February 6th, 2012 TrustElement at Euromoney's 6th Annual Latam Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum.
Date: 28 February 2012 - 29 February 2012. Venue: Biltmore Hotel, Miami.
To meet TrustElement during this event, e-mail sales@trustelement.com
Now in its 6th year, Project Finance Magazine's Latin American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum will bring together governments, developers, concessionaires and financiers to explore the opportunities and important developments in the region.
August 23rd, 2011 Felipe Zarate from TrustElement invited to the Advisory Committee of New York City's Metropolitan Entrepreneurial Testing System (METS).
New York City's government has created a mechanism to promote energy and clean technologies in the city, labeled the Metropolitan Entrepreneurial Testing System (METS for short). The METS initiative was created in 2010, yet came to reality in 2011 via a public invitation for proposals from green tech, energy management, waste, water efficiency, and environmental solutions companies.
The objective will be to select, from said proponents, technologies to be pilot-tested in city-owned buildings. This effort echoes NYC's goal to lead by example in areas of sustainability, energy and carbon-efficiency.
Equally important, the METS program promotes new job creation in the growing field of environmental industries, thanks to the innovative and growth potential of these industries.
Mr. Zarate will be one of a select group of professionals to participate in the METS Advisory Committee, overseeing the application process, reviewing the proposals, ensuring the proponent's solutions match the METS program criteria, and bringing his real-world expertise regarding the commercial viability & applicability of the technologies proposed.
July 15th, 2011 North County Transit District (NCTD) compiles Greenhouse Gas, energy, water, and waste baseline in partnership with TrustElement.
The North County Transit District (NCTD), a multi-modal transit agency servicing 12 million passenger trips in North San Diego County, has partnered with TrustElement to perform a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventory under The Climate Registry's standards. In addition to calculating and publicly reporting GHG emissions into the TCR registry, NCTD's analysis encompassed the metrics of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) sustainability commitment. To meet the requirements of both TCR and APTA, the agency and TrustElement compiled the activity data for all the transit modes (bus, commuter rail, light rail, and paratransit), all fuel sources (diesel, natural gas, gasoline, and electricity), and all facilities under the operational control of NCTD.
"Public transit services are green by definition, yet measuring our environmental footprint and establishing sustainability metrics was an underlying priority for our agency. This project allowed us to analyze our GHG emissions, energy, water, waste, and pollutants baseline. From this baseline, we will aim to continuously improve our environmental performance" said Angela Miller, IT & Sustainability Director at NCTD.
"NCTD's commitment to sustainability is admirable, more so since the agency set out to meet its commitment as both a TCR member and an APTA sustainability signatory. NCTD is leading by example and has established a baseline for all of its environmental dimensions" said Felipe Zarate, Executive Director of TrustElement. He added: "From here onward, NCTD has set a strong foundation to monitor and understand the performance of key environmental indicators, and TrustElement was thrilled to have been a part of this pioneering effort".
About North County Transit District (NCTD)
North County Transit District's services are a vital part of San Diego's regional transportation network. NCTD moves more than 12 million passengers annually by providing public transportation for North San Diego County. The family of transit services includes the BREEZE bus system, the COASTER commuter rail service, LIFT Paratransit, and the SPRINTER light rail line.
North County Transit District's mission is to deliver safe, convenient, reliable and user-friendly public transportation services. Our vision is to build an integrated transit system that enables our customers to travel easily and efficiently throughout our growing region.
April 18th, 2011 IceStone partners with TrustElement to perform Lifetime Cost Comparison Analysis (LCCA).
IceStone LLC, a Brooklyn Navy Yard-based manufacturer of environmentally-designed counter tops, partnered with TrustElement to perform a Lifetime Cost Comparison Analysis (LCCA) focused on energy efficiency measures. The analysis focused on the cost impact of selected Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) on IceStone's energy baseline during a 15-year timeframe.
"IceStone's products are green by design, and as such we are always looking for ways to better our environmental footprint and our cost structure. This project helps us analyze energy abatement options and improves our ability to make decisions with long-term energy impact" said Danielle Saint-Louis, Engineering Director at IceStone.
"The great thing about a project like this, for a company like IceStone, is that you focus squarely on the intersection of energy leadership and environmental stewardship" said Felipe Zarate, Executive Director of TrustElement. He added "...ideally a LCCA is approached in phases or tiers, with each tier looking at incremental energy conservation opportunities. IceStone's first-tier LCCA shows energy optimization opportunities, in Net Present Value (NPV) terms, that represent a 30x multiple with regards to the cost of the study itself."
