OwensCorning solar parking deck.jpg

Owens Corning a year ago built this 2.4-megawatt solar canopy over the parking deck at its Toledo corporate headquarters. The company is one of nine big corporations urging Ohio lawmakers to re-establish laws requiring power companies to provide annually increasing amounts of green power to customers. Lawmakers "froze" the mandates two years ago and now appear to be poised to scrap them altogether. Gov. Kasich has threatened to veto legislation doing away with rules. (Owens Corning)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Some of the world's largest corporations employing more than 25,000 in Ohio oppose plans by state GOP lawmakers to get rid of state standards requiring utilities to sell increasing percentages of power generated by wind, solar and other renewables.

Nine corporations, including manufacturers Whirlpool and Owens Corning and food giants Nestle and Campbell Soup, released statements Tuesday urging state lawmakers to bring back rules requiring power companies to provide annually increasing amounts of electricity generated by wind, solar and other renewable technologies.

The nine, many of which have also worked with the Ohio Manufacturers' Association to oppose changes in Ohio's renewable energy standards, this time organized with Ceres, a non-profit group that works with global corporations and investors around the world to encourage corporate sustainability.

"Now is the time for lawmakers to strengthen Ohio's energy efficiency and renewable energy standards," said Alli Gold Roberts, policy manager at Ceres. "These standards are good for business, and failing to reinstate them will send the wrong signal to companies and investors throughout the state."

Republican majorities "froze" the rules for two years in 2014 after months of bitter hearings about renewable mandates and parallel rules requiring utilities to help customers use less electricity. Lawmakers froze that law as well, saying they wanted time to study the issue.

The study committee then heard mostly from opponents of the rules for months before proposing to make the freeze permanent -- provoking Gov. John Kasich to threaten a veto of any legislation that scraps the mandates.

GOP lawmakers both in the Ohio Senate and House last spring introduced bills that would either extend the two-year freeze on Ohio's renewable energy mandates or make them voluntary, in other words pretty much end them as standards that had to be met.

The plan since then has been to consider the legislation during hurried lame-duck sessions after the November elections.

The nine companies now urging a return to renewable standards all appear to be committed to sustainable business practices, including where they obtain their energy. And for many of them, that commitment includes recognition that the global climate is, in fact, changing.

That makes moving toward "clean energy" a major corporate goal. It's also a goal that has become increasingly attractive as solar and wind power have become cost competitive and at times less expensive than electricity generated by old power plants.

In other words, what's good for business is also good for the planet, one of the original axioms of the sustainability movement.

"Unfortunately, climate has become a political issue. There are many who don't believe in climate change and its effect," said Paul Bakus, president of U.S. Nestle corporate affairs office, and a former Ohio resident.

"We definitely see an impact of climate on our business," said Bakus. "And we have an interesting vantage point because we operate in pretty much every country in the world outside of North Korea."

The company employs 51,000 people in 47 states, including Ohio, where its employs nearly 2,800.

The company generates its own power at some of its U.S. processing plants. In Ohio, Nestle will on Dec. 1 begin buying renewable power for the Product Technology Center in Marysville (R&D center specializing in ready-to-drink beverage, premium coffee and tea), a Purina PetCare plant in Zanesville and its Quality Assurance Center in Dublin.

In addition to Nestle, Campbell Soup Co., Clif Bar & Co., Gap Inc., JLL, Owens Corning, Schneider Electric, United Technologies and Whirlpool Corp. are asking for the green standards to be resurrected.

The corporate commitment to green energy is obvious in the statements each company released Tuesday.

For example, Dave Stangis, vice president of corporate social responsibility for the Campbell Soup Co., released this statement:

"We urge Ohio's leaders to lift the state's freeze on the renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. Continuing to undo smart clean energy policies won't help us build a stronger Ohio for tomorrow. Campbell remains supportive of removing barriers and promoting incentives for low carbon energy options. We believe renewable energy and energy efficiency are good for the environment and good for business. The solar project on Campbell's Napoleon, OH site is expected to save $4 million and eliminate 250,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas over the purchase agreement's 20-year period."

Frank O'Brien-Bernini, vice president and chief sustainability officer at Toledo-based Owens Corning, which runs six factories in Ohio, put it this way:

"As a large local and global electricity consumer, continuously seeking more sustainable energy supplies, we support immediately lifting the freeze on Ohio's energy efficiency and renewable energy standards.

"Owens Corning is a market leader in manufacturing energy saving products and materials that enhance wind energy performance. This uniquely positions us to speak to the energy savings, environmental impact and job-creating value of expanding the penetration of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. Our recognition of renewable energy's diverse value is also reflected in our actions. In 2015, Owens Corning announced that it had executed power supply agreements of newly installed capacity that represented, at the time, the largest wind power agreements reported by an industrial company in the world. That same day, Owens Corning dedicated a 2.4-megawatt solar parking lot canopy at the company's headquarters in Toledo, the largest system of its kind in the Midwest. We support lifting the freeze."

The corporate appeal came a day after two environmental groups, the Nature Conservancy in Ohio and the Environmental Defense Fund released an in-depth economic projection of the impact of restoring renewable mandates and energy efficiency mandates on Ohio's economy.