In 2017 Leaders in Energy continued to mature in its mission to build a community of leaders and a global action network to advance clean energy and sustainable solutions for a more sustainable energy system, economy, and world.
Our membership continued to grow in the Washington DC area, with 1,500 members on our mailing list, in addition to our LinkedIn group with over 2,900 members. We have a presence in most major U.S. metropolitan areas and over 100 countries.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Janine Finnell and our Board, Team Members and Advisors, the organization has provided important forums for clean energy and sustainability in the DC area, as well as nationally and globally. Our events last year came at a time of immense change and new threats, but also new opportunities to cement the transition to a green economy.
Leadership has become one of the key pillars of our outreach. This past December leaders from four generations were recognized for their contributions to the clean energy field. For the first time, we gave a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to S. David Freeman.
Throughout the year attendees learned the leadership skills that are needed for the green economy. Elsewhere, members wrestled with the political leadership changes in this country and their implications for the lofty agenda set in the 2015 Paris Agreement and President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
The second pillar is sustainable communities, which includes encouraging clean energy technologies and promoting the principles of the circular economy. Leaders in Energy hosted a workshop in October on the circular economy and launched a working group to take a deep dive into the opportunities that are available in this area, so that we can move away from a throwaway society.
Leaders in Energy partnered with the DC Chapter of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals and U.S. Green Building Council National Capital Region to visit the newly certified Living Building Challenge facility at the Alice Ferguson Foundation. (AFF visit – May) Later that year, AFF President and CEO Lori Arguelles won the Generation X award for leadership in sustainability.
A significant part of the year was dedicated to resilience and energy security. For the first time, in June, Leaders in Energy hosted an author, Vienna-based Marc Elsberg, who wrote Blackout about a fictional cyberattack on the European grid. In June we were given a rather distressing wakeup call, as experts debated the level of cybersecurity in the power grid and discussed preparedness and response measures. (Energy Infrastructure and Cybersecurity forum – June) . Later in September, there was a small book discussion group to delve deeper into Elsberg’s book.
At the Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) Green Festival, we learned from Sandra Postel of National Geographic about the need to reduce our water footprint. (NVCC Festival – April) According to the World Economic Forum, water scarcity is a top global risk. It will be interesting to see if anything comes out of the 2018 WEF Annual Meeting in the next week on this.
Our third pillar is where we take what we’ve learned and what we are passionate about and try to make some money. For the fourth year running, we held our Green Jobs Forum and job fair, highlighting Leaders in Energy members who have landed a green job or have become an entrepreneur. This year we were pleased to welcome Beth Offenbacker, PhD, as the facilitator of a Green Career workshop (to be reprised this January).
This year we were supported by many important sponsors and partners, including ACE, ArlingtonGreen, Cadmus, Career Confidence, Carrier, Cisco, Coffeffe, The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) at the University of the District of Columbia, CSRA, Darktrace, DC Net Impact, DC Sustainable Energy Utility, Edison Electric Institute, Edge Hosting, eSai LLC, FilmBison Media, Green Leaders DC, GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic, Groupsense, Home Energy Medics, Industrial Ecosystems Partners, LLC, International Society of Sustainability Professionals, Johnson Controls, Longenecker & Associates, MeteoViva, Microgrid Knowledge, MOM’s Organic Market, Nissan Leaf, Potential Energy DC, Resilient Virginia, Tesla, The Solar Foundation, Sourcebooks, Thermaxx Jackets, United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA), U.S. Green Building Council, VMDO, Water Management, Inc., Waterford, Inc., 40 Plus, among others.
We invite you to join our community of leaders. Connect on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. There are many stories of our members connecting to find green jobs, get inspired, and collaborate on projects to make a difference by advancing clean energy and sustainable solutions for a more sustainable energy system, economy, and world.