Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State Named 2023 Climate Pioneer

LOS ANGELES, CA, May 11, 2023—The Climate Registry (TCR) today announced the recipients of the 2023 Climate Leadership Awards. This year’s awardees represent a wide array of sectors, including engineering, local government, financial services, and public utilities.

The awards, which take place during the annual Climate Leadership Conference, showcase and recognize exemplary corporate, organizational, and individual leadership in reducing carbon pollution and addressing climate change. There is a global consensus that getting to net zero by 2050 is essential. The 2023 Climate Leadership Award winners are leading the way and showing us how to get there,” said Amy Holm, Executive Director of The Climate Registry. “These organizations are at the vanguard of climate action  in the U.S. and we hope they will inspire and empower others to act.”

Jay Inslee, governor of Washington state, was the recipient of the 2023 Climate Pioneer Award in recognition of his ground-breaking climate action and leadership

The 2023 Climate Leadership Award recipients are:

Organizational Leadership Award:

• Bank of America: Bank of America developed a net-zero target for their financing activities, operations, and supply chain. They also collaborated with their supply chain partners on reduction targets and goals AND the reduction-saving technologies they are implementing in their own operations, such as 35 onsite solar installations across 14 states.
• ICF: ICF adopted a new, more sustainable LEED-certified headquarters–one of only 13 projects in the U.S. to earn the ENERGY STAR designation in 2022. They also collaborated with Con Edison on an industry-leading Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation plan and launched the ICF Climate Center, which provides insights and resources that help organizations achieve their climate goals.
• Prologis: Prologis employed innovative smart design strategies, invested in new building technologies and materials, and linked a portion of executive and employee compensation to ESG performance. They also provided disaster relief or address short-term community needs with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and launched their Community Workforce Initiative (CWI).

Individual Leadership Award:

• Steven J. Demetriou, Executive Chair, former Chair and CEO, Jacobs: Demetriou launched Jacob’s PlanBeyond sustainable business strategy, which embeds climate risk mitigation and adaptation and expands its climate risk and resilience capacities. He also spearheaded the implementation of Jacobs’ Climate Action Plan–including developing a three-year roadmap for delivering the company’s science-based carbon targets–and partnered with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society on the launch of a Climate Solutions Accelerator online course for Jacobs employees.

• Kerrie Romanow, Chief Sustainability Officer and Environmental Services Department Director, City of San José: Romanow is the architect of the City of San José’s first climate plan, spearheaded the implementation of the Building Electrification Reach Code, and championed ambitious GHG targets. She also led the launch of a city-wide Community Choice Energy utility in 2018, which helped accelerate the state’s transition to 100% clean energy by 2045 and San José’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Innovative Partnership Certificate:

• Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet: Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet developed plans to reduce the emissions profile of a critical sector: commercial transportation. They intend to deploy heavy-duty battery-electric trucks, with the initial 30 electric trucks already displacing over 190,000 gallons of petroleum diesel fuel annually and reducing at least 2,741 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Organizations involved in this partnership include Penske Transportation Solutions; Daimler Truck North America; NFI; Gladstein, Neandross & Associates; and South Coast Air Quality Management District.

• BGE BDC Interconnection Partners: BGE BDC Interconnection Partners demonstrated innovative efforts to use anaerobic digestion to recycle food waste and capture renewable natural gas. In partnership with Baltimore Gas & Electric, Bioenergy Devco generated even more impact by designing an interconnection from the recycling system to the gas distribution system. Their sustainable and cost-effective process to produce an alternative energy source for heat and electricity prevented nearly 125,000 tons of waste from reaching landfill every year and is expected to provide enough energy to power 4,800 homes throughout the area. (BGE BDC Interconnection Partners is comprised of Bioenergy Devco and Baltimore Gas and Electric, an Exelon Company, with strong sponsorship from Maryland Energy Administration.)
• Climate Risk and Resilience (ClimRR) Portal: Using sophisticated climate science modeling, the portal gives state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency managers, as well as community leaders, free and equitable access to peer-reviewed, localized data about future climate risks. This data can be used to support decision-making and adaptation efforts. This project was made possible by the collaboration of Argonne National Laboratory, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and AT&T.

Full profiles on the 2023 CLA Award Winners are available on the Climate Leadership Website: 2023 Winners page.

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About the Climate Leadership Conference: Hosted at the Grand Sheraton in Los Angeles from May 10-12, 2023, the Climate Leadership Conference (CLC) addresses climate through policy, innovation, and business solutions. The CLC convenes around the Climate Leadership Awards and is presented by The Climate Registry.​

About The Climate Registry: TCR is a non-profit organization that empowers North American organizations to do more in the fight against climate change. TCR operates North America’s premier voluntary carbon reporting program and provides best-in-class services and tools that help companies, governments, and institutions reduce their emissions. Find out more at www.theclimateregistry.org.