Blue Shield of California
At a Glance
Industry
Health Care
Project Type
Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2022
Location
Oakland, CA
Summary
Blue Shield of California engaged Annie Howley to launch a climate research study, engage employees, and support corporate reporting initiatives.
Goals
Blue Shield of California is a nonprofit health plan dedicated to providing Californians with access to high-quality health care at an affordable price. With the understanding that climate change is a public health issue, the health plan’s NextGen sustainability goals focus on carbon reduction, zero waste, the costs of climate change on health, and adopting climate-smart health care. The company leveraged Annie Howley’s expertise to support progress on several projects to meet their sustainability goals.
Solutions
As an EDF Climate Corps Fellow, Annie helped launch a climate research study by reviewing research on the intersection of climate change and health care costs, meeting with stakeholders from internal business units, and developing a scorecard that helped the team narrow down key focus areas. Annie also engaged employees on sustainability topics through the internal Blue Goes Green yammer group.
As part of her employee engagement activities, Annie was instrumental in establishing a new bi-monthly coffee-chat series to engage employees on topics related to the company’s sustainability goals. Additionally, Annie advised on the company’s environmental, social, and governance strategy, recommended alignment with additional corporate reporting frameworks, and created a carbon offset strategy that was implemented by the company.
Potential Impact
The climate research study will illuminate opportunities to decarbonize health care and position the company as a thought leader. With the new employee engagement series, the sustainability team can share progress on their NextGen sustainability goals and engage employees on their suggestions and challenges.
Annie’s internal blog post on the first session, focused on zero waste, gained a high level of traction. The carbon offset portfolio strategy created, which aligns with the company’s environmental, social, and governance goals, covers nearly 11,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.