CH2M HILL participates in White House roundtable on greenhouse gas reductions

Denver — As part of President Obama’s initiative to address climate change, CH2M HILL participated in a White House roundtable discussion to spotlight companies like CH2M HILL that are demonstrating leadership by committing to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

CH2M HILL’s Senior Vice President and Director of Planning Mark Morris met with President Obama, senior administration officials, and other U.S. Government federal suppliers to discuss benefits of these companies’ GHG emission reduction targets or to make new commitments to disclose emissions and set new reduction goals. The companies represented at the roundtable each do more than $1 billion a year in business with the U.S. Government and together account for about $45 billion in federal contract spending.

President Obama has issued a new Executive Order that will cut the federal government’s GHG emissions 40 percent over the next decade from 2008 levels and increase the share of electricity the federal government consumes from renewable sources to 30 percent.

Together, the combined results of the federal government actions and supplier commitments will reduce GHG emissions by 26 million metric tons by 2025 from 2008 levels, the equivalent of taking nearly 5.5 million cars off the road for a year. And to encourage continued progress across the federal supply chain, the Obama Administration has released a new scorecard to publicly track self-reported emissions disclosure and progress for all major federal suppliers, who together represent more than $187 billion in federal spending and account for more than 40 percent of all federal contract dollars.

CH2M HILL set an absolute GHG reduction goal of 25 percent between 2012 and 2017 for global operations. The company is already well on its way toward the 25 percent goal, through a facilities management plan that includes reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions for vehicles and buildings at its most energy-intensive project site; improving efficiency of four LEED-certified headquarters buildings, which are also ENERGY STAR certified; and implementing office behavior-based energy conservation programs. The Obama Administration’s new scorecard reflects CH2M HILL’s commitment as a low-carbon contractor.

“It’s a huge honor to be included at this White House Roundtable,” CH2M HILL CEO Jacqueline Hinman noted. “As a leading provider of climate mitigation, adaptation, and carbon management solutions, we also wanted to set a meaningful internal climate action goal to do our part to mitigate climate impacts. We encourage other organizations and companies to join us in setting aggressive GHG reduction targets. It’s not just good for the environment — it’s also good for business.”

In addition to today’s recognition from the White House, in late February the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration with the Association of Climate Change Officers, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and The Climate Registry, recognized CH2M HILL for excellence in GHG management in the fourth annual Climate Leadership Awards program. The Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management – Goal Setting Certificate recognizes organizations that publicly report and third-party verified, organization-wide GHG inventories and publicly commit to aggressive GHG emissions reduction goals.