North Carolina Companies and Cities Increase Energy Efficiency with EDF Climate Corps

Environmental Defense Fund announces that Belk, Envision Charlotte, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Grubb Properties, Ingersoll Rand, Town of Cary and Northampton County are North Carolina organizations participating in EDF Climate Corps, an innovative summer fellowship that improves energy efficiency and reduces carbon emissions.

EDF Climate Corps developed an energy savings plan for North Carolina Central University, a 2009 host, that could save the campus millions of dollars and cut its carbon footprint by half.

The 2012 North Carolina hosts are among 88 companies, cities and universities nationwide, including Boeing, Caterpillar, Facebook, Google and Verizon; public institutions including school systems and housing authorities; major cities such as Atlanta; and UNICEF and the America’s Cup Event Authority.

Nine specially trained MBA and MPA students will help this year’s North Carolina hosts identify and assess cost-effective opportunities to save energy and reduce emissions.  The students attend Appalachian State University, Cornell University, George Washington University, Indiana University, Johns Hopkins University, N.C. State University, N.C. Central University, University of Michigan and Western Carolina University.

Since 2008, EDF Climate Corps fellows have identified energy-saving opportunities that could:

• Cut enough energy usage to power nearly 100,000 homes a year;
• Avoid the annual carbon emissions of 200,000 cars; and
• Save more than $1 billion in net operating costs over the project lifetimes.

Visit edfclimatecorps.org and see the list of organizations and fellows.