Yesterday, Vicinity's Chief Sustainability Officer Matt O'Malley testified before the City of Philadelphia City Council Committee on Legislative Oversight regarding its investigation into the City’s progress on its carbon neutrality goals. Committee members heard testimony on new and innovative ways the City can reduce its carbon footprint, bring about a just energy transition, and center communities that have been repeatedly burdened with the negative impacts of climate change.
Matt testified on his experience on City of Boston City Council and legislation he and his colleagues passed to address Boston’s carbon goals, including BERDO 2.0. Matt also shared how building owners can successfully meet the carbon reduction goals by connecting to Vicinity’s district energy system and accessing carbon-free thermal energy. Matt discussed how Vicinity will utilize carbon-free electricity to generate electrified steam – or eSteam™ – for distribution to our customers by installing electric boilers, industrial-scale heat pumps, and thermal storage technology at our central facilities.
We applaud Mayor Cherelle Parker for her pledge to make Philly the “cleanest, greenest big city in the nation", and we're proud to align our decarbonization efforts with the members of the Philadelphia City Council and Parker administration. Rue Landau Isaiah Thomas