WASHINGTON - Today, E.P.A. Administrator Gina McCarthy will recognize organizations from around the country at the Climate Leadership Awards for their leadership and innovation in helping fight climate change. Winners are recognized for managing and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in internal operations and throughout the supply chain, as well as integrating climate resilience into their operating strategies. This is the 5th year of the yearly Climate Leadership Awards, a partnership between the EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2Es) and The Climate Registry (TCR).
"This year's Climate Leadership Award winners are setting a high bar for organizations across the country," said E.P.A. Administrator Gina McCarthy. "They are proving that climate action isn't just the right thing to do; it's also the profitable thing to do."
"The winners of the 2016 Climate Leadership Awards are showing the way to a more sustainable future," said Ted Roosevelt IV, C2ES board chairman. "After the hottest year globally on record, this leadership is more urgent than ever. Companies, cities, and individuals are crucial to demonstrating real-world success in reducing the emissions contributing to climate change. 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 recognized to recognize the 2016 award winners for their dedication to addressing climate change," said David Rosenheim, TCR executive director. "This impressive group of climate champions has raised the bar for climate action, and we hope others will follow their lead as we move towards a low-carbon economy. We applaud this year's winners for transparently measuring and reducing their carbon pollution, demonstrating the path to a more sustainable future."
From an innovative partnership that dramatically increased mass adoption of home energy and water efficiency plans in communities across California to some of the country's biggest corporations exceeding their aggressive emission reduction goals, the EPA's Climate Leadership Award winners illustrate that actions to combat climate change make smart business decisions.
The 2016 Climate Leadership Award recipients will be:
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Organizational Leadership Award: California Department of Water Resources (Sacramento, Calif.) for protecting California's water supply; Ingersoll Rand (Davidson, N.C.) for phasing out HCFCs and other refrigerants; Mars, Incorporated (McLean, Va.) for working to eliminate GHG emissions 100 percent by 2040; Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.) for establishing an internal carbon fee that funds energy upgrades, and more.
· Supply Chain Leadership Award: Cisco Systems (San Jose, Calif.) for engaging all suppliers to have strong sustainability programs.
· Individual Leadership Award: Thomas G. Day, U.S. Postal Service (Washington, D.C.) for leading the U.S. Postal Service in reducing GHG emissions 20 percent by 2020.
· Innovative Partnerships Certificate: Government Authorities for the Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) Plan (San Diego, Calif.) for helping to increase the mass adoption of home energy and water efficiency across California; King County-Cities Climate Collaboration (Seattle, Wash.) for adopting a countywide GHG emissions reduction goal of 25 percent by 2020; Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership (Minneapolis, Minn.) for working to reduce the City's emissions 30 percent by 2025.
· Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management Goal Achievement: Best Buy Co., Incorporated (Richfield, Minn.) for reducing absolute GHG emissions 26 percent from 2009 to 2014; Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Irving, Texas) for reducing global absolute GHG emissions 6.9 percent from 2010 to 2014; Pitney Bowes (Stamford, Conn.) for reducing global absolute GHG emissions 15 percent from 2012 to 2014; United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, Conn.) for reducing global absolute GHG emissions 27 percent from 2006 to 2014; Xcel Energy (Minneapolis, Minn.) for reducing absolute GHG emissions 20 percent from 2005 to 2014.
· Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management Goal Setting: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport, Texas) for setting an absolute target of an yearly 2 percent reduction in its scope one and 2 GHG emissions from 2010 to 2020; IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) for setting a 35 percent absolute GHG emissions third-generation reduction goal for global operations between 2005 and 2020; MetLife, Incorporated (New York, N.Y.) for working to achieve carbon neutrality from 2016 through at least 2018.
The awards will be presented at the 2016 Climate Leadership Conference in Seattle, Wash.
EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership establishes requirements of climate leadership by encouraging organizations with emerging climate objectives to identify and achieve cost-effective greenhouse gas 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 2016 Climate Leadership Award winners: http://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/2016-climate-leadership-award-winners
More information about EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership: http://www.epa.gov/climateleadership
