January 12, 2006

Whole Foods pays extra for same electricity

From the Jan. 10 AP story:
Natural-food grocer Whole Foods Market Inc. said Tuesday it will rely on wind energy for all of its electricity needs, making it the largest corporate user of renewable energy in the United States. ...

"It's a sales driver rather than a cost," [Whole Foods regional president Michael Besancon] said. "All of those things we do related to our core values: help drive sales, help convince a customer to drive past three or four other supermarkets on the way to Whole Foods."
Whole Foods will not be "relying" on wind energy any more than they were before. Their stores will be getting the same electricity as their neighbors, but Whole Foods will be paying more for it in the belief that they are supporting the construction of giant wind turbines.

That's fine, but, as The Stalwart, a pro-wind business blog, points out, isn't their good (however misinformed) intention cancelled out by the quoted calculation that people will drive farther for their groceries?

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