Buffalo Grove, IL, - In keeping with its ongoing sustainability initiatives, Siemens Industry, Inc.’s Building Technologies Division is purchasing green power, a sustainability practice recognized and supported through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Green Power Partnership. To reduce its overall carbon footprint, the company has been buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Texas utility Reliant Energy since 2008. In the most recent fiscal year, Building Technologies has purchased more than 2.5 million kilowatt-hours (KWh) of green power consumed by its Buffalo Grove, Ill. corporate campus, which includes its manufacturing facility, and its suburban Chicago branch office.  In total, these purchases account for nearly 8% of the entire electricity consumption of all Building Technologies Division facilities nation-wide.

"EPA is pleased to welcome Siemens Building Technologies to the Green Power Partnership. We applaud their commitment to using green power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Susan Wickwire, Chief of the Energy Supply and Industry Branch at EPA.

The Green Power Partnership works with a wide variety of organizations—from Fortune 500 companies to local, state and federal governments, as well as a growing number of colleges and universities. According to EPA, the green power purchases by these organizations help reduce the environmental impacts of electricity use and support the development of new renewable generation capacity nationwide.

Green power is derived from electricity generated from an environmentally preferable renewable source, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. These sources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions, while offering a superior environmental profile compared to traditional power generation sources.

“We’re thrilled to be part of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership,” said Building Technologies’ Brad Haeberle, vice president and Sustainability Council chair. “It’s an unprecedented opportunity for us to integrate this meaningful and long-lasting environmental initiative into our operations in a collaboration that allows us to contribute to country’s energy independence while easing the impact on climate change—all-in-all, a great return on our greening investment.”

Siemens Building Technologies’ green power purchase saves over 5 million pounds of CO2 per year, which is the equivalent to the CO2 emissions from over 325 average American homes annually.

Building Technologies is purchasing its RECs from Reliant Energy, one of the first retail companies in Texas to offer renewable energy products generated from wind power. In addition to wind power, Reliant provides power from several other renewable sources including solar energy and methane gas from landfills. Reliant Energy is one of the largest purchasers of RECs in Texas, purchasing, according to the company, more than 3 million certificates from 2002 through 2006.

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,000 Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities.  For additional information, please visit