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Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Arlington, VA

Gold Stevie Award Winner 2012, Click to Enter The 2014 American Business Awards

Company: Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Arlington, VA
Company Description: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent nonprofit organization working to promote practical, effective policies and actions to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Global Issues

Nomination Title: The Global Energy Pledge Campaign

Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2013 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Companies around the world increasingly are turning to energy efficiency to reduce costs and drive profits. But embracing energy-saving processes and systems is only the first step on this journey. The next step is to engage employees by building a culture of energy conservation across the enterprise. Accomplishing this at a company with employees in 29 countries around the world is no small feat.

In 2013, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), through its Make an Impact program, in partnership with Bank of America, set out to deliver a comprehensive energy conservation awareness and action campaign. Using strategies, messaging and materials relevant across borders and cultures, this campaign successfully engaged Bank employees and generated thousands of commitments to reduce energy use through our simple and attractive website.

The Global Energy Pledge Campaign was sponsored and delivered by the Bank of America’s My Environment employee engagement program, and was designed to leverage the program’s Ambassadors and Friends. The goal: to create a global engagement effort that could reach beyond a core group of worldwide volunteers to all bank employees. To execute a successful campaign, C2ES drew on our extensive climate, energy, and communication expertise, and our strong partnership with the Bank and a talented web developer.

Key elements of the campaign included the following:

•“Global Energy Tour” Webinar. This November 2013 event launched the campaign with a compelling look at energy use around the world. In addition, the webinar presented tips employees could take to reduce their daily energy use. The webinar, presented by C2ES energy experts, attracted 240 participants worldwide.

•Global Energy Pledge. Following the webinar, My Environment Ambassadors oversaw local outreach efforts incorporating the Global Energy Pledge provided by C2ES. The Pledge, available via an interactive and mobile-friendly website, provided employees with a chance to agree to simple energy-saving steps to reduce carbon emissions. A real-time ticker on the Pledge website displayed the collective impact of the pledges of participating employees around the globe.

•Promotional materials and outreach. To support the local outreach of My Environment Ambassadors and spur broad participation in the campaign, C2ES created a range of promotional content and materials. These included: promotional posters; articles for Bank of America’s internal website; and content for the Bank’s C2ES Make an Impact websites.

•Measurement. C2ES provided Bank of America with aggregate metrics about uptake and participation across countries and regions, providing valuable insights that can inform future employee engagement efforts.

C2ES and Bank of America launched the Global Energy Pledge campaign with a goal of securing the participation of 2,500 employees. The final number of participants during the three month-long campaign was 3,089, 124 percent of the goal amount. The actions these employees pledged will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2.6 million pounds – the equivalent of planting 16,500 trees.

Through the use of interactive technology, engaged employees who led the campaign in worksites around the world, and positive, globally relevant messaging (“Be a part of the solution, reduce your energy use”), this campaign provides a potential model for other efforts aimed at spurring action on urgent issues affecting business and society.

Upload a collection of supporting files and web addresses to our server to provide more background information to the judges. You may upload any number of attachments and URLs through the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above. (Do NOT list your URLs below.)

 

Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

Beth Wytiaz is the Global Environmental Education & Engagement Manager at Bank of America. In this role she has developed a comprehensive environmental resource center & multiple employee programs that offer a variety of ways for Bank of America employees to participate. This includes numerous educational opportunities on key environmental topics, engagement in conservation projects, educating their teammates, volunteering in their communities, & encouraging others to get involved & become better environmental stewards.

Tarek Anandan is a freelance website development consultant, information architect, designer, & developer. From concept to launch, Tarek works with nonprofit & socially-focused organizations — think tanks, advocacy groups, foundations, & government agencies to develop great websites & web applications. Tarek’s designs are user friendly, interactive, responsive, & fun.