Tag: 3BL

CINCINNATI, April 27, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Tide and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have joined forces to advance the science of eco-behavior change via a new research project – undertaken as part of an ongoing collaborative effort to make washing laundry in cold water the next broadly adopted eco-habit as an important step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tide and WWF believe the insights gathered from their work together on laundry are applicable for all brands seeking to partner with consumers to create positive environmental impact. Their goal is to educate people and establish washing laundry in cold water as the accepted social norm.

Tide and WWF engaged behavioral science consultancy, Behavioral Insights Team (BIT), to undertake a comprehensive review of existing published research and case studies on sustainable habits, including relevant consumer tests from P&G and best practices in climate change impact from WWF.

As brands and organizations increasingly seek to unlock habit change to enable widescale positive environmental benefits, the findings from the Tide and WWF project identified the importance of applying behavioral frameworks and systems thinking, such as:

– Enabling new consumer habits by creating the capability to act either physically or psychologically, the opportunity to act via cues or feelings of social acceptance, and the motivation to act through alignment with intrinsic values or delivery of extrinsic rewards; and

– Introducing interventions that are ideally a combination of easy (requires minimal effort), attractive (offers worthwhile incentives), social (makes one feel part of a group) and timely (uses relevant moments and offers a clear timeline for benefits).

“For brands like Tide and many others, consumer use often makes up a significant portion of a product’s carbon footprint,” said Marty Spitzer, senior director of climate and renewable energy, WWF. “We’ve seen how small actions can add up to big impact, especially when addressing the use phase. Sharing these research findings and related cold water case study, will provide useful insights and guidance for all brands and consumers taking on the behavior change journey.”

“When Tide set a goal for 3 out of 4 washes to be done on cold by 2030, we knew we’d need partners to help us drive the change,” said Todd Cline, Senior Director of Sustainability, North America Fabric Care, Procter & Gamble. “Within the first year of setting our cold water ambition we advanced a quarter of the way toward our goal – a promising signal that consumers were interested in making this shift. Now, we’ve used the proven frameworks that emerged from our work with WWF and BIT to inform all our #TurnToCold wash efforts across the business and to identify several key levers we’ll aim to pull at once to move consumers further into action.”

Through the program, Tide developed an “ecosystem” to advance the habit of washing laundry on cold. The map focuses on increasing enablers and reducing barriers, such as encouraging cold as the default setting on washing machines, introducing disruptions at the point of laundry and helping make cold water washing a social norm through continued brand marketing and communications campaigns.

Washing in cold saves up to 90% of the energy in every wash cycle1 and can save Americans up to $150 a year2. Tide estimates that a decade of Americans washing the majority (3 in 4) of their loads in cold would save enough electricity to power all of New York City and San Francisco for over a year3. That’s the equivalent of 27 million metric tons (MT) of GHG emissions4 or nearly ten times that of P&G’s global yearly operations.5

As one of America’s most trusted laundry detergents, Tide has helped lead the charge to switch to cold water washing for more than 20 years with breakthrough innovations like enzymes specifically optimized for performance in lower wash temperatures. Efforts to drive cold water adoption were advanced by the announcement of Tide’s 2030 Ambition, a set of broad-reaching sustainability commitments as part of Tide’s ongoing journey to decarbonize laundry, including a goal to cut GHG emissions by half in Tide’s manufacturing plants by 2030.

For more information on cold water washing and Tide’s collaborative journey to make cold wash the next broadly adopted eco-habit, please visit Tide.com.

For the full report, please see www.worldwildlife.org/publications/encouraging-us-households-to-wash-laundry-in-cold-water.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at www.pg.com/news.

1 On average, when switching from hot to cold water
2 In non-HE washer, 8 loads/wk from hot to cold, avg. electricity rate (13.3c/kWh)
3 According to reported city-wide annual electricity usage by New York Building Congress and the California Energy Commission
4 Over the decade, 2020-2030
5 As outlined in P&G’s Climate Action Transition Plan

Chloe Kivestu
Chloe.kivestu@ketchum.com

Bilgehan UyarErol
uyarerol.b@pg.com

Source: Procter & Gamble

By Marc van den Biggelaar

Investment in these types of partnerships and technologies represents a big step toward Dow’s broader goals on circularity, sustainability and decarbonization.

