Which Companies Use the Most Green Energy?

Green energy was once a niche segment of the wider energy industry, but it’s quickly becoming an essential energy source in many regions and nations across the globe.

Based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this infographic by SolarPower.Guide shows the top 50 greenest companies, based on the highest proportion of green energy used in their overall consumption mix.

Leaders in Green Energy Use

As green energy becomes more affordable, some major businesses like Google, Wells Fargo, and Apple are embracing it in a big way.

It also helps that institutional investors are nudging companies in that direction anyways, especially as they become more focused on incorporating environment, social and governance (ESG) into their portfolios.

Here are the top 15 U.S. companies that use the highest percentage of green energy:

Note: The values reflect the amount of green power as a percentage of a company’s total electricity use. Companies that purchase green power exceeding their total organization-wide electricity use will show a value greater than 100%.

Green Energy vs. Renewable Energy

The term “green energy” is often met with confusion by some and is sometimes just referred to as “renewables” by others. So, what is green energy, and how is it different from other sources of renewable energy?

Green energy is a subset of renewable energy and represents those energy sources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit. The EPA defines green power as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact small hydroelectric sources.

Other renewable types of energy exist, but may not be considered fully green, at least as the EPA defines it. For example, while massive hydro projects provide a renewable source of energy, they can also have big impact on the environment. Same goes for non-eligible biomass—a category which includes biomass that may not be close to carbon-neutral.

Climate Commitments

In addition to the use of green power for operations, major companies are also looking at the bigger picture and setting targets to achieve carbon neutrality.

Here are a few of the major companies that have made climate commitments in the near future:

This will undoubtedly impact their overall consumption and the energy mix in the years to come.

What Products Are Made from a Barrel of Oil?

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From the gasoline in our cars to the plastic in countless everyday items, crude oil is an essential raw material that shows up everywhere in our lives.

With around 18 million barrels of crude oil consumed every day just in America, this commodity powers transport, utilities, and is a vital ingredient in many of the things we use on a daily basis.

This graphic visualizes how much crude oil is refined into various finished products, using a barrel of oil to represent the proportional breakdown.

Barrel of Oil to Functional Fuel and More

Crude oil is primarily refined into various types of fuels to power transport and vital utilities. More than 85% of crude oil is refined into fuels like gasoline, diesel, and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) like propane and butane.

Along with being fuels for transportation, heating, and cooking, HGLs are used as feedstock for the production of chemicals, plastics, and synthetic rubber, and as additives for motor gasoline production.

Source: Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

Crude oil not only powers our vehicles, but it also helps pave the roads we drive on. About 4% of refined crude oil becomes asphalt, which is used to make concrete and different kinds of sealing and insulation products.

Although transportation and utility fuels dominate a large proportion of refined products, essential everyday materials like wax and plastic are also dependent on crude oil. With about 10% of refined products used to make plastics, cosmetics, and textiles, a barrel of crude oil can produce a variety of unexpected everyday products.

Personal care products like cosmetics and shampoo are made using petroleum products, as are medical supplies like IV bags and pharmaceuticals. Modern life would look very different without crude oil.

The Process of Refining Crude Oil

You might have noticed that while a barrel of oil contains 42 gallons, it ends up producing 45 gallons of refined products. This is because the majority of refined products have a lower density than crude oil, resulting in an increase in volume that is called processing gain.

Along with this, there are other inputs aside from crude oil that are used in the refining process. While crude oil is the primary input, fuel ethanol, hydrocarbon gas liquids, and other blending liquids are also used.

Source: EIA

The process of refining a 30,000-barrel batch of crude oil typically takes between 12-24 hours, with refineries operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Although the proportions of individual refined products can vary depending on market demand and other factors, the majority of crude oil will continue to become fuel for the world’s transport and utilities.

The Difficulty of Cutting Down on Crude Oil

From the burning of heavy fuels that tarnish icebergs found in Arctic waters to the mounds of plastic made with petrochemicals that end up in our rivers, each barrel of oil and its refined products impact our environment in many different ways.

But even as the world works to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels in order to reach climate goals, a world without crude oil seems unfathomable.

Skyrocketing sales of EVs still haven’t managed to curb petroleum consumption in places like Norway, California, and China, and the steady reopening of travel and the economy will only result in increased petroleum consumption.

Completely replacing the multi-faceted “black gold” that’s in a barrel of oil isn’t possible right now, but as electrification continues and we find alternatives to petrochemical materials, humanity might at least manage to reduce its dependence on burning fossil fuels.