The fight against climate change is taking place on many fronts, from finance to manufacturing to retail to technology.
Yet the diverse winners of the EPA’s 2015 Climate Leadership Award – 16 organizations and one individual – are all finding innovative and business-savvy ways to reduce carbon pollution.
“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,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
Innovative Partnerships Certificate (new category):
- Chevrolet Clean Energy Campus Campaign (Detroit, Mich.): The Chevrolet Campus Clean Energy Campaign marks the first time college campuses have used carbon performance methods to earn revenue. 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 assists its members by offering trainings and information on GHG inventory and monitoring tools; sharing climate action plan templates; and supporting local governments in developing climate action plans.
Organizational Leadership Award: Bank of America (Charlotte, N.C.) not only completed its own comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory and set an aggressive emissions reduction goal, but also showed strong leadership in its internal response to climate change.
Bank of America issued the first corporate green bond to fund energy efficiency projects in 2013. and is setting an absolute global greenhouse gas 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, Conn., drove climate action within the Greater Bridgeport community and in the city's operations. He also has an emission reduction goal for the city to be 10 percent below 2007 levels by 2020.
Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management (Goal Achievement Award): These organizations are publicly reported and verified organization-wide greenhouse gas inventories and achieved 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.)
- UPS (Atlanta)
Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management (Goal Setting Certificate): These organizations publicly reportied and verified organization-wide greenhouse gas inventories and publicly set 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.)
- Tiffany & Co. (New York)