Partnerships are at the heart of our work. Working with like-minded organizations helps us to achieve our goals and fulfill our purpose. We can help deliver a sustainable future for the world through our materials science expertise and our commitment to collaboration.

But the requirements of creating a sustainable future are shifting as our customers demand more recycled material to meet their sustainability commitments — and consumer demands. What’s more, the bar for what constitutes a positive impact continues to rise. To meet these challenges head on, Dow is investing in the partnerships and technology necessary to change the game. A critical piece of this circularity puzzle? Investing in advanced recycling solutions which complement mechanical recycling so that both technologies work in tandem to meet demand. The industrial ecosystems for plastics circularity will depend on many technologies and solutions that work together.

Partnerships for sustainable progress

Dow is expanding our Mura Technologies partnership with a landmark investment to build Europe’s largest advanced recycling facility at Dow’s site in Böhlen, Germany. This partnership greatly expands Dow’s ability to use advanced recycling, to transform waste plastics into high quality circular resins that can be used in applications such as, food packaging, medical packaging and hygiene products. This partnership complements mechanical recycling infrastructure that is already in place. Our relationship with Mura advances Dow’s goal to build multiple advanced recycling units across Europe and the U.S., adding as many as 600,000 tons of capacity per year by 2030.

Expanding our partnership with Mura is just one facet of how we are bolstering the circular economy with strategic partnerships. In France, for example, Dow has joined forces with Valoregen to build the country’s largest single hybrid recycling site, which will bring advanced and mechanical recycling facilities into one processing location. This partnership will yield recycled material Dow can use to produce circular or recycled plastic resins—such as our REVOLOOP™ Recycled Plastics Resins portfolio that contains post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, which recently received certification for plastics recycling traceability and content in Europe.

Accelerating commitments to meet the moment

Investment in these types of partnerships and technologies represents a big step toward Dow’s broader goals on circularity, sustainability and decarbonization. In 2022, Dow announced an ambitious target to transform waste and alternative feedstocks into 3 million metric tons of circular and renewable solutions annually by 2030, accelerating previous targets to ensure Dow is shifting to embrace new challenges while growing the business. To achieve this Transform the Waste target, we must improve plastic recycling ecosystems, which requires deploying both new and existing technologies in smart, innovative ways. Partnerships such as those with Mura and Valoregen are the only way to achieve the global impact needed in this moment.

Ultimately, there is no one size fits all solution. Dow believes that moving the needle on climate change requires a circular ecosystem with a mix of technologies and innovation. After all, it’s partnerships that power progress. By collectively prioritizing solutions, we can make sustainable progress for our people and our planet alike.

Marc van den Biggelaar, Advanced Recycling Director for Dow EMEA and APAC

SWORDS, Ireland, April 27, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Trane Technologies (NYSE:TT), a global climate innovator, has been named to the Financial Times 2023 Europe’s Climate Leaders list for the third consecutive year.

The prestigious list, compiled by the Financial Times and market research company Statista, recognizes European businesses that have made the most progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity in their own operations, referred to as Scope 1 and 2 emissions. This year’s list draws on other metrics for the first time, including Scope 3 emissions, which occur elsewhere in the value chain, and businesses’ transparency on reporting these emissions. Statista reviewed publicly available data on approximately 2,000 European companies.

“As a climate innovator, we take action every day to deliver on our bold commitments, reducing both our own, and our customers’ carbon footprints across the globe,” said Dave Regnery, chair and CEO, Trane Technologies. “This recognition further validates the leadership role we play in decarbonizing homes, buildings and the cold chain.”

Last December, the company transitioned away from fossil fuel-based heating in its Trane® Commercial manufacturing facility in Charmes, France with the installation of an electrified Thermal Management System that leverages innovative heat pump technologies to provide all-electric heating to the entire site and simultaneous heating and cooling when required. The system is expected to reduce 1,800 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

“We’re helping our customers understand that the technology exists today to reduce or even eliminate fossil fuels for heating,” said Regnery. “The electrification of heating made possible with our innovative Thermal Management systems is a better alternative that can dramatically decarbonize the built environment, while also providing significant energy savings.”

