WASHINGTON, March 10, 2016 – At the recent Climate Leadership Awards, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy recognized organizations from around the country for their leadership and innovation in helping fight climate change. Winners were honored 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 fifth year of the annual 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 EPA 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.”
California Department of Water Resources (Sacramento, Calif.) was presented with the Organizational Leadership Award for protecting California’s water supply.
“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 honored 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 projects in communities across California to some of the country’s largest 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.
Awards were presented at the 2016 Climate Leadership Conference in Seattle, Wash.
EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership establishes standards 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 can be found online at http://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/2016-climate-leadership-award-winners
