ANDERSON, Ind. – Ricker's has extended its participation in Replenish, a reduced emission program powered by GreenPrint, for an additional two years.

Ricker's customers in the Indianapolis metro area can automatically offset harmful carbon emissions by pumping the same Ricker's gasoline at no additional cost or effort. Every time a customer pumps any grade of fuel at Ricker's, the Replenish program calculates their vehicle's tailpipe emissions and invests in forestry, tree planting, alternative energy and other projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Ricker's offered the program for environmental and community benefits, along with the goal of driving loyalty and goodwill and to differentiate themselves from their competition.

In addition to delivering on traditional sales metrics, the Replenish program is generating loyalty and goodwill for Ricker's in Indianapolis. In a consumer intercept survey of more than 400 customers at the pump, Ricker's Net Promoter Score (NPS), used to gauge loyalty and customer's propensity to promote a brand, increased from 40 to 47 in less than six months. This increase was driven by customers aware of the Replenish program who reported an NPS average of 50.

Additional findings indicate that customers are directing more of their monthly fuel trips to Ricker's and making up to 15% more in-store purchases.

"I see the program as part of our legacy to the community and something that is extremely important to our core values as a company. When we ask employees and customers about Replenish, they have nothing but positive comments. I've even had people around town approach me unsolicited to tell me how cool the program is and how much they appreciate what we are doing. We've got a good thing. It's positive for the environment and the community. Our employees and customers love it. Now we're focused on building awareness with existing and new customers," said Quinn Ricker, president and CEO of Ricker's.

GreenPrint has worked with Ricker's to drive continued awareness of the Replenish program through digital and traditional media efforts, including signage, social and digital media, pump top and network TV commercials, GasBuddy promotions and more.

While significant customer engagement and positive sentiment toward Replenish continues, employees are simultaneously engaged and enjoy the program's benefits. Potted trees near the pumps help promote the Replenish program, and store managers and employees enjoy taking care of them and discussing them with customers. Additionally, employees and their families are invited to quarterly local tree-planting volunteer projects to help give back to the community, enjoy bonding time and to make an impact in their neighborhoods.

"I think having Replenish at our stores helps remind our customers about how much we care about our community, but it also helps to give me and our employees another thing to be proud of. We love being able to go to the tree-planting projects," said Brad Pyle, store manager at Ricker's. "I even got to be the one to plant the 5,000th tree that this program has planted at one of our projects with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful."

Since May 2016, Ricker's has planted more than 8,300 trees in Indiana with the Arbor Day Foundation and in local parks and schools with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Additionally, the program has offset more than 46 million pounds of carbon through investments in various certified carbon offset projects.

The next big focus of Ricker's Replenish in 2017 is its recently announced partnership with the Indiana Bicentennial Commission, which will replace and replenish trees on the Indiana Statehouse lawn.