Touring the Clean Energy Boom: Ice Cream, Anyone?
This is part of a regularly recurring series by Anne Kelly and hosted on LinkedIn, exploring the economic impacts of U.S. clean energy policies like the Inflation Reduction of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 – and the companies that are leading the way in maximizing their benefits.?
When you think of big industrial processes, you probably think of a big steel factory or a cement facility, or maybe if you’re especially focused on clean energy issues, a wind turbine assembly plant. But let's not forget that some of our everyday delights are also products of the minor miracles of logistics, labor, and manufacturing that is our industrial sector.?
Which brings me to ice cream.?
Here at the cusp of summer, you can’t blame me for having it on the mind. But it also happens to be a terrific?example of how U.S. policy is helping major manufacturers clean up the ways they make some of their most essential and beloved products.?
Believe it or not, making frozen treats takes a lot of heat – heat is usually produced using fossil fuels that create air pollution and are driving the dangerous overheating of our planet. Unilever – the parent company of brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Breyers – is looking to change that, by converting the natural gas boilers at its four U.S. ice cream factories to electric boilers and heat pumps, which reuse heat that would otherwise leave the factories. In addition to cutting pollution and upgrading the company’s ice cream facilities in Vermont, Missouri, and Tennessee, the project will also employ some 300 construction workers, and Ceres has been excited to work directly with Unilever to develop other project benefits for nearby communities.?
In fact, Ceres has worked with Unilever for years and have seen the company's commitment to climate action, both by taking internal action and by advocating for strong public policy to have an economy-wide impact. Now, its approach at the ice cream factories is so promising that it’s on track to win support from the federal government. The Unilever plan is one of more than 30 heavy-industry projects from sectors as diverse as food and beverage, chemicals, and glass that have been selected for funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, through its Industrial Demonstrations Program.?
Funded by both the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Industrial Demonstrations Program is designed to leverage federal funds to unlock significantly more?private?funding for cleaner industrial solutions, setting an example for peer companies while helping the U.S. stay at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing. It’s another example of how the IRA and IIJA?are serving up economic gains across the country –?and pollution-free ice cream?sounds like?the perfect dessert.?
America’s clean energy boom: By the numbers?
According to research from our friends at Climate Power, the IRA has delivered the U.S. ...?
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... since it was signed into law in August 2022.?
Data as of March 2024.?
Businesses backed climate action?
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was passed with major support from U.S. businesses across all sectors. ?
By the time the legislation was signed into law, more than 2,900 businesses generating $5.1 trillion in annual revenue and employing 400 million people worldwide had spoken out in support of ambitious federal climate action. ?
And leading businesses have since provided essential input to shape the law’s new programs and advocate for state policy to further harness its many economic benefits.?
More resources?
Thanks for the excellent article, Anne! To learn more about Sublime, listen to (or read) this episode of the Volts podcast featuring CEO Leah Ellis. https://www.volts.wtf/p/we-are-closing-in-on-zero-carbon. It's super interesting that Sublime uses electrolysis (at room temperature) instead of a cement kiln. And Ellis explains this type of electrolysis can be used to create other valuable materials.
How are these new laws shaping Unilever's sustainability efforts, Anne L. Kelly?
ICF Executive Coach | Transformational Change & Programme Management | Organic Lavender Farmer
5 个月Great article, Anne. Thank you. I appreciate the informative, clear and direct examples of choices companies and individuals are able to make to do their part in switching to green energy practices, thanks to key government policies.