EPA Recognizes Deluxe Corporation Among Nation's Leading Green Power Purchasers

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on nearly a century of innovation, Deluxe Corporation (NYSE: DLX) announced today its No. 3 ranking on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) list of top green power purchasers in the printing industry. Over the last year, Deluxe has significantly shifted its power purchases as part of the company's commitment to protect the environment and support their existing EPA Green Power Partnership.  

The green power that Deluxe purchases amounts to 41 percent of its total annual electricity needs and allows the company to now produce nearly all of its checks for financial institution customers with renewable energy.

Last week, EPA updated each of its National Top Partner lists, highlighting some of America's largest green power purchasers. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partners that have completed the largest annual voluntary purchases through Oct. 5, 2010. EPA updates its Top Partner Lists quarterly at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/.

Deluxe now qualifies for EPA's Green Power Leadership Club, a distinction given to organizations that have significantly exceeded EPA's minimum purchase requirements. Green Power Leadership Club members must purchase 10 times the partnership's minimum requirement organization-wide.

"It's an honor to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and named to their Green Power Leadership Club," said Pete Godich, vice president of Deluxe Fulfillment. "Purchasing green power helps Deluxe reduce our reliance on non-renewable resources and provide our customers with products and services that have less of an environmental impact. Going forward, we will continue to focus on energy efficiency and innovation in the markets we serve."

According to the U.S. EPA, Deluxe Corporation's green power purchase of nearly 26 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 4,000 passenger vehicles per year or the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of more than 2,000 average American homes annually.

"EPA applauds our Green Power Partners for their contributions to helping expand America's renewable energy portfolio, improve the nation's energy security, and reduce their organizations' greenhouse gas emissions," said Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "By using green power our partners are setting the standard for our clean energy future."

Deluxe Corporation is committed to growth through sustainable business practices. In addition to purchasing green power, the company's sustainability goals include improving energy efficiency and offering products that are made with recycled materials or can be recycled by customers.

About Deluxe Corporation

Deluxe Corporation is a growth engine for small businesses and financial institutions. Through its industry-leading businesses and brands, the Company helps small businesses and financial institutions attract and retain customers. The Company employs a multi-channel strategy to provide a suite of life-cycle driven solutions to its customers. In addition to its personalized printed products, the Company offers a growing suite of business services, including logo design, payroll, web design and hosting, business networking and other web-based services to help small businesses grow. In the financial services industry, Deluxe sells check programs and fraud prevention, customer loyalty and retention programs to help banks build lasting relationships and grow core deposits. The Company also sells personalized checks, accessories and other services directly to consumers. For more information about Deluxe, visit http://www.deluxe.com.

About EPA's Green Power Partnership

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,300 Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500® companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.

SOURCE Deluxe Corporation