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Basic Information
On September 30, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially ended its Climate Leaders program. This decision was taken in recognition of the availability of climate programs operated by the states and NGOs and the advent of the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Program. In order to continue EPA’s tradition of recognizing excellence in corporate GHG leadership and acting as a resource for entities interested in reducing their emissions, the Agency is proceeding with a number of activities:
- Joint Recognition Programs for Climate Leadership
- Supply Chain GHG Management
- Strategic Partnerships and Engagements
- GHG data analysis corresponding to the GHG Reporting Program
- Promotion of GHG management best practices and technologies in collaboration with other EPA programs and other organizations
EPA Center for Corporate Climate Leadership
These activities are being organized and carried out under the EPA Center for Corporate Climate Leadership (PDF) (1 pg, 153K, About PDF) which will serve as a virtual resource center for all organizations looking to expand their work in the areas of GHG measurement and management. The Center will help to establish norms of climate leadership by encouraging companies with emerging climate objectives to establish and report GHG emission inventories and undertake cost-effective emission reductions, while helping more advanced companies build their climate leadership activities into their supply chains and beyond.
The Climate Leadership Awards—a joint awards program with The Climate Registry, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and the Association of Climate Change Officers—will serve as a cornerstone of the Center.
Climate Leaders History
Launched in February 2002, Climate Leaders was an EPA industry-government partnership that worked with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies.
Partner companies committed to reducing their impact on the global environment by completing a corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse (GHG) gas emissions, setting long-term reduction goals, and annually reporting their progress to EPA. Through program participation, companies created a lasting record of their accomplishments and identified themselves as corporate environmental leaders. Climate Leaders coordinated with a suite of EPA voluntary industry-government partnerships for reducing GHG emissions to assist corporations with their greenhouse gas emissions management strategies.
Climate Leaders Partners and Small Business Network members represented a broad range of industry sectors including cement, forest products, pharmaceuticals, utilities, information technology, and retail, with operations in all 50 states.
- Partner List at a Glance (PDF) (1 pg, 324K, About PDF)
- Partnership Directory (PDF) (9 pp, 454K)
As part of Climate Leaders, Partners were required to do the following:
- Step 1: Develop a corporate-wide GHG inventory and management plan.
- Step 2: Set an aggressive corporate-wide GHG emissions reduction goal.
- Step 3: Report inventory data annually and document progress toward emissions reduction goal.
- Step 4: Achieve a long-term GHG reduction goal. Throughout the life of Climate Leaders, many Partners successfully achieved their GHG reduction goals.
- Step 5: Publicize the organization’s achievements through Climate Leaders. EPA routinely highlighted partner achievements and also provided resources for Partners to communicate their program participation and achievements.
In September, 2010, EPA announced (PDF) (1 pg, 62K, About PDF) that the Climate Leaders program would phase down its services and officially end in September 2011. Many of the tools developed by EPA and used by Climate Leaders partners to reduce their GHG emissions are still available for use on this website. Review the Climate Leaders Farewell & New Recognition Opportunities and Resources webinar.