Trane Technologies is also focused on reducing waste sent to landfills throughout the organization. As of year-end 2022, all European manufacturing facilities achieved zero waste to landfills in alignment with Zero Waste International Alliance’s definitions. The Charmes facility has achieved zero waste to landfill for the past six consecutive years.

Trane Technologies’ 2030 Sustainability Commitments include its Gigaton Challenge, the largest climate commitment related to product emission reductions within a single decade of any company globally, which pledges to reduce one gigaton (one billion metric tons of carbon)

from its customer’s carbon footprints – equivalent to the annual emissions of Italy, France and the U.K. combined. Trane Technologies is the first company in its industry and among the first across all sectors to receive validation from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for its near-term 2030 emissions reduction targets and its long-term 2050 net-zero target.

# # # 
 

About Trane Technologies 
Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane® and Thermo King®, and our portfolio of environmentally responsible products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes and transportation. Visit tranetechnologies.com.

This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of securities laws, which are statements that are not historical facts, including statements that relate to our innovations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and landfill waste, and our other sustainability commitments and the impact of these commitments. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause such differences can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as our subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and other SEC filings. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect the Company. We assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

To see Melinda Toraya in her natural state – whether running impossibly long distances, climbing, or cycling – it’s difficult to imagine her ever feeling vulnerable. She seems to always be in motion, radiating positive energy.

But three years ago, despite a strong network of friends and a history of professional success, she found herself in the unfamiliar territory of uncertainty. Her marriage was ending. She was hunting for a new job after an unexpected layoff, and in early 2020, there were more applicants than open positions.

“As a driven person who’s pretty self-motivated and a high achiever, it was disheartening,” admits Melinda, who now works as a sales representative for Viatris in Brisbane, Australia. “I just couldn’t at that point see a way out.”

In her previous role, she wore clothing provided by the company, so her corporate wardrobe was limited. Since she was unemployed at the time, she was reluctant to spend money on new clothes. But on a visit to her bank, someone recommended that she contact Dress for Success, a global not-for-profit organization that provides support, professional attire, and development tools to help women succeed in the workforce.

In honor of International Women’s Day in March 2023, Viatris’ employee resource group for women and their allies, EmpoWer, is supporting Dress for Success by asking colleagues to donate gently used professional female clothing, unopened toiletries, accessories, and makeup. Melinda’s experiences from 2020 illustrate the impact those donations can have.

After getting contact information for her local chapter, she waited a little while before finally reaching out.

“They were amazing – really helpful, really supportive,” Melinda recalled. The organization arranged a video chat, during which a representative showed her racks of available outfits and asked her what she thought.

Melinda felt guilty because she was not destitute. The representative pressed on, offering handbags and toiletries. She also offered resume writing and other support services. Humbled, Melinda finally selected two outfits.

Within 48 hours, a parcel arrived on her doorstep with her new clothes. It was as though a light of hope had appeared in a dark tunnel. Shortly afterward, she landed a new job; by 2022, she had started her current role at Viatris.

Melinda is now back to her normal, high-energy self. Always keenly interested in fitness, she participates in bodybuilding competitions, including one in which she will compete with her 16-year-old daughter, Eva. Training includes five sessions a week in the gym and careful attention to diet, focusing on lean protein and vegetables.

Her experiences have helped her fine tune her own resilience and sense of empathy.

“Adversity can happen to any of us at any point in time,” she pointed out. When speaking with customers, she tries to keep in mind that she does not know what else could be going on in their lives: “I feel a lot more connected now after going through my own patch … it gave me a lot more understanding of what I do on a daily basis.”

Abbott

Remember when the weather felt more predictable? When seasons felt consistent, even if we complained about it, and things like wildfires, droughts or flooding seemed like rare events?

The changing climate already has begun to have an impact on the weather, from hotter temperatures to flooding and droughts in more parts of the world. But this change also has the potential to influence disease outbreaks.

Recent research has found that more than half of known infectious diseases, like malaria and West Nile virus, could be impacted by climate change.

