2019 Climate Corps Fellowship Awards
The annual Climate Corps Fellowship Awards recognize fellows who complete outstanding work in three areas:
- The Business Case Award for the fellow who presents the strongest case for a project recommendation, backed by sound quantitative analysis and with a high likelihood of implementation.
- The Innovation Award for the fellow who recommends the most creative approach to reducing a host organization’s emissions or an innovative solution for overcoming barriers.
- The Collaboration Award for the fellow who most effectively facilitates work across or within organizations or the EDF Climate Corps network to collectively bolster climate and energy initiatives.
2019 Fellowship Award winners
Business Case – Colin Curzi, Ventas, Inc.
Colin Curzi, of the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University, won the 2019 Business Case Award for his work with Ventas, Inc. Curzi prepared and delivered a compelling financial case for investment in energy efficiency measures across the real estate investment trust’s vast portfolio. Curzi analyzed utility data and lighting systems to make the financial case for LED installations. Additionally, he drafted a green bond framework for the firm and launched a green building pilot to certify its sustainable properties. These initiatives have demonstrated that sustainability practices create real value for the company’s shareholders through operational efficiencies, while preserving the planet.
Innovation – Yasin Naman, Covestro
Yasin Naman, of the Engineering Energy Systems program at Northeastern University, won the 2019 Innovation Award for his work with Covestro. Naman joined Covestro, a global manufacturing company, to update their centralized energy tracking systems and dashboard. Not only did he fix the system, but he incorporated machine learning to allow for predictive analysis and greater transparency and ease of use. Going a step further, Naman also developed an app that can recognize meter readings from a photo and automatically upload the reading to an energy tracking database – a process that was previously being done manually. These innovations will enable management to access more accurate data and make faster decisions that will impact their ability to meet their sustainability goals.
Collaboration – Khyati Rathore, New York City Mayor’s Office of Resiliency
Khyati Rathore, of the Masters of Regional Planning program at Cornell University, won the 2019 Collaboration Award for her work with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Resiliency. Rathore evaluated the climate resilience and mitigation capacity of the natural infrastructure assets under the jurisdiction of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). She also developed a framework to assess ecosystem services of that natural infrastructure and led a pilot study on documenting a comprehensive tree inventory. Her findings underscore the need to accurately evaluate the ecosystem services across NYCHA’s portfolio and will enable science-based decision-making.The ecosystem services equate to nearly $185 million worth of stored carbon, and could remove roughly 56,000 pounds of pollution per year and could avoid 2 million cubic feet of runoff per year.