About IceStone
IceStone helps you realize your vision and values by offering the world's safest and most sustainable durable surface. Crafted in Brooklyn from 100% recycled glass and concrete, IceStone rivals the strength of marble with elegant colors that carry unique depth and character, making IceStone the perfect choice for everything from kitchen countertops and bathroom vanities to desktops and conference tables. Dedicated to sustainable innovation, our green manufacturing and forward-thinking corporate culture make us the only durable surface to earn Cradle to Cradle(R) certification at the gold level.
And because we're made with only the safest, non-toxic ingredients, IceStone is healthy through and through,for our customers, our workers and our planet. With service at the heart of everything we do, we're dedicated to understanding your needs and exceeding your expectations. Accolades include the prestigious selection for the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, the ASID Bloom Award and Interior Design Magazine's Merit Award for Green Products, among many others. IceStone - Design a Better Way.
February 1st, 2011 Felipe Zarate from TrustElement to speak about integrating sustainability at EUEC 2011 in Phoenix.
EUEC, the leading energy, utility and environment conference in the U.S.A, will be hosting 3,000 delegates including environmental business leaders, energy executives, NGO's and government policymakers during its 14th annual event in Phoenix, AZ. Converging to collaborate on the various issues facing energy generation, the event encompasses 12 tracks covering energy, carbon and sustainability from a policy, technological and strategic perspective.
During the event's sustainability track, Felipe Zarate from TrustElement will focus on how organizations are integrating sustainability, with approaches across the enterprise from boardroom directives to field operations. Mr. Zarate will discuss the challenges, the opportunities, and cover five case studies from corporate leaders in sustainability. Specifically, the case studies will feature metrics, established goals, and progress to date for sustainability performance.
Felipe's presentation will open a panel that will also cover the state of sustainability in the utilities industry, approaches to benchmarking environmental footprints, and coupling sustainability with strategic growth.
December 14th, 2010 Agrion to host Starwood Hotels, YRG Sustainability and TrustElement at December 14th, 2010 panel discussion in New York City.
Agrion, a leading business network for energy, cleantech and sustainability professionals, is hosting a panel titled "Day-to-Day Green: Implementing Business Sustainable Initiatives". The panelists include Gina Edner (Associate Director of Sustainability) of Starwood, Lauren Yarmuth (Principal) of YRG Sustainability, and Felipe Zarate (Executive Director) of TrustElement. The event will be cast live via the web on December 14, 2010 at 1pm EST, and is part of Agrion's comprehensive calendar of events in the energy and sustainability arena.
The event's agenda will focus on how organizations are taking a practical approach to greening their business. From the first steps required to implement green initiatives within an office, to the incorporation of sustainability metrics into annual accounting and reports, the panel will draw the combined experience of the panelist's experience in designing, launching and measuring the performance of green business programs.
Specifically, the panel will cover, among other topics: Asessing the efficiency and sustainability of your office operations; tools for measuring the office and/or organizational footprint; cost/benefit example of green initiatives; low-hanging fruit regarding sustainable initiatives in the workplace (recycling, eco-office, teleconferencing,...); workplace education and training regarding sustainable practices and green business initiatives.
September 29th, 2010 TrustElement to share panel with ConEdison and Vokashi at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Green Business Event on September 29th in New York City.
Felipe Zarate, Executive Director and Co-Founder of TrustElement, Inc., will present at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC) Green Business Event, a quarterly workshop and networking venue organized by the MCC. This quarter, the event will be held at the American Cancer Society.s Hope Lodge on Wednesday September 29, 2010. The panelist line-up includes David Pospisil, Program Manager for Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs at ConEdison, and Vandra Thorburn, President of Vokashi.
As part of the event.s agenda, Felipe will focus on the drivers, approaches, and benefits for businesses going green. ConEdison.s presentation will highlight their energy efficiency programs, and Vokashi will showcase their food waste solution and share some success stories. Altogether, these three presentations will provide great value to the business members of the MCC, specifically in line with the MCC Green Business Committee.s goal of promoting sustainable business practices to its member community.
September 13th, 2010 TrustElement co-founder Felipe Zarate to be honored at the CHCI Conference in Washington DC on September 14th, 2010.
For the second year in a row, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) is showcasing Latino talent, innovation, and leadership in the green economy during its annual conference in Washington DC. This year the event will run from September 13 to 15, and on Tuesday September 14 will feature a substantive dialogue on the green economy and green jobs.
