US EPA Honors San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative With National Award

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative was honored today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at its annual Climate Leadership Award Ceremony. The Collaborative is housed at the University of San Diego. One of only two organizations in the nation to receive the Innovative Partnerships Certificate, the Climate Collaborative was recognized as a unique partnership working collaboratively on leading edge climate initiatives that are above and beyond business-as-usual.

“I am proud to recognize the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative and all of our Climate Leadership Award winners for their actions to reduce the harmful carbon pollution that’s fueling climate change,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Our winners are providing the leadership, commitment, and solutions needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and meet the challenge of a changing climate head on.”

Charles “Muggs” Stoll, Director of Land Use and Transportation Planning at the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) said, “As a member of the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, SANDAG is pleased that the EPA has honored the region's work with the Climate Leadership Award and that the region's efforts are being recognized at the national level.”

The EPA Innovative Partnerships award is based on several criteria, including the demonstration of innovation, thought leadership and public benefit. The award acknowledges the Climate Collaborative as a replicable model for other regions, highlighting its demonstrated leadership and success in the following areas:

· Establishing a network that engages a broad reach of representatives from public agencies, non?profits, philanthropic organizations, and academic institutions;

· Supporting members in setting and meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets;

· Successfully building capacity, collaborations, and expertise for public agency staff to undertake actions to increase energy efficiency and address climate change; and,

· Supporting pilot projects that seek to integrate climate change preparedness into regional?scale policies or plans.

“As a founding member of the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, the City of San Diego is especially grateful to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for recognizing the efforts this group has made to facilitate climate change planning,” said Mario X. Sierra, Director, Environmental Services Department, City of San Diego. “The Collaborative’s leadership is an invaluable tool in helping the region address global climate change issues.”

This is not the first time the EPA has recognized national leadership coming from the San Diego region. Each year since 2012 when the Climate Leadership Awards began, a local agency has been honored. Prior awardees include the City of Chula Vista, Port of San Diego, and San Diego Gas & Electric, all of which are members of the Climate Collaborative.
“This award underscores the importance of our region’s continued efforts to work together and invest today in addressing climate change,” said San Diego Foundation Vice President of Community Impact Dr. Emily Young. “Since launching in 2012, the Climate Collaborative has added significant capacity for staff from localities region-wide through training and coordination, as well as partnerships with academia, businesses, and non-profits. These are critical since climate change is an issue no one agency can address alone.”

The Climate Collaborative is a member?based network that supports public agencies in the San Diego region to advance comprehensive solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for climate impacts. This is achieved by building partnerships with local businesses, academia, non?profits, and philanthropic entities to share expertise, leverage resources, and advance actions that benefit the San Diego region's communities, economy, and natural resources.

The Climate Collaborative was created and founded by the following organizations, all of which have contributed funding: the cities of Chula Vista and San Diego, the Port of San Diego, the County of San Diego, the San Diego Association of Governments, The San Diego Foundation, the University of San Diego, and San Diego Gas & Electric.

Since its creation, several new members joined the Climate Collaborative, including the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, San Diego State University Center for Regional Sustainability, the Tijuana National Estuarine Research Reserve, the cities of Encinitas and Oceanside, and CleanTECH San Diego.

For more information about the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, visit http://www.sdclimatecollaborative.org/. The EPA Climate Leadership awards announcement can be found at http://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/awards/2015winners.html.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.