February 24, 2015 – Washington, DC –
From an innovative partnership enabling colleges to sell
carbon credits to fund clean energy projects on campuses to
some of the country's leading corporations setting and
exceeding aggressive emission reduction goals, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leadership Award
winners announced today are demonstrating that innovative
actions to combat climate change are smart business
decisions. Sixteen organizations and one individual
representing a wide array of industries from finance and
manufacturing to retail and technology show exemplary
corporate, organizational, and individual leadership in
response to climate change.
"I am proud to recognize our Climate
Leadership Award winners for their actions to reduce the
harmful carbon pollution that's fueling climate change,"
said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "Our winners
are demonstrating that a healthy environment and a strong
economy go hand in hand. These organizations are providing
the leadership, commitment, and solutions needed to cut
greenhouse gas emissions and meet head on the challenge of a
changing climate."
EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, in
partnership with the Association of Climate Change Officers
(ACCO), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES),
and The Climate Registry (TCR), announced the fourth annual
Climate Leadership Award winners.
The 2015 Climate Leadership Award recipients are:
-
Innovative Partnerships Certificate
(new category): This award recognizes organizations
working collaboratively on leading edge climate
initiatives with established objectives to measurably
address greenhouse gas reduction goals and/or adaptation
and resilience activities. This year's recipients
include:
-
Chevrolet Clean Energy Campus
Campaign (Detroit, Mich.): The Chevrolet Campus
Clean Energy Campaign marks the first time college
campuses have been able to use carbon performance
methodologies to earn revenue via GHG reductions
that result from on-campus efficiency and clean
energy. The Campaign set a 100 percent absolute GHG
reduction goal through 2014 (2012 base year).
-
San Diego Regional Climate
Collaborative (San Diego, Calif.): The Climate
Collaborative supports members in setting and
meeting GHG reduction targets via trainings and
information on GHG inventory and monitoring tools;
sharing climate action plan templates; supporting
local governments in developing climate action
plans; developing capacity for local governments to
implement measures in their climate action plans;
and more.
-
Organizational Leadership Award:
-
Bank of America (Charlotte, N.C.)
is being honored with this award for not only
completing its own comprehensive greenhouse gas
inventory and setting an aggressive emissions
reduction goal, but also exemplifying extraordinary
leadership in its internal response to climate
change through engagement of its peers, competitors,
partners, and supply chain, and addressing climate
risk in its enterprise strategies. Bank of America
issued the first corporate green bond to fund energy
efficiency projects in 2013. Bank of America is
setting an absolute global greenhouse gas (GHG)
reduction goal of 15 percent from 2010 levels
through 2015. This goal builds on a previous total
reduction of 18 percent of its U.S. GHG emissions
from 2004-2009.
-
Individual Leadership Award:
-
Mayor Bill Finch, City of
Bridgeport, Connecticut is being recognized for
demonstrating extraordinary leadership in driving
meaningful climate action within the Greater
Bridgeport community and throughout the City's
operations. The Mayor is implementing an emission
reduction goal for the city of 10 percent below 2007
levels by 2020.
-
Excellence in Greenhouse Gas
Management (Goal Achievement Award): The following
organizations are being honored for publicly reporting
and verifying organization-wide greenhouse gas
inventories and achieving publicly-set aggressive
greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals:
-
The City and County of San
Francisco;
-
The Clorox Company (Oakland,
Calif.);
-
DPR Construction (Redwood City,
Calif.);
-
SC Johnson (Racine, Wis.);
-
Sprint (Overland Park, Kan.); and
-
UPS (Atlanta).
-
Excellence in Greenhouse Gas
Management (Goal Setting Certificate): The following
organizations are being honored for publicly reporting
and verifying organization-wide greenhouse gas
inventories and publicly setting aggressive greenhouse
gas emissions reduction goals:
-
Brown-Forman Corporation
(Louisville, Ky.);
-
California Department of Water
Resources;
-
Capital One Financial Corporation
(McLean, Va.);
-
CH2M HILL (Englewood, Colo.);
-
The Clorox Company (Oakland,
Calif.);
-
EMC Corporation (Hopkinton,
Mass.);
-
The Hartford (Hartford, Conn.);
and
-
Tiffany & Co. (New York).
"Climate change presents immense challenges
across an incredible array of sectors, geographic regions
and job functions," said Daniel Kreeger, executive
director of the Association of Climate Change Officers.
"The 2015 Climate Leadership Award winners have shown that
incorporating climate into decision making is critical to
their organizational success and are raising the bar on
climate action."
"After the hottest year globally on record,
action on climate change is more urgent than ever," said
Elliot Diringer, executive vice president of C2ES. "We
applaud the CLA winners for demonstrating the many paths
forward to a low-carbon future, and hope others follow their
example."
"The Climate Registry is honored to
recognize an impressive group of climate champions for their
dedication to and leadership in addressing climate change in
their operations," said David Rosenheim, executive
director of TCR. "This year's deserving award winners
are leading the way in reducing carbon pollution through
greater transparency and consistent data, demonstrating the
path to a more sustainable future."
The awards were presented at the 2015
Climate Leadership Conference in Arlington, Va.
EPA's Center for Corporate Climate
Leadership establishes norms of climate leadership by
encouraging organizations with emerging climate objectives
to identify and achieve cost-effective GHG emission
reductions, while helping more advanced organizations drive
innovations in reducing their greenhouse gas impacts in
their supply chains and beyond. The Center provides
technical tools, guidance, educational resources, and
opportunities for information sharing and peer exchange
among organizations interested in reducing the environmental
impacts associated with climate change.
More information about the 2015 Climate
Leadership Award winners:
www.epa.gov/climateleadership/awards/2015winners.html
More information about EPA's Center for
Corporate Climate Leadership:
www.epa.gov/climateleadership
About the Association of Climate Change
Officers
The Association of Climate Change Officers
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization for
executives and officials worldwide in industry, government,
academia and the non-profit community. ACCO's mission is to
define, develop and support the functions, resources and
communities necessary for effective organizational
leadership in addressing climate-related risks and
opportunities. For more information about ACCO, please visit
http://www.accoonline.org.
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