Chair Nydia Velazquez will showcase Latino entrepreneurs, innovators, and initiatives spearheaded by Latinos across the country promoting a greener economy and green jobs, thus providing a forum to demonstrate Latino talent, innovation, and leadership in the new green economy. Among the honorees, TrustElement co-founder Felipe Zarate will be honored based on the firm's specific contributions as a professional services organization in the areas of energy efficiency, corporate sustainability and climate change.
July 27, 2010 TrustElement co-founder Felipe Zarate to speak at the 2010 APTA Sustainability and Public Transportation Workshop on July 27th in New York City.
Felipe Zarate, Executive Director and co-founder of TrustElement, Inc., will participate as a panelist at the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) yearly sustainability and public transportation workshop on Tuesday July 27, 2010. This year, the workshop will be held at the Westin New York in Times Square and features a two-day agenda focused on creating a culture of sustainability in public transport entities.
As part of the workshop's agenda, Felipe will participate in the panel "Creating a Sustainability Culture", focusing on the key requirements to creating and integrating sustainability into public transport. The panel will be moderated by Doran Barnes, Vice Chair of Human Resources at APTA and Executive Director of Foothill Transit in Covina, CA. Felipe will focus on integrating sustainability from the boardroom to the field, taking reference from success stories in transport and the outcome of sustainability initiatives in the sector.
July 15, 2010 TrustElement co-founder Felipe Zarate to speak at the 2010 Sustainable Energy Fund Conference on July 15th at Lehigh University.
Felipe Zarate, Executive Director and co-founder of TrustElement, Inc., will speak at the Sustainable Energy Fund's (SEF) yearly conference on Thursday July 15, 2010. This year, the event will be hosted at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA and will bring together green career seekers, industry professionals, educators, policy makers, and entrepreneurs.
As part of the Sustainable Energy Conference agenda, Felipe will present the session on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting, focusing on the key concepts and critical requirements to produce a GHG report. This session is part of the Energy Policy track and covers Greenhouse Gas, Cap and Trade, and Regulatory System Design. This year, the 2010 Sustainable Energy Conference will span 3 days of classes seeking to develop an understanding of sustainable energy and facilitate discussions on overcoming the barriers to a sustainable energy future.
April 28, 2010 TrustElement co-founder Felipe Zarate to participate in the Intuit Town Hall on April 28th at the NASDAQ Marketsite.
Felipe Zarate, Executive Director and co-founder of TrustElement, Inc., will participate in the Intuit Town Hall event on April 28th at the NASDAQ Marketsite. The event is part of Intuit's Money Matters Town Hall Series, and brings together 15 NY-based business owners to discuss about how small business owners are faring in the current economy.
The event will be led by small business expert Rhonda Abrams and Intuit's Cameron Schmidt, focusing on topics at the top of small and medium businesses agendas, including getting new customers, investing to grow, managing employees and going green. On this last topic, TrustElement will bring specific experience based on the firm's experience helping its clients to implement green business practices, from energy efficiency to carbon management to sustainability.
March 1, 2010 John L. Cusack, Founder of Gifford Park Associates, to act as Strategic Advisor for TrustElement.
TrustElement, a leading carbon management, climate change, and energy efficiency professional services company, has announced that John L. Cusack will become a Strategic Advisor to the firm. Mr. Cusack brings more than 30 years of professional experience in strategic, consulting and financial advice spanning the environmental, energy and sustainability industries. "John brings unparalleled breadth, depth and experience in TrustElement's core industries, having consulted to and influenced a multitude of leading organizations in the marketplace" said Felipe Zarate, Executive Director of TrustElement. Felipe added that "our firm will gain tremendous strategic insight from Mr. Cusack's career, ranging from his experience at ABB to his tenure at Innovest to running his own firm."
Mr. Cusack is the founder of Gifford Park Associates, a management and policy consulting firm specializing in the areas of strategic environmental/sustainability management and implementation, climate change risks, environmental finance risks and disclosure, energy, and the relationship between the environmental and financial performance of publicly traded companies. His experience includes consulting assignments for clients as well as provision of longer-term executive services. Major clients of Mr. Cusack have included a variety of multinational industrial and financial firms, venture capitalists, and educational/not-for-profit organizations. His experience also includes assignments for a number of venture-funded companies and international agencies/governments, including the government of the UAE, the UN, OECD, the ICC and the US State Department.
