The AES Corporation (A)

This case study describes the implementation of a reforestation project inSSS by The AES Corporation in Guatemala to offset carbon dioxide emissions from its Thames power plant, as well as the company's subsequent creation of a Sustainability Task Force to evaluate long-term fuel alternatives to coal.

• AES partnered with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the international relief organization CARE to implement a reforestation programSS project in Guatemala. The project aimed to assist 40,000 smallholder farmers in planting over 52 million trees over ten years across 385 square miles, with the goal of sequestering 19 million tons of carbon over forty years.
• The carbon sequestration strategy for the Guatemala project was divided into several components: 35% through managed woodlots (for firewood and building materials), 60% through agro-forestry planting to stabilize farmland and add soil nutrients, 3% by preventing forest fires, and 2% by adding carbon to soil.
• AES leveraged a $2 million grant to secure a total of $14.5 million in funding for the reforestation project. Contributions included $7.5 million in labor value from the U.S. Peace Corps, $1.8 million in food aid from U.S. AID, $1.2 million from the Guatemalan Government, and $2 million from CARE.
• The financial impact of the reforestation project on the cost of electricity production at the Thames plant was approximately one-tenth of one cent per kilowatt, with AES's specific share being one-seventh of that amount.
• In early 1991, AES established a Sustainability Task Force to investigate fuel alternatives to coal. The task force concluded that no single fuel provided both long-term cost stability and zero environmental externalities, leading the company to adopt a strategy of hedging its portfolio by developing natural gas projects alongside coal.

APA

World Resources Institute (1992). The AES Corporation (A). https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-123-3_full_version_b_english.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. The AES Corporation (A). 1992. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-123-3_full_version_b_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=The AES Corporation (A) |date=1992 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-123-3_full_version_b_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute1992aes, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{The AES Corporation (A)}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1992}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-123-3_full_version_b_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }