BLAINE, Minn. (March 2007)—As a global leader in corporate environmental sustainability, Aveda™ is proud to announce it has reached a new milestone. Beginning January 2007, the Company has made a bold commitment to wind energy: One hundred percent of the electrical usage at Aveda Corporation’s corporate office, distribution center and primary manufacturing facility in Blaine, Minn. is now offset by its wind energy purchase. This landmark program makes Aveda the largest corporate purchaser of wind energy in Minnesota and the first beauty company manufacturing with 100% wind power*. Its effects are measurable: by using 100% certified wind energy, Aveda helps keep 7.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming, out of the atmosphere each year.** The energy saved is also equivalent to the energy needed to supply 446 homes for an entire year.***
Aveda’s certified wind energy, purchased from Windsource™ Energy Systems (a renewable energy provider), will enter a national utility grid from which the Company will draw power for its corporate office and primary manufacturing and distribution center facility in Blaine. This facility currently manufactures approximately 10 million kilos of product a year. Aveda plans to pay a premium of $.02 per kWh of wind energy for the next three years.
“Our ultimate goal is to become a zero-waste company with wholly sustainable manufacturing and distribution processes,” says Dominique Conseil, president of Aveda. “Converting to 100% wind energy in our Blaine facility is a milestone for Aveda and a huge step towards achieving that goal. We encourage other U.S. companies to re-examine their own energy purchases and move forward towards a more universal goal—with global results.”
Mark Friske, Aveda’s Environmental, Health, & Safety manager, suggests that other companies interested in wind energy should start with basic energy upgrades: “Companies should strive to become as energy efficient as possible before embarking on a wind energy project,” he explains. “At Aveda, we had reached a pinnacle of energy efficiency and were looking for ways to go beyond what we had already accomplished.”
Aveda’s commitment to environmental leadership and innovation begins with the passion and collective brainpower of its employees. The Company’s initiative to purchase wind power was driven by Friske and the company’s Facilities Director, Dave Chelberg. A champion of renewable energy, Chelberg is so dedicated to minimizing waste that he has constructed a windmill at his own home. “Dave just celebrated his 15th anniversary at Aveda,” says Bob Eriksson, vice president of manufacturing operations. “To see this project come to fruition is exciting for our department—and the company.”
The wind energy purchased by Aveda is certified according to the environmental and consumer protection standards of the Center for Resource Solutions—a non-profit organization based in California. The center helps boost the renewable energy market by increasing demand for and supply of renewable resources across the country.
“Aveda is a sustainable beauty company leading by example,” says Jan Hamrim, president of the Center for Resource Solutions. “The United States does not currently have a federal mandate in place to force companies to use renewable energy; Aveda’s commitment to renewable energy clearly goes above and beyond ‘business as usual’ to do something good for the consumer and the environment.”
Since its founding in 1978, Aveda has been committed to its mission of environmental sustainability and leadership. Further energy-saving initiatives in place at the company headquarters in Blaine include a passive solar wall collector to preheat incoming air during winter months, reusable totes for product shipping, as well as energy recovery and computerized energy management systems. The Company has also installed a prototype for a state-of-the-art hybrid lighting technology that captures sunlight through fiber-optic cables and channels it to lighting fixtures in Aveda’s Production Team offices.
Aveda was also the first private company in the world to adhere to the principles for environmentally sound business practices—known as the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES). Since 1992, Aveda has conducted open environmental reporting on all corporate initiatives.
“I commend Aveda for relying upon 100% clean energy in its Blaine, Minn. manufacturing facility,” says Mindy S. Lubber, president of CERES. “This action sends a clear, powerful signal that cost-effective energy solutions benefiting both companies and the global environment are indeed available.”
*Per a review conducted of the WWD Beauty Report International Top 100 Cosmetic Manufacturers corporate websites in April, 2007.
**Source: Greenhouse Gas Emission Coefficients for Electricity Generation, US Department of Energy, 2002
***Source: US Department of Energy
Aveda™, The Art and Science of Pure Flower and Plant Essences™, was founded in 1978 by Horst Rechelbacher, whose goal was to provide beauty industry professionals with high performance, botanically based products that would be better for service providers and their guests, as well as for the planet. Aveda manufactures professional plant-based hair care, skin care, makeup, Pure-Fume™ and lifestyle products. Headquartered in Blaine, Minnesota, Aveda is available in Aveda stores, on www.aveda.com, and in nearly 7,000 professional hair salons and spas in 24 countries worldwide.
Aveda’s numerous corporate and social responsibility associations include CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies), ISO (International Organization for Standardization), Coop-America/Green Business Network, SVN (Social Venture Network), BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), Environmental Grant Makers, American Botanical Association, Organic Trade Association, National Recycling Coalition, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Our mission at Aveda is to care for the world we live in, from the products we make to the ways in which we give back to society. At Aveda, we strive to set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility, not just in the world of beauty, but around the world.