Among Gifford Park Associates' clients are Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Marsh Inc., the Chicago Climate Exchange, the State of Connecticut, Toyota North America, Bank of America, Sterling Planet, Duke Energy, Energy East, the Boston Carbon Corporation, Environmental Entrepreneurs, ICF Consulting (nee A. D. Little), Trucost Limited, Rothschilds Asset Management, the NJ Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability.
Prior to starting Gifford Park Associates, Mr. Cusack was the lead executive in North America and Europe of several subsidiaries of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB). ABB is a leading multinational energy and industrial products/services firm, where Mr. Cusack also served as liaison with ABBs energy / environmental venture capital fund, and as advisor to ABB Corporate Environmental Affairs and the ABB Foundation. He launched ABB Sanitec, Inc., a New Jersey-based environmental biotechnology company using a unique energy efficient technology to treat medical wastes. Mr. Cusack was also responsible for managing ABB Sanitec GmbH and its sales agents in a number of European, South American and Asian countries, and served as the Director of Technology Marketing, Biotechnology & Environmental Services, for ABB's engineering subsidiary, Lummus Crest.
He holds a MCE in Environmental Engineering & Science from Manhattan College, an MBA with concentrations in finance and management from New York University, and is a registered Professional Engineer in New York State.
About TrustElement
TrustElement is a climate change, carbon management, and energy efficiency consulting services company.
TrustElement empowers its clients to reduce environmental impact and maximize business benefits by adopting practices that make operations more energy- and carbon-efficient. We enable organizations of all sizes to travel the path towards carbon neutrality, triggered both by green corporate policies and regulatory compliance.
TrustElement brings together top experts from industry, finance, policy, and professional services to create a new breed of carbon-related intellectual property. The unique skills of our team combine to provide a services portfolio that covers the entire professional services life-cycle of carbon consulting, validation and verification, and project management.
November 23, 2009 Mr. Izzet Bensusan, Founder and Executive Director of Karbone, joins TrustElement's Board of Advisors.
TrustElement, a leading carbon management, climate change, and energy efficiency professional services company, is pleased to announce the addition of Izzet Bensusan as member of the company's Board of Advisors. Mr. Bensusan brings extensive business development, finance and entrepreneurial experience in the carbon marketplace. "Izzet brings a stellar quota of knowledge and real-world experience in the carbon industry" said Felipe Zarate, Executive Director of TrustElement, adding that "our firm will benefit tremendously from the addition of Izzet to our Advisory Board, in terms of his industry insights and his understanding of the intersection of carbon finance, sustainable energy and climate change."
Izzet Bensusan is the founder and the executive director of Karbone. Throughout his career, he has been involved in entrepreneurial ventures focused on cutting edge economic sectors. As an early adopter and entrant in several ventures, he focuses on making significant and lasting difference on business sectors. To drive his vision around sustainability and energy conservation, at Karbone, he has built a company that is focused on defining the smartest ways to help companies adopt a comprehensive strategy to lower their emissions. He has brought together two key disciplines, technology and carbon finance allowing Karbone's clients to take advantage of the many options available based on this unique approach. Mr. Bensusan is a regular speaker at emission market and sustainability conferences. He is also an active advocate of shaping policies aimed at the development of renewable energy and sustainable economies.
Prior to Karbone, Mr. Bensusan was a partner at Net2s, a global consulting firm, where he built a division, on privacy and IT security, which became a leading practice servicing top global financial firms. He managed a team of over 100 consultants and engineers while focusing on the North American region. Before joining Net2s, Mr. Bensusan was one of the founding members of Parlo.com, which was the first online language-learning experience, taking advantage of the emerging Internet technologies.
Mr. Bensusan holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA/MA from Brandeis University in International Economics and Finance. He is also the co-founder of the entrepreneurs network at Brandeis University Alumni in New York.
About TrustElement
TrustElement is a climate change, carbon management, and energy efficiency consulting services company.
TrustElement empowers its clients to reduce environmental impact and maximize business benefits by adopting practices that make operations more energy- and carbon-efficient. We enable organizations of all sizes to travel the path towards carbon neutrality, triggered both by green corporate policies and regulatory compliance.
TrustElement brings together top experts from industry, finance, policy, and professional services to create a new breed of carbon-related intellectual property. The unique skills of our team combine to provide a services portfolio that covers the entire professional services life-cycle of carbon consulting, validation and verification, and project management.
