Rachel Hinchliffe | November 25, 2009
I recently returned from the Net Impact Conference held in Ithaca, New York. While Ithaca might not be the first place people think of visiting in November, nor is it the easiest place to get to, 2,400 business students and professionals made the trek. It was a powerhouse of an event, including keynotes from GE's CEO Jeff Immelt and Honest Tea's President and TeaEO Seth Goldman and addressed a host of business and sustainability issues.
The student attendees represent some of the most high-energy and ambitious MBA candidates. They all don dapper suits and carry overflowing leather binders filled with resumes and business cards. They are eager to put their financial and analytical chops to work effecting positive change in the world. They all want to work for companies that have made a commitment to environmental sustainability. Stories reflecting this desire have been featured in Wall St. Journal, BusinessWeek and even Harvard Business Review.
I led a panel at the conference about our cutting-edge Climate Corps program, which recruits top-tier MBA students to identify and analyze energy efficiency opportunities at leading corporations. The panel featured case studies from last year's outstanding crop of 26 MBA students and included fellows who were placed at EMC, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems and salesforce.com.
However, our panel faced stiff competition. There were 20 other panels presenting at the same time and numerous concurrent sessions addressing renewables and clean technology. In fact, just one other panel addressed the seemingly boring, ho-hum topic of energy efficiency. As one of our student panelists said, "Compared to the excitement of renewables and alternative energy, energy efficiency is really just the redheaded stepchild of the energy world." But Climate Corps has proven over the past two summers that companies shouldn't be so consumed with flashy, up-and-coming technologies that they overlook the energy efficiency opportunities ready to be capitalized on within their own walls.
Alternative and renewable technologies are certainly exciting and promising, but energy efficiency projects have already been proven to pay for themselves while demonstrably reducing GHG emissions. In just two summers, our Climate Corps fellows uncovered efficiencies in lighting, computer equipment and heating and cooling systems that could save nearly $90 million in net operational costs. In addition to the financial savings, the identified projects could cut the equivalent of 280 million kilowatt hours of energy use per year—enough to power 24,000 homes and avoid over 157,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year—equivalent to taking more than 19,000 SUVs off the road.
The case studies and stories shared by our Climate Corps alums were compelling to the audience of 75 MBA students, especially because there are not a lot of internships out there that can have a tangible, quantifiable impact in a summer. EDF is training the next generation of energy efficiency gurus to use their talents to help businesses make the case for energy efficiency today. Now we need business leaders to step up and take advantage of this opportunity.
Are you ready to make a difference for your bottom line – and the planet? Check out www.edf.org/climatecorps to get your company involved.