The AES Corporation (B)

The AES Corporation partnered with the World Resources Institute and CARE to fund a reforestation project in Guatemala to offset carbon dioxide emissions from its Thames power plant. The project aimed to plant 52 million trees over ten years to sequester 19 million tons of carbon, leveraging a $2 million AES grant into $14.5 million of total funding. While the initiative received mixed press and investor reactions, it aligned with the company's corporate value of social responsibility. Subsequently, AES established a Sustainability Task Force in 1991, which concluded that the company should hedge its portfolio by developing natural gas projects alongside coal to address long-term economic and environmental sustainability.

• The AES Corporation implemented a reforestation project in Guatemala to offset carbon dioxide emissions from its Thames plant, aiming to plant over 52 million trees across 385 square miles over ten years to sequester 19 million tons of carbon.
• The project's funding was a collaborative effort where a $2 million grant from AES was leveraged to reach a total of $14.5 million, with contributions from the U.S. Peace Corps ($7.5 million), U.S. AID ($1.8 million), the Guatemalan Government ($1.2 million), and CARE ($2.0 million).
• The carbon mitigation strategy for the Guatemala project was divided into managed woodlots (35%), agro-forestry planting (60%), preventing forest fires (3%), and adding carbon to soil (2%).
• In 1991, AES formed a Sustainability Task Force to investigate sustainable fuel alternatives, concluding that the company should 'hedge' its portfolio by developing natural gas projects in addition to coal to balance long-term cost stability and environmental externalities.

APA

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

Chicago

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

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trent |first1=Marcy |title=The AES Corporation (B) |publisher=World Resources Institute |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{trent1992aes, author = {Trent, Marcy}, title = {{The AES Corporation (B)}}, 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} }