Program Expands in States with Highest Energy Use
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today announced that its popular EDF Climate Corps fellowship program, now in its eighth year, has already attracted leading-edge organizations – many from states with particularly high energy consumption—to host 2015 EDF Climate Corps fellows who will help cut costs and carbon emissions through improved energy management.
As registration for 2015 EDF Climate Corps continues, leaders in high technology, consumer products, property management and the public sector that have participated in recent years have already re-enrolled to find deeper energy savings. New host organizations are requesting fellows to map out their energy reduction strategies among a wide range of other projects.
EDF Climate Corps transforms the way organizations use energy by pairing fellows—top graduate students from the nation's leading universities—with companies, cities, schools and public institutions to identify, measure and implement high-value ways to save energy, carbon emissions and money. EDF Climate Corps has worked with over 300 organizations since the program's launch in 2008, finding an average of $1 million in energy savings for each participating organization. Collectively, the program has uncovered enough energy savings to power 260,000 homes each year and save $1.4 billion in energy costs.
"As our network grows, new participants benefit from the accumulated knowledge held by our veteran organizations and fellows," said EDF Managing Director Victoria Mills. "That knowledge, combined with the expertise of EDF staff, enables us to create value for participants through a wide range of energy management strategies that are both cost-effective and scalable."
Many of 2015's EDF Climate Corps host organizations are headquartered in the nine states with the nation's highest energy use: California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.
"Our EDF Climate Corps host organizations are taking a leadership role not only in their internal operations, but in each of their communities," said Michael Regan, EDF's senior director of State Strategic Implementation. "By lowering their own energy use, these organizations not only save money and slash pollution, they also lower their neighboring regions' energy usage and carbon emissions. Our hope is that these organizations inspire others in their sectors to follow suit."
Companies that have previously hosted EDF Climate Corps fellows know first-hand the technical expertise required to successfully implement energy savings—which is why they're grateful for the help. "Identifying effective energy control solutions can be complex. It takes special knowledge and dedicated time to build the business case for investment," said Jaxon Love, sustainability manager at Shorenstein Properties, a San Francisco-based commercial real estate developer and operator. "Every year, EDF Climate Corps fellows bring fresh eyes and sharp skills to move our energy initiatives forward, which is why we've been a Climate Corps host each year since 2009."
New York-based Hill+Knowlton Strategies, a leading international communications consultancy, will host its first EDF Climate Corps fellow in 2015 as an integral component of its sustainability program. "Over the last year, we have turned the microscope on ourselves to take a closer look at our sustainability, including our environmental impact," said Robert Ludke, executive vice president, Governance+Sustainability. "We know that our environmental footprint is important to employees and clients alike, and we will welcome our fellow's help to assess our current performance and establish the structure, metrics and goals needed to improve over time."
Participating organizations benefit from EDF Climate Corps' well-known expertise in product distribution strategies, demand response, energy data analysis, project financing, renewables, greenhouse gas reporting, energy-efficiency opportunity assessments and employee engagement campaigns.
New Jersey-based Verizon has taken advantage of the diverse range of project types, from HVAC, to data centers, to chiller efficiency, to renewables and the water-energy nexus. "We're hosting our fifth EDF Climate Corps fellow," said Verizon's Chief Sustainability Officer James Gowen. "As a result, we have not only found real savings to the bottom line, but have also benefited from the goodwill we've generated with our many stakeholders—employees, shareholders and communities—for reducing our carbon footprint."
The list of 2015 host organizations confirmed to date includes: Alamo Colleges, Avaya, Bentall Kennedy, Blue Shield of California, Boston Scientific Corporation, Caesars Entertainment, Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, Dunkin' Brands, New Jersey Energy Resilience Bank, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Iron Mountain, JLL, Legrand, MP2 Energy, NJ TRANSIT, Pharmavite, Shorenstein Properties, Sustainable Jersey, Urban Innovations, US Army, Fort Bragg and Verizon Communications.
EDF Climate Corps is still accepting applications for organizations interested in achieving energy wins in 2015.
www.edfclimatecorps.org
