Expert Columns

The U.S. Department of Energy issued the Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) Joint Policy Statement to provide guidance on how to advance high-integrity VCMs and fully achieve the potential of these markets. This column summarizes voluntary principles that U.S. market participants, including corporate buyers, should embrace as they engage in VCMs.

At Amazon, artificial intelligence is helping solar-plus-storage projects provide power even when the sun isn’t shining. Amazon teams are currently developing an AI model that will leverage machine learning capabilities, along with performance data from Amazon rooftop solar arrays, to help its San Bernardino Air Hub and other buildings minimize energy usage.

General Motors (GM) has publicly committed to reducing its energy consumption, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions across its 118 U.S. sites. All sites were tasked with evaluating potential contributions to the goal, as well as mapping glide paths to the targets. This column from Better Buildings explains how GM developed a new Energy and Carbon Optimization (ECO) Metrics Dashboard to standardize the process and help energy managers and plant leadership track monthly performance for energy, water, and emissions and estimate site-specific potential savings from their existing project roadmap.

Over the past 10 years, Green Lease Leaders has evolved to encourage continued green leasing best practice enhancement and encompass a wider range of property types around the world.  In this column from IMT's Diana Lee, we celebrate the program's milestone anniversary and its role in strengthening relationships between landlords and tenants in service of advancing asset-level decarbonization and sustainability initiatives,

To stay on track with their energy commitments, Pace University created a Coordinated Energy Management program that is focused on eliminating wasteful energy behaviors. In this column from Better Buildings, learn how the university brought on two full-time energy specialists to improve building management systems by matching HVAC equipment to occupancy, providing continuous audits of building space, enforcing a set point policy, and alerting facilities staff of equipment that may be wasting energy.

Decarbonizing the chemicals sector is an essential part of the strategy to achieve a strong, competitive, and net-zero industrial sector of the future. Learn how the U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) is pursuing ambitious pathways to support technology development and collaboration across the entire chemicals value chain.

Celanese Corporation sought to improve and expand its ability to report Environmental, Social, and Governance data to stakeholders by housing all sustainability data in a single IT platform. Follow this fast-paced project that was implemented over 14 months to improve the accuracy and completeness of ESG data across 35 diverse and complex manufacturing plants in 19 countries.

When it comes to electrification, GM is serious about introducing a range of zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles and applications. In this column, learn about GM’s latest fuel cell-related project: a hydrogen-based worksite ecosystem, centered around its fleet of medium-duty fuel cell trucks. With funding from the Department of Energy, GM is spearheading a pilot program that demonstrates real-life applications of fuel cells for fleet and commercial customers.  

Smart Energy Decisions presented the third annual WISE (Women in Smart Energy) Awards at our recent Net Zero Forum. As part of International Women’s Day, we want to share details on these winners and raise the profile of the important work being done by women in energy and sustainability.