Kevin Hagen, VP ESG strategy at Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM), participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITworks: 2021 Conference.
While significant progress on the renewable energy front has been made by larger corporate players, it’s time for more companies to get involved in order to send a signal to the market and reach the goal of “greening the grid for everyone,” Hagen said.
“There’s plenty of opportunity to make great business choices with renewable energy solutions,” Hagen stressed. He also emphasized the importance of getting support from organizations and collaborations that are helping companies “learn quickly and get in the game fast.” By doing so, companies will be helping those “at the front of the pack look at the next wave of demands,” including policy issues and utility engagement, he said.
Hagen also noted that Iron Mountain’s own power purchase agreements have furthered the company’s renewable energy goals. He said 80% of the company’s total global energy consumption is from wind, solar, and other renewables.
“We’ve also learned how to do these contracts in a way that is business positive…we’ve probably never paid more than grid for green power. Cost management, stability in our rates, and achieving our green power and climate reduction goals have all been critical aspects of our green power strategy,” Hagen said.