Robert Parkhurst

Director, Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Markets

Areas of expertise: Environmental markets, agricultural offsets, greenhouse gas reductions, climate policy, carbon offset strategy, corporate sustainability

Work

Parkhurst leads EDF’s protocol, policy, and pilot development of greenhouse gas mitigation projects for working landowners which can be used in voluntary and compliance markets, including AB32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act. He is responsible for helping farmers, ranchers and forestland owners generate quantifiable climate benefits so that they are financially rewarded in the marketplace.

Background

Parkhurst has received a number of awards and acknowledgements for his environmental leadership. In May of 2007, he received a Climate Protection Award from the U.S. EPA for his leadership on climate change. In 2005, he was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the California Climate Action Registry Board of Directors.

Prior to joining EDF, Parkhurst helped lead Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) AB32 compliance strategies. During his five years at PG&E, he also led the environmental component of the ClimateSmart^TM program, a novel program allowing PG&E customers to balance out the emissions from their energy use through the purchase of more than 1.5 million California offsets. Before working for PG&E, Parkhurst was the Global Environmental Program Manager at Hewlett-Packard.

Education:

Parkhurst holds a M.S. Degree in Environmental Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a B.A. Degree in Chemistry from Northwestern University.