Industrial | Page 59

Global furniture maker and design company Steelcase Inc. has passed a major milestone toward its energy and environmental goals this year: Its global energy use is 20% lower than it was just seven years ago.

Mars Petcare has started using electricity generated from its newest solar garden, linked to its San Bernardino, Calif., manufacturing facility, to produce Pedigree brand dry dog food.

Among a wide range of corporate social responsibility goals outlined in Kraft Heinz's inaugural corporate social responsibility report, the company outlined plans to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 5.1% and implement a series of onsite renewable energy projects.

The deadline for entries for the inaugural Smart Energy Decisions Innovation Awards has been extended and will run through Dec. 22. 

The growth in the renewables industry and the push for corporate sustainability has led to a huge range of PPA options in terms of, amongst other factors, type, structure, pricing and duration. This column from Helen Wallace-Fisher of Accenture outlines a simple matrix that can be used to help corporations design a framework for finding power purchase agreements that best suit its needs.

Duke Energy Corp. on Dec. 6 announced it has acquired full control of commercial solar developer REC Solar, and aims to become a "one-stop entity" for corporations looking for renewables.

Data center, colocation and interconnection solutions company Digital Realty announced two new long-term agreements to source approximately 324,000 additional MWh of renewable energy annually for its Chicago and Ashburn, Va., data center properties and mark an expansion of its sustainability initiatives and customer offerings.

Kick back with these must-read energy stories from around the web.

As corporations continue to sharpen their focus on carbon reduction, interest in using solar thermal collectors to generate the heat needed for industrial processes and applications has grown. This column from Bill Guiney explains why.

Google has signed three new power purchase agreements for wind from South Dakota and Iowa totaling nearly 400 MW.