Leadership
IBM, Kohl's, Sprint Honored by EPA for Climate Leadership

IBM, Sprint, Boeing and several other brands were among this year’s winners of the EPA's Climate Leadership Awards. Nineteen awards were given to 15 organizations and two individuals in the public and private sectors for their leadership in addressing climate change by reducing carbon pollution.

The EPA says the awards recognize and incentivize exemplary corporate, organizational and individual leadership in response to climate change. Award recipients represent a wide array of industries, including finance, manufacturing, retail, technology, higher education and local government. The 2014 Climate Leadership Award recipients are:

Organizational Leadership Award: City of Chula Vista; Sprint; and University of California, Irvine

Individual Leadership Award: Sam Brooks, Associate Director, D.C. Department of General Services; Robert Taylor, Energy Manager, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Supply Chain Leadership Award: Sprint

Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management (Goal Achievement Award): Boeing, Caesars Entertainment, Cisco, Ecolab, The Hartford, IBM, Johnson Controls, Kohl's, Mack Trucks; and Novelis

Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management (Goal Setting Certificate): Fruit of the Loom, Hasbro and Kohl's

“Our Climate Leadership Award winners have made great strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and are providing leadership nationwide in many sectors of our economy,” said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. "Their innovative approaches and commitment to reducing carbon pollution demonstrate that efforts to address climate change are repaid by saving money and energy, while supporting more livable and resilient communities, and a healthier, better protected environment now and for future generations."

“Communities and businesses are already experiencing the impacts of climate change, and we need to act now to protect both our environment and our economy,” said C2ES President Eileen Claussen. “These companies, organizations, and individuals demonstrate that we can save energy, reduce emissions, and take decisive steps toward a low-carbon future. We hope their accomplishments will serve as an example for others to follow.”

The EPA says the recipients exemplify what President Obama’s Climate Action Plan hopes to achieve, for the federal government to work with all stakeholders to take action to cut the carbon pollution that fuels climate change. Late last year, some 20 major U.S. brands including Starbucks, Unilever and Mars, Inc. called for the White House to follow through on the plan. The corporate signatories of the letter cited the economic impacts of severe weather events on company operations and called for ongoing and significant investments to be made in strengthening climate change resiliency both in the United States and the world’s most vulnerable countries. Many of the signatories are members of Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy — a group of businesses advocating for meaningful energy and climate legislation.

Apple, SolarCity, San Diego International Airport, Sungevity and Sapphire Energy recently joined with more than 120 California-based companies in signing the Climate Declaration, a business leader call to action that urges federal and state policymakers to seize the economic opportunity of addressing climate change. Launched last year by Ceres and its business network, Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), the Climate Declaration has more than 700 signatories nationwide, including General Motors, Unilever, Gap and eBay.