You would probably be surprised by the amount of companies that have promised, and succeeded, in going 100% green (at least in terms of electricity)! As of July 9 this year, the amount of 100% green power that companies were purchasing for their US operations stood at more than 3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Power Partnership.

The most recent company soon to join their ranks will be the U.S. global financial services company ING. Announced on the first of the month, ING is agreeing to purchase clean, emission-free wind energy credits for its United States operations amounting to a total of 100% of its electricity usage in the US.

"ING is committed to conducting its business responsibly around the globe and Environmental protection is a fundamental part of this commitment," said Tom McInerney, ING Executive Board member, chairman and chief executive officer, ING Insurance Americas. "We make decisions about sustainability every day at ING, which is why we are part of a worldwide dialogue that addresses climate change and why we focus on developing strategies to mitigate ING’s impact on the environment."

This is in line with ING’s desire to become 100% carbon-neutral by the end of 2007, which they announced at the beginning of 2007. Marcus Peacock, EPA’s deputy administrator, had this to say in response to ING’s most recent announcement:

America is shifting to a ‘green culture,’ with more and more businesses understanding that environmental responsibility is everyone’s responsibility. EPA commends ING for making a long-term commitment to protecting the environment by purchasing green power.

ING has already made massive strides to offset their carbon usage, by either minimizing the amount that they use or purchasing credits. In addition, they offset all global business travel by investing in the planting and rehabilitation of 300 hectares of degraded tropical rainforest in Malaysia.

But if you’re looking for a more visible demonstration of their green efforts, you need look no further than their 500,000-square-foot office building under construction in Windsor, Connecticut.

The ING design team worked hard in consort with local energy distributor Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) to ensure that the building was as carbon friendly as possible. The building incorporates sensors that turn off the lights when a room is empty, light dimmers on the building’s exterior, and an Earth-friendly rooftop air-conditioning system with extra efficient controls and air-handling units.

And, if you’re after figures rather than flashy shows of support, then you’ll be pleased to hear that CL&P have announced that the measures being undertaken by ING in their new building will amount to energy savings amounting to 1.87 million gallons of oil, or enough to provide 3,376 homes with electricity each year.

As for their most recent announcement of wind power to supply their current installations, ING will buy 70 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean wind energy from leading wind energy marketer and developer Community Energy, Inc. for an initial two-year purchase. The purchase will power some 10,000 U.S.-based employees in Atlanta, Denver, California, Hartford, New York, Arizona, and West Chester, Pennsylvania, along with several other major offices and nearly 100 smaller regional offices throughout the United States.

The environmental benefit estimated for their recent purchases amount to a whopping offset of more than 43,270 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This impact is the equivalent of planting more than 38,981 acres of trees or removing over 9,057 cars from the road each year.

Brent Alderfer, president of Pennsylvania-based wind energy marketer and developer Community Energy, said,

ING, an industry leader in securing the financial future of its customers, now extends that leadership to a secure environmental future for everyone. We commend ING on its commitment to environmental integrity with its clean energy purchase and for setting the standard for corporate leadership on the environment.

ING’s online component will follow suit by purchasing renewable energy in January of next year.

ENN - ING to Power All U.S. Operations with Wind Power

EPA - Green Power Partnership

ING - ING and Climate Change

Photo courtesy of ING - ING House – Headquarters of ING Group, Amsterdam