Ceres BICEP Members: February 24, 2021 | Submitted Electronically Adobe Systems Inc. Akamai Technologies Annie’s Inc. Sen. David H. Senjem Sen. Andrew Mathews Autodesk Chair, Senate Energy and Vice Chair, Senate Energy and Utilities Aveda Ball Corporation Utilities Finance and Policy Finance and Policy Committee Ben & Jerry’s Biogen Committee 2105 Minnesota Senate Bldg. Burton Snowboards 3401 Minnesota Senate Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 Burt’s Bees Clif Bar & Company St. Paul, MN 55155 CommonSpirit Health Danone North America DSM Sen. Nick A. Frentz eBay Inc. Ranking Minority Member, Senate Energy and Eileen Fisher Etsy Utilities Finance and Policy Committee Fetzer Vineyards 2415 Minnesota Senate Bldg. Gap Inc. General Mills, Inc. St. Paul, MN 55155 Hackensack Meridian Health Happy Family Brands RE: Business Opposition to S.F. 992, Repeal of CIP; and S.F. 301, Allow for a IKEA Retail U.S. Reduction in Energy Savings Goals for Municipal and Cooperative Electric Utilities Impossible Foods Inc. Indigo Ag, Inc. JLL Dear Chair Senjem, Vice Chair Mathews, Ranking Minority Member Frentz, and Kaiser Permanente KB Home Members of the Senate Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee: The Kellogg Company LBrands L’Oreal USA I am writing to you on behalf of the Ceres BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate Levi Strauss & Co. and Energy Policy) Network – a coalition of nearly 70 major employers and LinkedIn Corporation Lyft manufacturers across the United States, many of whom have operations and facilities Mars Incorporated in Minnesota. As a representative of the BICEP Network, I write to express strong Mass General Brigham opposition to S.F. 992, which would repeal Minnesota’s Conservation McDonald’s Corporation Improvement Program (CIP); and S.F. 301, which would weaken the energy Mondelez savings goals for municipal and cooperative electric utilities. Microsoft Corporation Nature’s Path Foods Nestlè USA Our members understand firsthand how state energy policies affect the cost of doing New Belgium Brewing business and Minnesota’s economic competitiveness. They also recognize the Nike, Inc. significant economic opportunity presented by energy efficiency and energy waste The North Face Outdoor Industry reduction. We are concerned by the Committee’s consideration of these two proposals Association which would dismantle Minnesota’s vital energy efficiency programs – particularly Owens Corning after the Committee voted favorably to pass the 2021 Energy Conservation & Patagonia, Inc. Portland Trail Blazers Optimization (ECO) Act (S.F. 227 / H.F. 164) – a proposal to expand CIP energy REI efficiency offerings backed by broad and bipartisan support. Salesforce.com, Inc Schneider Electric 1 Seventh Generation For nearly four decades, the nationally-recognized CIP has been a reliable source of SFO Airport jobs and revenue for the state as well as a critical force for progress toward the Sierra Nevada Brewing bipartisan greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of the 2007 Next Generation Squaw Valley Starbucks Corporation Energy Act. According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, every dollar Stonyfield Farm invested in the CIP generates at least $4 in benefits from energy savings, avoided Symantec Corporation environmental externalities, and new economic activity. Over a six-year period, CIP The North Face Timberland 1 Unilever American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) State and Local Policy Database ranks Minnesota in Vail Resorts the Top 10 nationally and leads the Midwest region when it comes to energy efficiency programs (2021), VF Corporation https://database.aceee.org/state-scorecard-rank Vulcan, Inc. Workday Worthen Industries

generated a cumulative net benefit of $5.9 billion in new economic output and nearly 55,0000 job years.2 The Department of Commerce also found that in just two years (2013-2014), combined electric and natural gas from CIP conserved enough energy to heat, cool, and power more than 110,000 homes in Minnesota for one year and reduce carbon pollution equal to 325,000 cars on the road for one year.3

Energy efficiency is the cheapest and cleanest energy resource at our disposal. CIP offerings have benefited both the customers and businesses who have directly participated – through lower energy consumption and lower energy bills – and society at large – by avoiding the need for utilities to build new power plants, transmission and distribution infrastructure to meet customer energy needs. Conservation and energy efficiency efforts also benefit the environment and improve local air quality by reducing the combustion of fossil fuels.

As Minnesota businesses and energy consumers continue to navigate a shifting and uncertain economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to cost-effective energy efficiency programs are critical to keeping Minnesota a competitive place to do business. S.F. 992 and S.F. 301 would undermine the proven success of CIP, directly impact the 47,000 pre-pandemic jobs in energy efficiency across Minnesota,4 and jeopardize the future of corporate investments in Minnesota. We believe that expansion of state energy efficiency programs as proposed through the 2021 ECO Act is a critical component of achieving a prosperous and sustainable economy.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Anne L. Kelly Vice President Government Relations, On behalf of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP)

For additional information, please contact Deana Dennis, Senior Manager for State Policy at Ceres ([email protected]).

The Ceres BICEP Network comprises influential companies advocating for stronger climate and clean energy policies at the state and federal level in the U.S. Ceres BICEP Members listed in bold on the page above have direct operations in Minnesota. For more information on the Ceres BICEP Network, visit www.ceres.org/BICEP.

2 Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources, The Aggregate Economic Impact of the Conservation Improvement Program 2008-2013 (October 2015), https://mn.gov/commerce/policy-data-reports/energy-data-reports/?id=17-81661 2 Ibid, at 2. 3 Ibid, at 2. 4 Clean Jobs Midwest, Clean Energy is Key for Economic Recovery in Minnesota (2019), https://www.cleanjobsmidwest.com/state/minnesota