EPA Climate Leaders Q&A.

Andrew Aulisi, Director, Climate Leaders Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Andrew Aulisi is director of EPA’s Climate Leaders Program, an association of 200 large commercial and industrial companies that work with EPA to develop standardized inventories of their greenhouse gas emissions, set emissions reduction goals, and annually report progress.

Q: Tell us about the Climate Leaders Program. What is the program designed to do, and how did it get started?

A: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders Program is the largest goal-setting program in the U.S. for commercial and industrial companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

We were founded in 2002, seizing on the opportunity to address two key gaps:

1.    At the time, there was a lack of standardization in GHG emissions accounting and reporting, which made it difficult to compare companies’ emissions performance and identify which companies were really ‘leaders’.
2.    Also, there wasn’t much happening then in terms of State or Federal action on climate policy – either legislation or rule making. We aimed to give companies who wanted to take action a chance to work directly with the EPA on the GHG front and gain recognition for their achievements in the process.

Q: Given the lack of legislation at the time, were there any established analogs for your program?

A: The closest analog at the time was the EPA Energy Star program, which first established benchmarks for products that use energy and then proliferated to include benchmarking for commercial buildings and industrial facilities. Energy Star provided the idea that you could use incentives and voluntary actions by companies to have an impact in the marketplace, especially where the impact is driven by companies competing to beat a benchmark and gain EPA recognition.

Q: Competition and incentives seem to play a key role in the Climate Leaders Program. Can you explain why?

A: We leverage the competitive spirit of companies to help them meet and beat their GHG goals – i.e. where they compete against themselves and their own benchmarks to better the planet – as well as against other companies, showcasing, on an apples-to-apples basis, who is making the best progress reducing emissions. Over the long term, the aim is to affect the performance of entire sectors.

As far as incentives go, they are a core element of our program. We provide three key incentives:

1.    Public recognition: We work closely with program participants to publicly acknowledge their gains. Companies enjoy the PR value of successful GHG reduction efforts, both as an internal communications vehicle for building morale and underscoring the value of good corporate citizenship, as well as for the external buzz it can create. This recognition can also play a role in motivating peer companies to participate in the program and compete, in a positive way, for the accolade ‘Climate Leader’. This process benefits all involved, especially the environment.

2.    Technical assistance: The Climate Leaders Program works directly with participants – and underwrites the investment – to develop a GHG inventory; implement and adhere to an annual reporting cycle; and set goals and strategies for achieving them.

3.    Peer networking and education: As an added benefit to participants in Climate Leaders, we offer companies the opportunity to leverage the Program’s large and unique community of fellow energy and environmental managers. We do this by offering peer networking events and educational programs. The centerpiece of our networking effort is our Annual Partners meeting. This two-and-a-half day practitioner workshop, supported by other networking opportunities throughout the year, helps participants connect with others in their industries, and across industries, to share best practices, problem solve, and gain insights that advance GHG reduction efforts.

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