Our current climate goals, including the ambitious goal to source 100% of our electricity needs from renewable sources by 2025, build on a 20-year legacy of climate commitments and achievements.
In pursuit of this goal, we are proud that we have executed three new virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) that will take us to the equivalent of 100% renewable electricity in Europe for Johnson & Johnson sites where we have operational control[1] by 2023.
“Johnson & Johnson has a longstanding commitment to environmental health, including two decades of public climate commitments,” said Carlton Lawson, Company Group Chairman, Consumer Health EMEA, Johnson & Johnson.
“These new agreements cover more than thirty sites in eight European countries. Combined with existing PPAs in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland, we will soon be sourcing the equivalent of 100% of our electricity for Europe from renewable sources — a fantastic achievement that underlines our commitment to ensuring a better, healthier world.”
The news VPPAs include a mix of wind and solar projects in Spain for a total generation capacity of 104 megawatts (MW) or approximately 270,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable electricity annually. This amount of clean energy is equivalent to avoiding the carbon emissions from more than 41,000 passenger cars per year, or the annual electricity consumption of more than 82,000 homes.
The VPPAs will cover 35 sites in the European region, providing the equivalent of 100% renewable electricity for all Johnson & Johnson property sites across its three business sectors — pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer health — in France, Germany, Spain, UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, and Italy.
The new projects are expected to become operational in 2023, and would not have been financed and developed without the commitment of Johnson & Johnson, meaning the company is directly helping to accelerate the renewable energy transition in Europe.
[1] Johnson & Johnson property sites larger than 50,000m2, which are sites where the company has operational control