|
How does a major corporation stay on course with a carbon reduction commitment when increased demand by its customers requires ever-larger consumption of energy? That is the problem faced by long-time CA-CP partner Verizon Communications. A decade ago the communications giant was heralded in a series of national newspaper ads for its energy efficiency achievements; a $25 million capital investment produced a $20 million annual savings. Today with small hand held electronic devices Americans are sending texts, streaming music, videos and conducting business with people half a world away. The company recently announced plan to compare total energy consumption to the terabytes of data that Verizon transmits across its network.
"We want to make sure our sustainability claims are backed up by solid methodology and numbers that we can share with everyone," said James Gowen, chief sustainability officer for Verizon. "We developed this metric because we are a network company, and our core measure is the amount of information we transport on our network. See this article in Greenbiz or this blog post by Gowen to hear what people are saying. CA-CP congratulates Verizon for continuing to demonstrate commitment to carbon management, and furthering transparency in the marketplace.
Clean Air-Cool Planet helped GM launch an innovative project that will help reduce utility costs for low income families. As part of the Chevrolet Clean Energy Initiative the first investment from the $40 million multi-year commitment will go to help Maine Housing provide energy efficient upgrades in 5,500 homes across the state in a program that could be replicated elsewhere.
It’s the latest example of CA-CP’s efforts to develop and implement pragmatic solutions to climate change leveraging relationships between the private and public sector.
|
