New York, USA — Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. now offsets all of its purchased electricity use with renewable energy sources, the company announced Wednesday.

Mohawk Fine Papers bought 100 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy certificates, allowing it to offset 100 percent of the electric power energy consumption at its New York and Ohio operations. It follows companies such as Whole Foods and PepsiCo., who are members of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership and have offset all energy use with renewable sources.

“We continually seek ways to expand our sustainable practices,” said Tom O’Connor, Mohawk Fine Paper’s Chairman and CEO, in a statement. “We’re acutely aware that, as a paper manufacturer, we are part of an industry that depends heavily on energy, water, and other natural resources in the production of ephemeral, non-durable goods.

“Because of this, over two decades ago we embraced the concept of extended stewardship, meaning that we continually examine every aspect of our business with the objective of making our environmental footprint as small as possible,” he said.

In May, the company announced it was moving toward carbon neutral production of four of its premium paper lines. In 2003, it began manufacturing paper with wind-generated electricity — a first for a U.S. paper mill, it claims.

Between 2001 and 2006, it reduced electricity consumption per ton of manufactured product by 14 percent, and lowered thermal consumption per ton by 8 percent.

Independently-owned Mohawk operates three mills with more than 175,000 tons of capacity and four distribution centers, according to its Web site. Its brands include Strathmore, Beckett, Via and BrightHue.

It joined the EPA’s Green Power Partnership in 2005.