MBA and MPA students trained by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) helped 78 companies, cities and universities identify $650 million in potential savings through greater energy efficiency.
EDF announced the results of this summer’s EDF Climate Corps fellowships, which uncover potential efficiency improvements in lighting, computer equipment, and heating and cooling systems.
In addition to reducing net operating costs, the projects identified by the fellows would cut 600 million kilowatt hours of electricity use and 27 million therms of natural gas annually, avoiding 440,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions a year – equivalent to the annual emissions of 87,000 passenger vehicles.
EDF created Climate Corps to cut carbon pollution by overcoming the barriers that prevent organizations from investing in energy efficiency. Now in its fourth year, EDF Climate Corps has grown from seven fellows in 2008 to 96 in 2011. To date, projects accounting for 86% of the energy savings identified by 2008-2010 fellows are complete or underway.
EDF Climate Corps fellows work with host organizations to capture immediate energy savings through equipment modifications and upgrades and also on strategic projects – such as employee engagement campaigns and decision-support tools – that deliver systemic and lasting reductions in energy use and carbon pollution.
McDonald’s worked with Pia Jean Kristiansen, an EDF Climate Corps fellow and MBA candidate from the University of Michigan, to find creative ways to engage the company’s estimated 700,000 U.S. restaurant employees in energy efficiency initiatives. Kristiansen’s work will result in an educational video developed to educate employees on ways to reduce an average restaurant’s energy consumption by 10%.
Neal Tsay, an EDF Climate Corps fellow and MBA candidate from UCLA, worked with sustainability leaders at Target to develop a plan to achieve its commitment to earn ENERGY STAR ratings for 75% of its U.S. buildings by 2015. Additionally, Tsay sought to improve energy efficiency in Target stores by proposing initiatives that could eliminate 50,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year while generating several million dollars in annual energy savings.
Buildings account for 70% of electricity consumption and more than a third of carbon pollution in the US. Because opportunities to save energy are not limited to the private sector, EDF expanded Climate Corps in 2009 by placing fellows in cities and universities.
The New York City Housing Authority learned how to reduce annual heating costs by $58 million, thanks to a plan developed by EDF Climate Corps fellows Harrison Thomas and Amy Kochanowsky, who are working on degrees in business, environmental management and public policy at Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Their findings could cut the housing authority’s annual energy costs by 11%.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) University discovered it could save $2.5 million over the next five years by implementing recommendations from EDF Climate Corps fellows LaKausha Simpson, a PhD candidate in engineering at A&T, and Jonathan Wilson, an MBA candidate at Wake Forest University. A&T’s investments in energy efficiency measures, such as improved lighting, will pay for themselves in only three months.
Other participating companies included Adidas, AT&T, Avon, Belk, Dunkin’ Brands, Facebook, Microsoft and REI.
EDF Climate Corps is now recruiting fellows and host organizations for 2012:
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