EDF's Climate Corps mentioned in Financial Times

Environmental Defense Fund's Climate Corps, an Overbrook-funded program, was mentioned in the Financial Times late last week for its innovation and success saving businesses operation costs through energy efficiency measures. The United States lags behind many other countries in its efforts to adopt clean energy, especially in response to the Solyndra scandal and the financial crisis (green tech is often believed to be more expensive than "traditional" energy sources, although hefty health and environmental costs are frequently left out of the equation when calculating those comparisons.)

One program that has emerged as a leading example of how energy efficiency can save businesses significant funds is Climate Corps. Climate Corps is an internship program through EDF that matches business school students with large corporations to identify areas in which those companies can save energy. The appeal for businesses are the financial savings; the appeal for the rest of us is the proof that energy efficiency really works, and the confidence that programs like Climate Corps will push popular U.S. opinion toward a more universal acceptance of clean energy in the United States.

According to the Financial Times article, Climate Corps interns have saved businesses $1 billion in operational costs since the program's inception. In 2011 alone, the savings were $650 million and, most importantly, 440,000 tons of CO2, equivalent to removing 87,000 vehicles from the road.

To read the Financial Times article (Climate Corps is mentioned toward the bottom), click here. Free and fast registration on the Times' site allows a full read of Sarah Murray's article, "Green Technology: Clean Energy Feels the Pinch."

Mr Heck says: “Energy efficiency investments make economic sense and for people who can afford the investment to install them, they’re an even better deal now because they’re saving