Fighting as a Team

As part of our work to stay ahead of the next viral threat, we’ve partnered with the Climate Amplified Disease and Epidemics (CLIMADE) consortium, a newly formed group that will use data science and diagnostic testing to predict, track and control diseases that might pose a larger threat because of changing weather patterns.

More than 100 scientists from public health agencies, academia and industry will combine environmental, weather and virus data to identify potential outbreaks. When those are identified, the consortium will assess how to send medical resources and rapid surveillance testing to affected areas to prevent future outbreaks.

As the co-founder of CLIMADE and a partner of the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, Tulio de Oliveira, Ph.D., professor from the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation, knows that fighting viruses is a team effort. “This collaboration across the private and public sectors is critical to pandemic preparedness and our ability to go from responding to outbreaks to predicting them before they occur,” Oliveira said.

With predictive models and rapid response teams, we have the tools to help stop a new outbreak before it spreads. For those already infected, we can treat the disease and make a real impact in communities and in people’s lives.

Catching Pandemics Before They Catch Fire

CLIMADE’s work will begin in Africa and expand to countries around the world to help mitigate disease outbreaks. At Abbott, we’ll work with our partners in the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition to provide viral sequencing and testing data that will be used to monitor for viral outbreaks, as well as providing diagnostic testing for potential outbreaks.

Pandemic preparedness is a lot like fighting a fire right after it catches, and climate change has only fanned those flames. But our public-private partnership offers a new model for how we can harness technology and data science to predict — and successfully combat — the next global outbreak.

This way, we’ll go from sounding the alarm to putting out fires before they even begin.

Latest addition to academic medical complex will expand regional healthcare capacity Eaton energy infrastructure provides power backbone in facility’s pursuit for LEED Platinum certification

PITTSBURGH, April 27, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Intelligent power management company Eaton today announced a new contract to help design and construct the essential electrical system for the University of Michigan’s new hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Eaton is providing a wide range of intelligent electrical equipment and turnkey engineering services to establish a foundation of safe, resilient and sustainable power at the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion at University of Michigan Health. 

The new 264-bed adult inpatient facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025 and will help alleviate growing patient demand at the organization’s primary medical facility in Ann Arbor. According to the university, the 12-story, 690,000 square-foot facility is also on track in its pursuit to achieve the LEED Platinum certification for sustainable health care design and includes flexible energy systems ready for the future transition to renewable energy sources. 

“Essential electrical systems are the heartbeat of any healthcare operation,” said Justin Carron, healthcare segment director at Eaton. “We’re thrilled to help University of Michigan Health meet its evolving healthcare needs with an approach that prioritizes electrical resilience and a low-carbon future – so the university can continue to focus on providing what matters most: quality patient care.”

Eaton is helping University of Michigan Health ensure its facility has the power it needs, when it needs it, by providing advanced power distribution equipment, innovative back-up power protection solutions, turnkey project support, and training for facility operations and maintenance staff. The project includes an Eaton engineered utility substation, more than 100 factory-assembled Integrated Facility Systems switchboards to minimize valuable footprint and installation time, and Eaton Arc Quenching Switchgear that drastically reduces incident energy to preserve critical uptime and advance safety. 

Eaton is the first in its industry to join the health sector climate pledge. Learn more about how Eaton is powering the future of healthcare. 

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and doing what’s best for our stakeholders and all of society.

Founded in 1911, Eaton is marking its 100th anniversary of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We reported revenues of $20.8 billion in 2022 and serve customers in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit Eaton.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contact:

Hilary Spittle
+1.216.712.2005
hilaryspittle@eaton.com

Regina Parundik 
Cobblestone Communications
+1.412.559.1614
Regina@cobblecreative.com 

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In February 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a historic resolution to develop the UN Treaty on Plastics Pollution, a legally binding instrument with the primary aim of protecting marine environments and human health.

Negotiations should conclude by the end of 2024. Now, over a year into the negotiation period, how are businesses preparing for the new legislation?

What Is the Plastic Problem?

The “Drowning in Plastics” report on marine litter produced in 2021 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) was unequivocal on the issue. Since the 1950s, we have generated around 6.9 billion tons of plastic and are adding to this at a rate of over 400 million tons per year.

