With “green” being all the rage these days, many Fortune 500 companies are making the switch to solar power by partnering with solar power companies and using solar energy to power their offices and retail establishments. A voluntary program called “The Green Power Partnership” encourages organizations to go green and tracks their annual green power purchases; let’s take a look at the top five and what they’re doing to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use.

1. Intel Corporation: A world leader in silicon innovation, Intel comes in at the top spot as the EPA’s largest Fortune 500 green power purchaser by buying more than 1.4 billion kilowatt hours per year. This has the equivalent environmental impact of taking over 180,000 passenger cars off the road or providing electricity to over 140,000 homes each year. The company gets over 50% of its energy needs from renewable energy.

2. Kohl’s: Kohl’s specialty department stores ranks second with its purchases, which accounts for 100 % of its energy needs. The company is committed to be a leading environmentally responsible retailer by working with its associates and vendors. Kohl's has launched a committed, integrated approach to all facets of its business endeavors with a common goal of long-term resource sustainability. The company has put in place five strategies to drive its environmental initiatives: maximize energy efficiency, minimize waste, responsible building design, reduce climate damaging emissions, and encourage environmental values.

3. Whole Foods Market: For the fourth consecutive year, Whole Foods has offset 100% of its use of electricity by making green power purchasing a company-wide initiative. The company’s strategy is based on decisions made at its store level which empowers its employees to make decisions for their own area. Winning the EPA Green Power Leadership Award in both 2004 and 2005, Whole Foods is a member of the Green Power Leadership Club and boasts solar systems on over a dozen locations with contracts for many more. Going forward, Whole Foods is incorporating green building and minimum efficiency standards into the design of its new stores.

4. Dell: A global provider of IT systems and services, Dell Inc. is committed to reducing its facilities’ greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by the year 2015 via a three-step approach to its reduction strategy: 1) increase energy-efficiency 2) maximize purchases of green power and 3) responsibly offset remaining effects going forward. The company first began purchasing green power in 2003; currently, its headquarters and some of its smaller facilities are powered by 100% green electricity. Dell is also building structures in its parking lots that shade 50 parking spaces and provide charging stations for vehicles that need to be plugged in.

5. Johnson & Johnson: Also meeting its energy efficiency and solar initiates more than two times over, Green Power Partner Johnson & Johnson, rounds out the top five list of leaders in the procurement of green power. Its goal is to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions 7% below 1990 levels by the end of this year. The company’s power usage includes the direct purchase of wind power, on-site solar PV, and the purchase of renewable energy certificates from wind power and biomass facilities. Johnson & Johnson's believes that the investment in green power not only benefits the environment, but also provides the company with a reliable and stable supply of energy. The company installed its first solar system at its facility in Pennsylvania and found it so successful that it added it to five additional locations.