Celebrating Our Customers at the 8th Annual Sustainability Awards

As Earth Month wound down, we took the opportunity to celebrate our Key Account customers who infuse April’s spirit of sustainability into every day of the year. On April 26, some of our largest commercial customers gathered with LADWP representatives and executives for our 2023 Sustainability Awards. It marked the 8th annual awards event and the first to be held in person since 2019.

Our Key Accounts Section presented 21 awards to 18 customers in four different categories: Energy Efficiency, Demand Response, Water Conservation, and Electrification of Transportation. The first-place winners of the Leadership Awards were those customers who achieved the greatest absolute savings, across the board, in each of their respective categories.

• In Energy Efficiency, California State University–Northridge took home highest honors for their estimated annual savings of 4.1 million kWh through their participation in the Commercial Lighting Incentive Program (CLIP).
• For the seventh consecutive year, the Demand Response category was topped by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which in 2022 curtailed 8,750kW during demand response events.
• Takeda (formerly Baxalta US, Inc.) led Water Conservation, with their project through the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) estimated to save almost 3.7 million gallons of water each year.
• Leading the charge in Electrification of Transportation were Decron Properties Corporation, for their installation of 123 Level 2 (L2) electric vehicle (EV) chargers, and Los Angeles World Airports, for their installation of 11 Level 3 (L3) EV chargers, both through the Charge Up LA! program.

The cumulative actions of the awardees resulted in significant water savings and carbon emissions offsets, and also drove the installation of a burgeoning number of commercial electric vehicle chargers around the city. Overall, their estimated reduction of almost 2,900 tons of CO2 emissions annually is equivalent to taking approximately 736 gasoline-powered cars off the roads and highways each year. Their decrease in annual water use by 6.25 million gallons translates to about what 54 homes use each year. And with the installation of 296 L2 and 21 L3 electric vehicle chargers, honorees helped drive Los Angeles closer to its goal of installing 45,000 commercial EV chargers by 2025.

Not only did the event honor the partnerships forged with our customers to help achieve those resounding accomplishments, but it also featured insights from LADWP executives and business community leaders on the future of sustainability.

• In his welcome remarks, General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin Adams touched on programs recently approved by the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners, including a Commercial Energy Storage to Grid (CES2G) pilot program that will allow customers to send the power stored in their heavy-duty electric vehicles back to the grid during key periods of power demand.
• Commissioner Nurit Katz’s keynote, “The Future of Sustainability in Los Angeles,” highlighted recent reports on the urgent need for sustainable action around the world and some LADWP initiatives already in place (including LA100, LA100 Equity Strategies, and stormwater capture) to help limit our carbon emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change on our most vulnerable populations.
• LADWP Chief Operating Officer Aram Benyamin joined Paramount Senior Vice President Studio Services Douglas Rheinheimer and USC Associate Director of Sustainability Zelinda Welch in a panel discussion about taking sustainability to the next level.

Since 2016, the Sustainability Awards event has offered LADWP and our Key Accounts Section an annual opportunity to gather with Los Angeles’ business community to recognize our shared commitment to sustainability and the environmental achievements resulting from our customers’ participation in our rebate programs. Honorees and the scale of their sustainability accomplishments are determined through quantitative analysis of their environmental impacts. The amount of water or energy savings is calculated based on the savings achieved during the year those sustainability measures were implemented in comparison to the calendar year prior to implementation.

More information about the event and the awardees is available at ladwp.com/sap.

The 2023 Sustainability Awards winners are:

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Leadership Award
1st Place: California State University, Northridge
2nd Place: University of Southern California
3rd Place: Fenix Marine Services, LTD

Impact Award
1st Place: Omninet Capital
2nd Place: Encino Financial Center
3rd Place: Fox Investment Co LLC dba Broadway Parking
 

WATER CONSERVATION

Leadership Award
1st Place: Takeda
2nd Place: Dignity Health – Northridge Hospital
3rd Place: Decron Properties Corporation

ELECTRIFICATION OF TRANSPORTATION

Leadership Award for Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging (L2)
1st Place: Decron Properties Corporation
2nd Place: Essex Property Trust
3rd Place: University of Southern California

Leadership Award for Level 3 Electric Vehicle Charging (L3)
1st Place: Los Angeles World Airports
2nd Place: EV Charging Solutions
3rd Place: 11500 West Olympic

DEMAND RESPONSE

Leadership Award
1st Place: Los Angeles Unified School District
2nd Place: Brookfield Properties
3rd Place: Los Angeles World Airports

Impact Award
1st Place: Airgas USA, LLC
2nd Place: Kush Alley
3rd Place: LA Cold Storage