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EPA ADMINISTRATOR WHITMAN CELEBRATES CLIMATE LEADERS SIXTH-MONTH ANNIVERSARY

Release Date: 09/30/2002
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09/30/2002 - In a ceremony today in Chicago, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman celebrated the sixth-month anniversary of EPA’s innovative Climate Leaders program by recognizing the progress made by the 30 Partners currently participating. Climate Leaders, a voluntary government/industry partnership launched last spring, is a key component of the Bush Administration’s climate change policy. The partnership challenges businesses to develop a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions inventory for their activities and then to set aggressive, long-term emissions reduction goals.

“We applaud our new Partners for stepping up to the plate by committing to complete a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and set a reduction goal,” Whitman said. “We are especially pleased with the five reduction goals announced today. These commitments, along with those announced previously, set a high standard for others to follow.” Whitman continued, “The Climate Leaders Program shows that working cooperatively, government and industry can ensure a future of cleaner air, purer water and better protected land for this and future generations.”

Whitman applauded five Climate Leaders Partners for their new reduction goals and recognized 13 companies for joining the Climate Leaders program. The five new Climate Leaders reduction goals are:

Bethlehem Steel Corp. (Bethlehem, Pa.) pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent per ton of steel from 2000 to 2010.

Holcim (US), Inc. (Dundee, Mich.) pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent per ton of cement from 2000 to 2008.

IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) pledged to achieve average annual carbon dioxide emissions reductions equivalent to four percent of electricity and fuel use from 2000 to 2005. IBM also pledged to reduce its perfluorocarbons emissions by 10 percent from 2000 to 2005.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colo.) pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent per square foot from 2000 to 2005.

S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. (Racine, Wis.) pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent per pound of product from 2000 to 2005.

The 13 new Climate Leaders Partners are: Advanced Micro Devices (Sunnyvale, Calif.); Ball Corp. (Broomfield, Colo.); Baxter International (Deerfield, Ill.); Casella Waste Systems Inc., (Rutland, Vt.); Eastman Kodak Co. (Rochester, N.Y.); First Environment (Boonton, N.J.); Hasbro Inc. (Pawtucket, R.I.); IBM Corp. (Armonk, N.Y.); Pfizer Inc. (New York, N.Y.); Shaklee Corp. (Pleasanton, Calif.); STMicroelectronics (Phoenix, Ariz.); Target Corporation (Minneapolis, Minn.); We Energies (Milwaukee, Wis.).

Today’s commitments by the five Climate Leader Partners augments previous goals announced in March, when Miller Brewing Co. pledged to reduce emission levels by 18 percent per barrel of production by 2006, and General Motors pledged to reduce its total emissions by 10 percent for all of its North American facilities by 2005.

Climate Leaders Partners work with EPA to develop corporate-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories and set aggressive, long-term GHG reduction goals. Partners develop their greenhouse gas inventory using the Climate Leaders' Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Protocol. Companies report emissions of the six major greenhouse gases from all major on-site emissions of greenhouse gases and emissions related to the electricity they purchase. Companies may also report emissions and reductions from a number of other activities including investments in offset projects. The Climate Leaders Protocol is based on an existing protocol developed by the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

After Partners complete their greenhouse gas inventory, EPA works closely with them to develop a customized emissions reduction target. These targets must be aggressive long-term targets that exceed business-as-usual performance for the Partner's sector. More information on EPA’s Climate Leaders program is available at: https://www.epa.gov/climateleaders/ .


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