Hasbro, the toy company that created Nerf, My Little Pony and Transformers, has purchased 25,699 megawatt-hours of renewable energy certificates (RECs) from 3Degrees to offset 99.6 percent of its 2016 global electricity consumption. Purchasing the RECs builds on the company’s commitment to 100 percent renewable energy and achieving carbon neutrality throughout its international operations.

“At Hasbro, our commitment to sustainability runs deep, and we are continuously looking for purposeful and innovative ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Climate leadership is critically important, not only to our business but also to our employees, our consumers and our world,” said Kathrin Belliveau, senior vice president of global government affairs and corporate responsibility.Hasbro toys. Courtesy Hasbro

Hasbro’s total REC purchase is the equivalent of eliminating nearly 70,000 barrels of oil or planting over 766,411 annually for 10 years, according to the company. The RECs are a collection of solar energy, wind, biomass, landfill gas and hydroelectric power sources from large projects located near Hasbro’s facilities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe. Each project is verified to comply with international environmental standards established by agencies that include Green-e Energy National Standard, European Energy Certificate System, the I-REC Standard and the Climate Action Reserve.

“Through renewable energy advancements, Hasbro continues to demonstrate our deep commitment to the environment and our desire to play a leadership role in building a safe and sustainable world for future generations,” said Brian Goldner, chairman and CEO, Hasbro, Inc. “We embrace our role in supporting the transformation of our world to a low-carbon economy, and support programs that not only minimize our impact on the environment, but also have a lasting positive impact on our planet.”

Hasbro, a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership, is among an emerging number of large corporations committed to sustainable business practices by investing heavily into a green energy future. For instance, Amazon announced  in March 2017 that it committed to install rooftop solar arrays on 50 of its facilities by 2020, with expectations that each installation will generate up to 80 percent of its yearly energy needs. 

Similarly, Target launch a company-wide initiative in 2015 to installed solar systems on 180 of its stores and distribution centers in the US, totaling 100 megawatts of solar generated electricity by the end of 2016. Due to this accelerated solar development, Target edged out its retail rival, Walmart with a total 147.5 megawatts of solar installed at the end of 2016, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s 2016 Solar Means Business report.