Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
To achieve our 2020 aspiration of being climate neutral, we established a 2009 goal to reduce emissions by one-third from our 2006 baseline. Achieving an absolute reduction is challenging because our planned growth would normally increase GHG emissions. The details of our inventory and actions are outlined in the graph below. Find more information on each topic by clicking on the corresponding link in the navigation bar to the left.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
REI Carbon Footprint (Tons CO2)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Tons CO2)
Highlights
Through energy efficiency improvements and other efforts, we reduced the rate of increase of our GHG emissions to 8.1 percent. This is a success in itself, but only a start toward our goal.
We can state an overall reduction of our GHG impact of 24 percent in 2007 because we addressed our largest source of emissions — REI Adventures travel — through a creative offsets program. Carbon offsets are our last resort in our business operations. However, because air travel impacts our REI Adventures customers, we do not have another option at this time.
We partnered with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to create the largest carbon neutral travel program in the country. The carbon offsets we purchase are certified by the Center for Resource Solutions.
Challenges
As our business grows, so do our GHG-generating activities. To reduce our GHG emissions our first priority is to find creative ways in which making the better environmental choice is also achieving better financial results.
These choices include setting aggressive energy efficiency targets for all new construction along with aggressive energy retrofits throughout our existing operations.
We continue to seek GHG-neutral energy sources, such as wind, biomass and solar, when they are available. Currently 20 percent of our electricity usage comes from green power purchases. We are also looking at on-site generation. Our new Boulder, Colo. store, for example, incorporates built-in photovoltaic cells as well as a solar hot water system. We plan to integrate similar technologies in additional locations.
Looking Forward
Because GHGs pose such a significant threat to the health of our planet, we will continue to consider their reduction and elimination from our operations as an essential component of our stewardship efforts. We are committed to demonstrating that reducing GHG emissions is good for business.
Methodology
To assess our GHG inventory and establish baseline numbers, we used internationally recognized methods such as the World Resources Institute protocol. We conducted our first GHG inventory in 2006 and again in 2007, and determined that our GHG emissions could be broken down into three main categories — energy, transportation and "other sources." With this knowledge, we set priorities and began working on long-term reductions.
