EDF Climate Corps: Reflections on 2012, Looking Ahead to 2013

Katie Ware | January 9, 2013

By Katie Ware | Bio

2012 was a banner year for EDF Climate Corps. We celebrated five years of energy efficiency success and over $1.2 billion in identified energy savings. Below are a few reflections on 2012 and a couple opportunities on the horizon for 2013.

Looking Back on 2012

The Third Annual EDF Climate Corps Network Event

We would like to offer our sincere gratitude to everyone that attended our third annual Network Event and helped make it a smashing success. Extra thanks go out to our sponsors at AT&T and DirecTV.

Despite travel challenges related to Hurricane Sandy, more than 100 people attended the event at MIT November 1-2, including 2012 Climate Corps fellows, alumni from previous years, and representatives from host organizations across sectors. The theme of the event was the Virtuous Cycle of Organizational Energy Efficiency – the subject of our academic paper by the same name. Facilitated by Peter Senge and Jason Jay from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the two-day workshop used storytelling and small group conversations to highlight energy management practices that deliver systemic and lasting reductions in costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Perhaps the most exciting takeaway from the event was the peer connections made and the conversations sparked. Attendees stuck around for quite some time after the event ended, following up on conversations and exchanging business cards – the true sign of an engaged Network!

We’re Proud of our Alumni

The impact of EDF Climate Corps continues as our fellows continue to be champions of energy efficiency throughout their careers. Our annual alumni survey, completed this fall, showed that former fellows are going on to leadership positions in business and civil society, leveraging their Climate Corps experience to transform energy use in the organizations where they now work. See a blog post about the survey results here.

Reflections from our Hosts

Check out our new video, featuring testimonials from a variety of EDF Climate Corps host organizations. We’re flattered by what they had to say!

Looking Ahead

Join us for our GreenBiz Webcast January 22

Joel Makower will moderate an energy efficiency-focused webcast, featuring EDF Vice President Gwen Ruta and Climate Corps success stories from adidas and Ingersoll Rand. We hope you can join us. Register here.

Get your applications in for 2013

EDF wants to work with your organization to take its energy management system to the next level in 2013. Sign up for an EDF Climate Corps fellow by this Friday, January 11 to be featured in our January press release. The final application deadline is February 28. Please help spread the word. Interested organizations can apply here.