Meet Our Partners Reference Documentation

• Overview
• Data Sources and Collection Procedures
• Collection Year vs Reporting Year vs Calendar Year
• Using the Viewer
• Field Definitions
• Green Power Use Graphs
• Update Schedule and Procedures

Overview

The Partner Profile viewer on the Meet our Partner’s page, presented on the Green Power Partnership (GPP) website, allows users to view individual organizational Partner’s current and historical green power usage and information about their organization and their engagement with EPA’s Green Power Partnership.

Please note that the information contained in the Partner Profile Viewer was self-reported by the Partners. Any links to non-EPA sites do not imply any official EPA endorsement. EPA does not accept any responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data, or products presented at those locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. EPA does not guarantee the suitability of the information for any specific purpose.

Data Sources and Collection Procedures

All data presented has been collected from individual Partners voluntarily participating in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. EPA collects annual electricity and contract-level green power use data from Partners once per year using the Partner Reporting Form. EPA reviews submitted data for completeness and accuracy. Still, as a voluntary program, EPA does not require Partners to verify their procurement details, such as through submittal of purchase invoices, utility bills, or contract agreements.

Collection Year vs Reporting Year vs Calendar Year

Collection Year refers to how EPA collects and organizes individual and collective Partner green power use data. Partners are required to report data to EPA minimally once every 12 months. Each Partner’s data covers a 12-month period (referred to as their “Reporting Year”), which may align with the calendar-year, fiscal-year, or another 12-month period. Each Partner selects a 12-month reporting period (e.g. calendar-year, fiscal-year, etc.) of their choosing. Because Partners’ Reporting Years cover different time intervals, EPA characterizes Partner green power use data within a collection year, which represent information submitted by Partners for their most recent reporting period as of year-end for that respective collection year. For example, collection year 2020 represents the most recent Partner data submitted to EPA by December 31, 2020, which may contain some Partners’ fiscal year 2020 information and other Partners’ calendar year 2019 information. Collection year data at the Partnership-wide level does not represent green power consumed by all Partners within the same calendar year. The graphs below are based on collection year data.

Using the Viewer

Select a Partner [text search bar]: Select one Partner from the drop-down list. Once selected, that organization's information will be displayed. The currently selected Partner will also display in the green bar at the top.

Clear a selection [button]: This data viewer cannot display data from more than one Partner simultaneously. To select a new Partner, first use the CLEAR button to remove the current Partner profile displayed, then click on the search bar to select a new Partner. Alternatively, a user can click the “X” icon where the Partner’s name is shown in the green bar at the top of the viewer, which will clear the current Partner Profile, similar to clicking the Clear button.

Tour this Dashboard [button]: Provides the user a guided tour and explanation of each of the viewer fields and guidance for operating in the Partner Profile viewer.

Information [button]: Opens this webpage that provides the user a summary of how the data was collected, provides definitions of fields, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Field Definitions

• Location indicates the primary city and state of the partnering organization. For organizations with multiple facilities in different geographic locations, the address of the Partner’s headquarters is most often used to determine the location. Note, the green power used by the Partner may be consumed across its operational footprint and not solely in the location of the headquarters.
• Industry indicates the Partner’s chosen industry sector. The Partner’s industry sector most often aligns with the sector most identifiable to the Partner’s principle corporate brand.
• Awards indicates the year(s) the Partner has won an EPA Green Power Leadership Award. This field is not visible if a Partner has not received a Green Power Leadership Award.
• Partnership Agreement Signed indicates the date the Partner signed a Partnership Agreement to join EPA’s Green Power Partnership. For former Partners that re-join the program, the date of the more recent partnership agreement is displayed. For Partners who join at a facility-level who later aggregate up to an organization-wide level, the Partnership Agreement signed date will reflect the point at which the Partner was organization-wide, although displayed green power use may predate this at the facility-level.
• Most Recent Reporting Period of Green Power Use indicates the 12-month period for which the Partner is reporting their green power use and operational details. Partners most often report calendar- or fiscal-year totals.
• Collection Date of Green Power Report indicates the date that the Partner submitted its most recent green power report to EPA covering its 12-month “reporting period of green power use.” Partners may report more frequently than the minimum yearly requirement.
• Sustainability Website refers to the website location, identified by the Partner, of their public webpage dedicated to their green power usage and broader sustainability goals and activities.
• Profile Description refers to a description of the Partner organization, their use of green power, and its experiences to date with green power. All EPA Partners can develop a profile for the GPP website (limited to 200 words). For those organizations without a posted profile, we encourage them to craft one and share with EPA’s Green Power Partnership program. Contact us or your Account Manager to find out how.

Green Power Use Graphs

• Green Power Use by Renewable Resource shows the renewable resources reported to EPA for each collection year of reported data. Note, some Partners’ green power use from certain retail supply options (e.g. RECs) may be sourced from an unspecified renewable resource at the time of purchase to provide flexibility to the supplier in sourcing supply. Often the supplier will provide the Partner with information and an attestation on the type of resource(s) delivered after the Partner has reported to EPA. In addition, Partners’ green power use data by renewable resource for collection years prior to 2009 is currently not available and are assigned a category of “Not Available”.
  • Green power is electricity generated from a subset of renewable energy resources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit. The U.S. voluntary market defines green power as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact small hydroelectric sources. Customers often buy green power for its zero emissions profile and carbon footprint reduction benefits. All green power presented by EPA is based on Partners’ green power use by their U.S. operations and sourced from renewable electricity generators located in the U.S. Green power must be substantiated through Partner ownership of energy attributes or energy attribute market instruments (e.g., RECs).
  • Renewable Resource: EPA categorizes renewable resources as:
    • Biogas
    • Biomass
    • Geothermal
    • Small-hydro
    • Solar
    • Wind
    • Unspecified
  • For more information on renewable energy resources considered green power by EPA, visit the Green Power Partnership Requirements webpage.
• Green Power Use by Supply Option shows the supply source reported to EPA for each collection year of reported data. In many cases, Partners use a variety of supply options to meet their environmental, economic, and broader sustainability goals.
  • Supply Option - is a market or financial instrument that delivers green power to the energy consumer. EPA categorizes supply options as:
    • RECs = retail renewable energy certificates (RECs)
    • Competitive = competitive green power products
    • Utility = utility green power products
    • CCA = community choice aggregation
    • Self-supply = self-supply
    • Tariff = utility green tariff
    • Shared = shared renewables
    • Physical PPA = physical power purchase agreement
    • Financial PPA = financial power purchase agreement
  • For more information on how EPA defines eligible supply options, visit the Green Power Partnership Requirements webpage.
• Green Power Percentage of Electricity Use shows the Partner’s green power use as a percentage of the Partner’s total annual electricity use as reported to EPA for each collection year since joining the Partnership. The percentage is based on the scope of partnership, ranging from facility up to organization-wide. The percent may exceed 100% due to several circumstances, such as over procurement, purchase of green power to cover electricity use outside of the Partner’s own consumption etc. EPA suggests that Partners provide a brief explanation for why purchases may exceed 100% when the excess is greater than 10%.

Update Schedule and Procedures

Due to Partners’ varying reporting periods and data collection and verification procedures, EPA is continually receiving annual reports from Partners on a rolling basis. EPA updates Partner profile data as it is received and posts it on this website, typically on a bi-weekly basis.

If you would like to provide the Green Power Partnership with new or revised information about your organization, please complete and submit this information request form. Following submission, your account manager will email you a green power data form for you to update and return.