New Jersey Resources
NEW JERSEY RESOURCES EMBRACES GOVERNOR CORZINE’S GOAL TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
03/14/2007 - For Immediate Release“New Jersey Resources is committed to doing our part to protect and improve the quality of life for future generations. Today, in support of the state’s goal, we are committing ourselves to reducing and offsetting our own emissions 20 percent by 2020,” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of NJR. “New Jersey has become a national leader in the fight against climate change, and we are fortunate to live and work in a state with an aggressive and thoughtful agenda for environmental protection.”
Since February 13, when Governor Corzine signed an executive order calling for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, NJR has been evaluating its company-wide carbon footprint, which is a calculation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By calculating direct emission sources such as transportation, energy use from its many properties and its distribution system, as well as indirect sources such as air travel and paper usage, NJR’s total emissions have been calculated at about 20,000 tons by The Conservation Fund, America’s premier conservation nonprofit.
“In short, minimizing your carbon footprint can and should go hand in hand with increasing economic vitality,” said Governor Corzine. “I congratulate New Jersey Resources for their leadership in walking that talk.”
“We have outlined an agenda to take the appropriate steps to reduce and offset our carbon footprint and will invest over $1 million in the next five years to meet this goal,” said Downes.
The company will purchase 100 percent of its electric needs through the Board of Public Utilities’ CleanPower Choice Program eliminating all emissions from electricity. Additionally, all vehicles in NJR’s fleet will be evaluated for conversion to hybrid, dual-fuel or compressed natural gas. The company will continue to be a proactive force for the education of customers and the advancement of environmental policy through its Conserve to Preserve program.
To encourage customers to offset their own emissions, NJR will match up to $250,000 of customer donations over five years as part of a tree-planting campaign, “Planting for Our Future.” NJR will also step up its participation in the Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise and Gas STAR programs, which encourage corporate recycling and natural gas distribution efficiencies. These programs have already helped reduce the company’s emissions the equivalent of removing over 3,000 cars from New Jersey’s roadways or planting 5,000 acres of trees.
New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), NJR’s largest subsidiary, will launch the “Planting for Our Future” campaign to educate their customers about greenhouse gas emissions and what they can do to offset them through a partnership with The Conservation Fund. The company will match customers’ donations up to 10,000 trees per year. Each tree planted by The Conservation Fund costs $5 and will be used to restore native wildlife habitat.
NJNG announced a fundamental shift in business strategy last October with approval from the Board of Public Utilities for a new program aimed at encouraging customer conservation. Customers are encouraged to “Conserve to Preserve” with the tools and information provided to them by NJNG. This included a customized conservation booklet that informed each customer of the potential savings they could achieve in their home by following the three low- and no-cost energy tips. The booklet showed that an average residential customer could save approximately $300, which is equivalent to about 200 therms of natural gas. Conserving this much would prevent 1.2 tons of CO2, the most prominent greenhouse gas, from being emitted into the atmosphere.
New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR), a Fortune 1000 company and a member of the Forbes Platinum 400, provides reliable retail and wholesale energy services to customers in New Jersey and in states from the Gulf Coast to New England, and Canada. Its principal subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Gas, is one of the fastest-growing local distribution companies in the United States, serving more than 474,000 customers in central and northern New Jersey. Other major NJR subsidiaries include NJR Energy Services and NJR Home Services. NJR Energy Services is a leader in the wholesale energy services market, providing customer service and management of natural gas storage and capacity assets. NJR Home Services offers retail customers heating, air conditioning and appliance services. NJR’s progress is a tribute to the more than 5,000 dedicated employees who have shared their expertise and focus on quality through more than 50 years of serving customers and the community to make NJR a leader in the competitive energy marketplace. For more information, visit NJR’s Web site at njliving.com.
Contact:
Michael Kinney, Media
732-938-1031
Dennis Puma, Investor
732-938-1229
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