Spotlight
February 29, 2012One Individual and 20 Organizations Receive Inaugural Climate Leadership Awards
February 16, 2012West Linn Paper Company Achieves Climate Registered Status for 3rd Year
December 8, 2011Event: Understanding the Real Impact of GHG Mitigation Activities Dec. 8, 2011 - 9:45 am Eastern Time
October 19, 20113Degrees Is First Company to Achieve Climate Registered Silver Status
October 17, 2011States and provinces appoint new Executive Director of The Climate Registry
August 13, 2011U.S. EPA and NGOs unveil award criteria and nomination deadline for new Climate Leadership Awards
July 5, 2011Recology, Inc. joins The Climate Registry
June 22, 2011Exelon joins The Climate Registry
June 20, 2011Kodak, US Postal Service and Bentley Prince Street first to be awarded Climate Registered Gold and Platinum
May 17, 2011New national climate awards program
Feburary 9, 2011Registry Member ARCA partners with GE and EPA to lower emissions
January 25, 2011CalSTRS joins The Registry
Please contact us if you have any questions about The Registry.
California Department Of Corrections & Rehabilitation
Largest State-Run Prison System Captures Greenhouse Gases
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the largest state-run prison system in the U.S. and is responsible for the state's corrections, rehabilitation and parole systems. The state agency operates facilities across the state including, 33 adult prisons, 13 adult community correctional facilities and 6 juvenile facilities, housing 171,000 adult offenders and nearly 1,800 juvenile offenders.
Energy Management & Savings
In 2008, CDCR embarked on an ambitious retrofit, conservation, and solar energy plan, with the construction of 16 energy efficiency retrofit projects - including HVAC retrofits, lighting retrofits and motor upgrades. Carrying out a successful statewide energy efficiency partnership with California's four investor-owned utilities - Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Pacific Gas & Electric - is expected to save more than 28 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 650,000 therms of natural gas and 22.5 million pounds of carbon-dioxide gases - the equivalent of taking about 4,000 vehicles off the road annually.
A pioneer in energy efficiency programs and incentives that reduce customers' energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, Southern California Edison (SCE) provides valuable assistance to CDCR in achieving their overall energy and GHG reductions goals. Constant innovation at SCE complements the utility's existing energy savings projects at many CDCR prisons which include solar photovoltaic systems, peak load reduction programs and installation of the latest lighting technology.
Taking Action On Climate Change
CDCR's substantial energy savings qualified them for the Cool Planet Project, which enabled them to join The Climate Registry as the first California state agency. As a Cool Planet Project participant, CDCR received assistance in communicating their outstanding environmental stewardship to the public. The Registry implemented a media campaign in conjunction with CDCR, which garnered positive media attention throughout the country. Measuring their entity wide greenhouse gas emissions at the facility level provides CDCR with an in-depth look at their own energy inefficiencies, providing a side-by-side comparison of emissions and energy usage. This comprehensive inventory helps target the most significant GHG emissions sources, establish and protect a GHG baseline, and document early reductions in preparation for any future regulation. CDCR's transparent GHG inventory has proven a valuable tool in planning for additional energy saving projects and tracking the ambitious environmentally sound policies that continue to take shape.
Utilizing California's Sunshine
In 2009, CDCR will construct additional (6) solar photovoltaic power plants. Wasco State Prison is one of six prisons slated to be a site for new solar power fields, which will each produce more than one megawatt of pollution-free electricity per year. Each solar project will provide enough energy to power 226 homes a year. CDCR currently has solar fields operating at Ironwood and Chuckawala Valley State Prisons, near Blythe, CA. The solar fields provide up to 25 percent of their power at peak demand.