Of all the plastic produced to date, only an estimated 14% has been incinerated and only 10% has been recycled. The remaining 76% has gone to landfills or ended up in the environment. Waste management systems can’t cope, which has led to the widespread contamination of our waterways, seas, and oceans by an estimated 8 million tons of plastic every year.

Plastic is a cocktail of fossil fuels and chemicals that breaks down slowly into microplastics, damaging marine environments from the shore to the deepest parts of the ocean. Apart from damaging marine life, they are a threat to people as they make their way into our food chain and drinking water.

Two countries, Spain and the UK, have already taken their first steps with the introduction of plastic taxes on non-recyclable packaging and packaging using less than 30% recycled content respectively. That said, at the time the report was written, there was no consistent policy framework to ensure global action to combat plastic pollution.

SAP’s Role

The SAP Circular Economy Solutions team, led by Stephen Jamieson, began work on this issue five years ago. The team is an active member of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF, alongside some of the world’s biggest businesses and financial institutions.

SAP’s response to the resolution was to create a digital solution that would enable customers to apply the framework to their business as well as provide feedback to policymakers on what is and isn’t working.

The Biggest Business Challenge to Eliminating Plastic Pollution

“The biggest challenge is how to decouple virgin plastic production from growth. We need to break that connection, but, to date, nobody has the solution,” Jamieson says. “SAP’s strategy is data-driven. By helping our clients understand the implications of using virgin plastic and having information about alternative options at their fingertips, businesses can find a pathway to more sustainable growth.”

A Data-Driven Solution

With customers at all levels of the value chain, SAP set out to help its clients solve this problem using technology. Initial discussions with 30 or so organizations helped SAP understand the complexities involved and led us to identify the need for a plastics data resource. SAP built the SAP Responsible Design and Production solution to help deliver the information companies require to identify strategies and solutions for eliminating plastics or moving to other solutions such as reuse schemes.

Data transparency is key to begin the process of decoupling growth from virgin plastics and to facilitate a transition to a more circular economy. The first step involves measurement, in effect creating a digital twin of the plastic item a company produces to allow them to fully understand the types and amounts of components involved in the product itself. Then we do the same for the primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging.

Once the measurement phase is complete, the software can be used to apply EPR (extended producer responsibility) policies and local plastic taxes to the different components. With this data applied, businesses can compare materials like-for-like by connecting with digital material libraries to find the best-fit alternatives.

Once a new solution has been identified, the GreenToken by SAP solution comes into play. With its blockchain-based approach, the recycled content of products can be verifiable, which helps prevent fraud and provide assurance to customers.

Is There an Appetite to Change Business Practices around Plastic?

The desire to find solutions has evolved dramatically in the last five years. The level of seniority of the people driving the discussions and their determination is palpable. Rather than seeing this issue as an unnecessary cost, business leaders are genuinely engaged in finding solutions for several reasons.

Firstly, they recognize that the plastic problem is inextricably linked to the climate crisis and biodiversity loss and understand that change is necessary if we’re to stay within planetary boundaries.

Secondly, there is a feeling that solving the plastic problem will open the door to the next phase of growth, profitability, and social equity. This is creating a high level of competition between key players in the market.

Thirdly, companies are concerned with their reputation. They want to be on the right side of history and retain the loyalty and trust of their customers. In addition, there is now an acceptance – which didn’t exist previously – that there is no real downside to pursuing a solution.

These drivers coupled with data-driven technology means businesses will be ready, some even in an advanced position, when the UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution comes into force.

For more information on how SAP helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit www.sap.com/sustainability.

Heather Davies is a sustainability brand journalist.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day inspired us to share our love of designing and building with our kids! Members from our Women@CRB employee resource group based in our Philadelphia and St. Louis offices invited their families in to enjoy an evening of fun science experiments and coloring activities.

We are proud to have so many exceptional women engineers on our teams across the globe! In honor of Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, we asked a few of them to share with us what inspired them to become engineers, what motivates them as they advance in their careers, and what advice they would give to young women looking to break into the industry.

To celebrate Earth Month, AEG hosted a virtual panel “Sustainability Insights: Embracing Leadership and Inspiring Action in Entertainment” on April 18, 2023, to give employees insight into current sustainability initiatives taking place in the sports and live entertainment industry.

