ACCO Working Groups: Climate Leadership Adaptation Lifecycle of Operations and Products Energy Efficiency Clean Energy Municipal Sustainability/Climate Organizations Network Role, Structure and Function of the CCO (Climate Change Officer) Click here to learn more about sponsoring ACCO working groups!

With the recent launch of CCO Connect^TM, ACCO has established (and is continuing to develop) working and discussion groups focused on a range of topics of interest to members across the ACCO community.  Working groups in development include:

• Adaptation
   
  ACCO’s Adaptation Working Group is conducting focused intelligence gathering on the state of adaptation science and decision support methods to inform membership, both internationally and domestically. The group promotes adaptation educational opportunities, helps act as a bridge for adaptation into the mandate of external organizations, and advises decision-makers on the implications of adaptation policy making, climate risk analysis, and related activities. The Adaptation Working Group focuses on three areas:

  • Effectively communicating climate science and climate change impacts;

  • Integrating adaptation into business and operating risk management; and

  • Assisting members in the development of regional adaptation strategies.

  To learn more about this working group, please visit http://www.ACCOonline.org/ccls/adaptation2011 or contact ACCO Adaptation Program Manager Michael Cote.
     

• Lifecycle of Operations and Products
   
  As non-profit organizations, industry, government and academic institutions work to develop supply chain management programs and standards for scope 3 emissions, the need to link energy, greenhouse gas emissions and bottom line financials and operational imperatives is imperative.  Working group members will collaborate to develop metrics and methodologies for assessing the climate related risks and operational costs of operations and product lifecycles, identify best practices on overhauling and establishing new procurement paradigms, and design a framework for information systems focused on assessing and managing energy and GHG emissions throughout lifecycles
    
• Climate Leadership
   
  Following the roundtable sessions at ACCO's November 2010 Climate Change Leadership Summit, ACCO community members identified next steps in educating government and corporate leadership, best practices for shaping climate policy and making the business case for climate response.  Early action items for this working group will include developing a Climate 101 course for officers and senior executives, as well as a literature review of studies and publications addressing the correlation between companies that address climate change, their profitability, and shareholder value.
     
• Energy Efficiency
   
  Energy is a key component of climate response strategies.  This working group will address overcoming barriers to energy efficiency in commercial, government and academic buildings, establishing smart energy management programs (including addressing technologies, information systems, organizational structures, etc.), and assessing market and policy barriers and opportunities.
    
• Clean Energy
   
  With more half of American states having established renewable portfolio or electricity standards in the U.S., developing an infrastructure that supports the existing and future needs of a clean energy sector and economy is of particular interest to members of the ACCO community.  This working group will address policy, market, physical and education perspectives related to moving to a clean energy economy and infrastructure, develop recommendations for subnational government entities, assess waste-to-energy and other "non-traditional" technologies, and establish standards for measuring ROI on clean energy projects.  Early action items may include establishing a model for self-financing clean energy investment strategies, developing a clearinghouse for distributed generation opportunities by geographic area, and conducting research projects on tools needed by climate executives addressing clean energy.
    
• Municipal Sustainability/Climate Organizations Network
   
  Numerous local networks of sustainability and climate focused professionals/organizations are evolving throughout the United States with a focus on providing members with peer collaboration opportunities, education and greening their respective communities.  This working group will provide leaders of these networks opportunities to collaborate with one another to develop best practices for operating locally focused climate organizations, establish a speaker/expert exchange program and broaden their members' access to peers outside the geographical area.
   
• Role, Structure and Function of the CCO (Climate Change Officer)
   
  As organizations across sectors seek to establish an organizational structure the provides enterprise governance of climate risks, opportunities and strategies, best practices on organizational structures and roles/responsibilities of senior executives tasked with overseeing these efforts must be established.  This group will assess data gathered from ACCO research projects on climate governance in corporations, academic institutions and government entities, develop a job description for climate change officers and author materials on climate governance.

Don't see a topic of interest?  We encourage you to provide ideas for new working groups. 
Contact Daniel Kreeger for more information.

Copyright 2008-2010 by the Association of Climate Change Officers