American Express: the importance of renewable energy to power the future is clear

For many companies like American Express, renewable energy is the future.

Established in 1850 as a U.S. express delivery service, American Express has remained a leader for generation by embracing both innovation and tradition. As the company has grown and evolved, sometimes reinventing the business outright, American Express has never strayed from the customer-service ethos and values on which the company was built: trust, security, integrity, respect, customer commitment and good citizenship.

Our history in Arizona began in 1961 when we opened our first travel office in Phoenix. Almost six decades later, American Express is one of the largest employers in the Valley. Phoenix also is American Express’ largest U.S. location with over 7,700 colleagues representing more than 15 lines of business. The teams comprising American Express’ operations in Phoenix are some of the widest-ranging and most varied functions that help the company drive toward its vision of providing the world’s best customer experience every day.

Recently named one of the Top Eco-Friendly Companies to Watch in Phoenix 2019, we know one of the most significant ways to back our stakeholders is to do our part to protect and sustain the environment on which life depends.

We therefor prioritize the management and improvement of our own environmental footprint, including the impacts of our offices and operations. We also are empowering our network and data centers more efficiently and with the use of renewable resources. In 2018, we became a Carbon Neutral® company by employing renewable energy credits, carbon offsets, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and we obtained 100% of our electricity needs from renewable sources. We are committed to maintaining these efforts moving forward.

As the Greater Phoenix region gets closer and closer to becoming a major tech hub, it’s important that Arizona considers renewable energy technologies that not only have a much lower environmental impact, but also provide increase energy independence and drive economic development. For many companies like our own, renewable energy is the future.

Unfortunately, the state is a bit stuck in the past as far as renewable energy regulations are concerned. While establishing the 15% REST in 2006 was notable, Arizona has since fallen behind many other states in the region and across the country in setting a strong renewable energy portfolio. It’s time for Arizona to catch up.

As Arizona continues to drive innovation and inches closer to becoming a leading tech hub, the importance of renewable energy to power the future is clear. One of the greatest challenges for this century is powering the planet while reducing carbon emissions. And renewable energy is the answer.

Learn more at www.americanexpress.com.