In recent years, SWBR has worked to reduce our environmental footprint through a variety of strategies, including a lighting retrofit. Our 2019 Sustainability Action Plan outlined our firm-wide efforts to reduce the impacts of our projects and our business operations over the next three years. One of the goals established in the plan was to reduce our energy consumption and carbon footprint in 2020. In support of this goal, SWBR has purchased Green-e* certified Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and Carbon Offsets, offsetting the fossil fuel-based energy consumption and carbon emissions of our Rochester and Syracuse offices.
Our Renewable Energy Credits reduce the carbon dioxide emissions associated with our electric energy consumption and are equivalent to the elimination of over 356,000 pounds of coal being burned for electricity generation. The Carbon Offsets for our non-electric energy consumption are equivalent to the carbon sequestered by over 200 acres of United States-managed forests in one year.
Green-e certification is a third-party audit process that certifies and verifies renewable energy purchases are being procured from clean energy or clean energy projects. To learn more, visit the Green-e website: https://www.green-e.org/certified-resources