Cross-sector Collaborative Launches to Tackle Energy, Emissions from Heating and Cooling

Renewable thermal technologies provide opportunity to offset large chunk of energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions from heating and cooling

Santa Clara, California — A new collaborative of manufacturers, state and local governments, and environmental organizations launched today at the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance Summit to increase options for access to sustainable, cost-competitive renewable thermal energy. The Renewable Thermal Collaborative will address a significant challenge; energy used for heating and cooling comprises approximately 50 percent of total global final energy demand and 39 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Despite the large energy and carbon footprint of heating and cooling and significant potential to reduce carbon emissions, the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling applications has received relatively little attention compared with renewable electricity.

“The world already has great renewable electricity solutions but if we are to keep the warming of the planet below 2 degrees then we also need great renewable thermal solutions.” – Barry Parkin, Chief Sustainability and Health & Wellbeing Officer, Mars

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative will serve as the leading coalition for organizations that are committed to scaling up renewable heating and cooling at their facilities and dramatically cutting carbon emissions. The Renewable Thermal Collaborative is led by its founding Steering Committee Members comprised of manufacturing companies, state and local governments, and environmental organizations. Founding Members are Mars, P&G, Cargill, General Motors, Kimberly Clark and the City of Philadelphia. The Renewable Thermal Collaborative is facilitated by World Wildlife Fund, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and David Gardiner and Associates.

“P&G has committed to delivering 30% of our energy from renewable sources by 2020. Organizations like the Renewable Thermal Collaborative will help create renewable sources that are sustainable, scalable and cost-competitive. Collaboration within the industry is critical to ensuring there are solutions available to meet this growing demand for renewable energy sources.” – Jack McAneny, Director of Sustainability, P&G

 In the United States, heating and cooling account for more than 25 percent of total energy use across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors at a cost of $270 billion annually. Renewable thermal technologies, including biomass, biogas, geothermal, landfill gas, and solar thermal, have significant potential to reduce carbon emissions in industry and buildings. The Renewable Thermal Collaborative offers a venue for partners to come together collectively to understand the problems in the market, learn from each other, and overcome these barriers to renewable heating and cooling.

“The City of Philadelphia is proud to have committed to a transition towards 100% renewable energy. Given that heating and cooling make up such a large percentage of the energy consumption and carbon emissions for our city and many other cities, we see the Renewable Thermal Collaborative as an important piece of the puzzle to reach our ambitious climate and renewable energy goals.” – Christine Knapp, Director of the Office of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative will offer an implementation-focused platform operating under the umbrella of the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) to advance the needs of manufacturers, cities, and environmental organizations to tackle barriers to renewable thermal energy. REBA has become the central platform coordinating efforts to expand large buyers’ access to renewable energy options.

The full press release includes several other quotes from all the organizations involved. Download it here.