable Choice Energy to offset 100% of the company's electricity use in the US with wind power credits. According to their press release,
By purchasing 8,750,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy credits (REC) annually, Kettle Foods will prevent more than 12 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution (CO2), the major contributing cause of global warming. That’s equivalent to taking 1,000 cars off the road or planting 1,600 acres of trees. ..."Pretty darn sustainable" now seems like a bit of an understatement. Congratulations are also in order to the folks at Renewable Choice, who are picking up major clients at an impressive rate, including Whole Foods, the Clinton Presidential Library, and the University of Michigan. ::Kettle Foods and Renewable Choice Energy via Business WireIn addition to offsetting all energy used at the Kettle Foods headquarters, the company will also extend its wind power commitment to its new plant in Beloit, Wis., which is slated to begin production early next year. The partnership with Renewable Choice Energy allows Kettle Foods to use the same wind energy provider for both plants while supporting wind farms in both regions of the country. Currently in the construction phase, the new facility is being built to stringent green building standards with the ambitious goal of LEED Gold certification. Other sustainable projects planned for the Beloit plant include the rehabilitation and restoration of surrounding prairie land.
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Kettle Foods also happens to have the best known Salt & Vinegar chips in the known universe.
:D
I'm personally a big fan of their salt and black pepper chips.
Yes, me too on the black pepper chips. They are on sale this month at our local co-op. Perfect timing. Suddenly, I feel the need to "give back" to Kettle for all they are doing . . .
Regards,
Thomas O. Gray
American Wind Energy Association
www.awea.org
www.ifnotwind.org