May 17, 2011 – Washington, DC – Today
The Climate Registry (The Registry), the Pew Center on
Global Climate Change (Pew Center) and the Association of
Climate Change Officers (ACCO) announced that they will
jointly sponsor a new national awards program with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize exemplary
corporate, organizational and individual leadership in
response to climate change.
By showcasing voluntary action on climate
and energy under a unified banner, EPA, The Registry, Pew
Center and ACCO are sending a strong signal that innovative
and sustained leadership in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)
management will be recognized in the United States.
"The co-sponsorship of this new recognition
opportunity reflects EPA’s commitment to reducing greenhouse
gas emissions (GHGs) and recognizing leadership on climate
change," said EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy. "We
are pleased to be partnering with three non-profit
organizations that have demonstrated expertise in GHG
emissions management."
An event to honor award recipients will be held in early
2012. Specific award categories will include:
-
Sustained Excellence in Public
Reporting – Recognizing companies that continually
raise the bar in the area of public disclosure of GHG
emissions data. This would include regular public
reporting and verification of corporate GHG inventories,
GHG goal setting and achievement of GHG emissions
reductions.
-
Supply Chain Leadership –
Recognizing companies that have their own comprehensive
GHG inventories and emissions reduction goals and can
demonstrate that they are at the leading edge of
managing carbon in their supply chain.
-
Organizational Leadership –
Recognizing companies that have “mainstreamed” climate
change across their operations and can demonstrate that
they factor climate change into their business
decisions.
-
Individual Leadership –
Recognizing individuals exemplifying extraordinary
leadership in leading their organizations’ response to
climate change and/or affecting the responses of other
organizations.
These award categories provide a legacy for
EPA’s Climate Leaders program, which provided support to
private sector corporations who voluntarily set and achieved
greenhouse gas reduction targets, and ACCO’s Climate
Leadership Awards, which recognized exemplary leadership by
organizations in industry, government, academia and the
non-profit community.
“Corporate leadership is essential to advancing climate and
energy solutions,” said Eileen Claussen, President of the
Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “In growing
numbers, companies and their employees are working
tirelessly in pursuit of cost-effective solutions that
reduce carbon and benefit consumers. Recognizing these great
accomplishments serves to motivate and accelerate efforts
throughout the business community toward a cleaner, more
efficient energy future."
“The Climate Registry is delighted to
partner with EPA, the Pew Center and ACCO on this important
program, which will build on the work of Climate Leaders as
well as our own carbon management program,” said Denise
Sheehan, Executive Director of The Climate Registry.
“Together we look forward to continuing to provide the
tools, resources and recognition that organizations need to
take their climate and carbon leadership to the next level.”
"Amongst ACCO’s primary missions is bringing
together climate executives from across sectors to
collaborate and establish best practices," said Daniel
Kreeger, ACCO's Executive Director. "We look forward to
undertaking such a timely and important effort with our
partners - The Climate Registry and the Pew Center - who
have been on the cutting edge of climate response, and of
course EPA, whose Climate Protection Awards inspired ACCO’s
2010 Climate Leadership Awards program and whose Climate
Leaders program has been so instrumental in driving climate
response."
More information is available online at
www.epa.gov/climateleaders. Additional information on
the award categories and nomination process will be made
publicly available in the next few weeks.
About The Climate Registry
The Climate Registry provides organizations with the tools
and resources to help them calculate, verify, report and
manage their GHG emissions in a publicly transparent and
credible way. The Registry was established in 2007 as a 501
(c)(3) by US states and Canadian provinces and today is
governed by a Board of Directors comprised of senior
officials from 41 US states, the District of Columbia, 13
Canadian provinces and territories, six Mexican states and
four Native Sovereign Nations. The Registry is a membership
organization with more than 430 members who use The
Registry’s services measure and manage their emissions and
share best practices with a community of members. For more
information see
www.theclimateregistry.org.
About the Pew Center on Global Climate
Change
The Pew Center on Global Climate Change (“Pew Center”;
www.pewclimate.org) is a 501(c)(3) organization that
operates under the legal umbrella Strategies for the Global
Environment. Formed in 1998, the Pew Center is an
internationally recognized pragmatic voice offering credible
information and analysis, straight answers, and innovative
solutions in the effort to address global climate change. In
a highly polarized, controversial and politicized arena, the
Pew Center provides a non-partisan forum for constructive
engagement between business leaders, policy makers,
scientists, and other experts.
About the Association of Climate Change
Officers
The Association of Climate Change Officers is a 501(c)(6)
non-profit membership organization for executives and
officials worldwide in industry, government, academia and
the non-profit community. ACCO’s mission is to advance the
knowledge and skills of those dedicated to developing and
directing climate change strategies in the public and
private sectors, and to establish a flexible and robust
forum for collaboration between climate change officers. For
more information about ACCO, please visit
www.ACCOonline.org.
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