In April 2019, DaVita committed to a goal of being 100% powered by renewable energy by 2022 and entered into Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Longroad Energy to facilitate the development of two clean energy projects. Despite unprecedented times, progress continued on these projects and in October construction on a wind farm in North Texas was completed, reaching the halfway mark towards their goal.

“We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve reached this important milestone in our sustainability journey,” says Peter Berkowitz, DaVita vice president of real estate and center development. “Projects like this show that good business decisions can also give rise to strong communities. We’re doing our part to leave a better world for future generations by being the change we want to see in the world.”

The wind farm, totaling 36 square miles, is the first of the two clean energy projects under PPAs with DaVita to be completed by Longroad Energy. DaVita’s portion of the wind project is expected to produce enough electricity to power 50% of its operations. Construction on the second project, a 2,600 acre solar farm also stationed in Texas, is set to be complete in 2021.

Together, the parts of the wind farm and the solar farm under the PPAs with DaVita are expected to produce approximately 625,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year - enough to power DaVita's entire North American operations.

The PPAs are a part of DaVita's sustainability goals which range across five key focus areas: energy, water, waste, buildings and supply chain. The energy expected to be produced from DaVita’s renewable energy projects is the equivalent of power used by 52,000 U.S. homes or reducing 440,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The company has taken on other green initiatives including:

• Retrofitted over 900 DaVita dialysis centers with high-efficiency LED lighting.
• Improved energy efficiency through smart building controls in more than 2,000 centers
• Evaluating 2,700 centers for Water Optimization and Default Flow Rate water projects
• Diverted more than 621,500 pounds of electronic waste from landfills since 2015
• DaVita's second headquarter building received LEED Platinum certification, achieving a LEED Platinum campus in downtown Denver and exceeding our 2020 Environmental Goal of being at least LEED Silver.

DaVita teammates are encouraged to be the change they wish to see in the world through volunteer opportunities offered by Village Green – DaVita's initiative, founded in 2007, to promote environmental sustainability in its centers and offices around the world. Today, teammate engagement is at an all-time high with more than 1,500 teammates implementing sustainability initiatives at their center or business office.

DaVita is committed to improving the quality of life in our communities and believes that a healthy community leads to a healthy world. For this reason, DaVita strives to continually advance our efforts that help mitigate climate change, reduce its negative environmental impact and use natural resources efficiently.

More information on DaVita's commitment to sustainability is available here.