The panel was presented by AEG’s Sustainability team and was moderated by Vice President of Sustainability Erik Distler. The session featured four women trailblazers leading action in sustainability — Annie Horn (Director, Social Responsibility, NBA), Rene Jones (Partner and Chief of Social Impact, United Talent Agency), Lauren Tracy (Senior Director, Strategic and Business Operations, United States Tennis Association) and Cassie Lee (Co-Founder and CEO, Sound Future) — who discussed current sustainability trends and shared their diverse perspectives on what sustainability looks like in their respective fields.

“We are currently at an inflection point in the live entertainment industry in which we have the power to set the precedent for other industries to follow,” said Erik Distler. “We need to think about the entire value chain of the live events industry from talent to fan to operators and the fundamental business impact that those things have on the environment.”

At AEG, we’ve been embedding sustainability into our global business since 2008. We work hard to minimize environmental impacts across our music, sports, ticketing, and real estate portfolios, while harnessing their unique platforms to influence broader action in our communities. Learn more about AEG Sustainability here.

WALTHAM, Mass. /3BL Media/ – As the world celebrates Earth Week, National Grid today broke ground on its first geothermal pilot in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the City of Lowell, and the local community.

The groundbreaking included a demonstration of the borehole drilling technology that will be used as a first step in studying the properties of the bedrock in the area and is a key milestone for the launch of National Grid’s geothermal pilot, which is a multi-year initiative to bring clean energy to customers in the Acre neighborhood in Lowell.

“It’s fitting that the theme of Earth Week 2023 is ‘Investing in our Planet,'” said Stephen Woerner, President of National Grid New England.

“It’s one we at National Grid take to heart since investing to meet our net zero goals is a critical part of delivering for our customers and communities and combating climate change.

Exploring geothermal technology is an important step as we all strive to reach NetZero by 2050.”

Information gathered from the boreholes will help National Grid design a networked geothermal energy system — which uses the thermal properties of subsurface rock to help heat and cool buildings more efficiently — that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing more efficient heating and cooling to a neighborhood adjacent to UMass Lowell’s South Campus, which is currently served by natural gas.

“UMass Lowell’s commitment to sustainability and fighting climate change spans across university operations, to community engagement, to more than $40 million in research in the last three years alone,” said UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen. “We’re proud to partner with National Grid and the City of Lowell on this important project.”

Heating homes and businesses currently represents more than a quarter of total carbon emissions. National Grid envisions a majority of buildings will be electrified by 2050, and significant energy efficiency will eliminate a full one-third of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. Geothermal energy is an important component of that plan because of its potential to harness the Earth’s energy to provide carbon-free geothermal heating and cooling.

“On behalf of the City of Lowell, we are so excited to be selected as the first community in National Grid territory to participate in this geothermal pilot,” said Lowell City Manager, Thomas A. Golden, Jr. “This pilot not only has significant potential to help address climate change, but it also does so by engaging with our invaluable community partners, like UMass Lowell. The City of Lowell is all in to help make this project beneficial and equitable for our residents, supportive of the Commonwealth’s emissions reduction goals, and worthy of emulation for more communities moving forward.”

This is the first site selected under National Grid’s Geothermal Pilot, which was approved in 2021 by the Department of Public Utilities.

As part of National Grid’s efforts to help the Commonwealth meet its net zero goals by 2050 and the company’s plan to do the same, the five-year geothermal demonstration program will evaluate the potential for networked geothermal energy systems that can be applied to other communities.

National Grid designed this networked geothermal pilot program to explore how geothermal networks can be used to eliminate leak-prone pipes from its existing gas network, assist with gas system constraints, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in environmental justice communities, and provide the benefits of clean energy to all customers, including those living in Gateway cities.

To learn more about the project, please visit the link here https://youtu.be/zdR-PmFbQbE

About National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a path to a more affordable, reliable clean energy future through our fossil-free vision. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information, please visit our website, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, like us on Facebook and find our photos on Instagram.

Media Contacts

Christine Milligan 
Massachusetts 
(781) 907-3980 
Email