The Corporate Eco Forum (CEF) this evening presented the 2015 C.K. Prahalad Award to NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) and CEO David Crane. The winner was announced by world-renowned polar explorer Sir Robert Swan, and followed by an on-stage dialogue with William K. Reilly, Founding Partner, Aqua International Partners, LP and former EPA Administrator. The award ceremony was attended by members of the Prahalad family and 150 senior executives representing CEF member companies with combined revenues of over $3 trillion.

Crane was honored for his visionary leadership since taking the reins at NRG in 2003, positioning the company for long-term success, through a business and innovation model guided by sustainability. He has led NRG’s transformation from a regional wholesale generation business to a national, Fortune 200 diversified energy company –now the nation's largest competitive power generator, and one of the country's largest owners and operators of renewable generation facilities.

“Crane has distinguished himself as an outspoken voice in the power industry on the need for curbing carbon emissions, and was one of the first U.S. power industry CEOs to publicly call for mandatory climate change measures,” said CEF Founder, MR Rangaswami. “He doesn’t shy away from controversy and this sets him apart. His courageous leadership has the potential to transform energy markets and usher in meaningful emissions reductions that could stem the tide of climate change.”

Added winner and CEO David Crane, “It’s up to this generation of consumers, individuals and businesses alike, to ensure that business as usual be challenged and transformed.  It is not right for us to impose the burden of getting started on the path to a zero-carbon future on the next generation of Americans.”

With Crane at the helm, NRG has built upon significant emissions reductions going back nearly a decade. In November 2014, the company set an ambitious new goal to reduce CO2 emissions 50% from 2014 levels by 2030, on a path to reducing emissions an additional 90% by 2050. The goal represents the first time that a major electricity generator has voluntarily put dates around the transition to a low-carbon economy.

NRG was recognized for forging groundbreaking partnerships that are revolutionizing the relationship between energy providers and customers, and yielding results. In April 2014, with MidAmerican Solar, NRG brought online one of the world’s largest solar PV arrays–the Agua Caliente Solar Project in Arizona. The same year, in partnership with consumer products giant Unilever, NRG provided renewable generation solutions that will enable the company to use 100% clean energy across all its U.S. sites by 2020. 2015 witnessed a new endeavor with Kaiser Permanente to install up to 70 MW of on-site solar across as many as 170 sites, which will place them among the top three on-site commercial solar portfolios among all U.S. healthcare companies. NRG is also helping show millions of sports fans what the future of power could look like by implementing solar PV systems at several of America’s biggest stadiums, including Arizona State University, FedEx Field, Gillette Stadium, Levi’s Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, MetLife Stadium, and NRG Stadium.

“As CEO of NRG Energy, David Crane has boldly invited scrutiny of the energy industry’s role in climate change, encouraged consumer activism, and challenged investors to embrace a visionary path for the company that will require innovation at every turn,” offered P.J. Simmons, Chair of the Corporate Eco Forum and co-author of The Green To Gold Business Playbook. “Every day we see the evidence of him making his vision a reality, in a way that stands to benefit the long-term for his company, while inspiring business leaders around the world as well.”

The C.K. Prahalad Award was created to honor the vision and life’s work of the late Dr. C.K. Prahalad, one of the world’s most influential business strategists. Towards the end of his illustrious career, Prahalad focused his enormous talent on the link between sustainability and long-term business success. In a 2009 Harvard Business Review cover story he co-authored with CEF founder MR Rangaswami, Prahalad argued that over the next decade “traditional approaches to business will collapse, and companies will have to develop innovative solutions. That will only happen when executives recognize a simple truth: sustainability equals innovation.” Prahalad was a senior adviser to CEF before his untimely death in 2010.

The C.K. Prahalad Awards were presented at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, CA during the Gala Dinner of CEF’s 8th Annual Retreat. The CEF Annual Retreat brought together more than 150 senior executives from companies with combined revenues of over $3 trillion to focus on “The Next Wave of Sustainability Innovation” during two days of discussions and working sessions.

VIDEO PROFILING THE WINNERS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaY8MmFj2NU&feature=youtu.be

CONTACT: MR Rangaswami, Founder, Corporate Eco Forum 415-516-5857 mr@corporateecoforum.com

ABOUT CEF
The Corporate Eco Forum (CEF) is an elite, invitation-only membership organization comprised mainly of Fortune and Global 500 companies from 18 industries with combined revenues of over $3 trillion. CEF provides a year-round safe, neutral space for influential executives to exchange best practice, collaborate, and innovate. Participants are almost exclusively VP and C-level executives across multiple business functions including CSOs, CTOs, CIOs, CFOs, CMO, and VPs for Supply Chain. The diversity of executives, coupled with the cross-industry nature of CEF, creates a world-class platform to accelerate sustainable business problem solving and innovation. 

ABOUT THE C.K. PRAHALAD GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP AWARD
The C.K. Prahalad Global Sustainability Leadership Award was created by the CEF in 2010 to recognize exceptional individuals and companies—within or outside the CEF membership—whose work exemplifies the fundamental connection between sustainability, innovation and long-term business success in a globalizing world. C.K. Prahalad Awards winners are determined through secret ballot votes cast by CEF’s 23-member advisory board, which includes representatives from government, academia, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The voters chose from a roster of finalists, selected following an open nominations process. Past award recipients include the following: 

• 2010: Walmart Brazil and CEO Hector Nuñez

• 2011: Coca-Cola and CEO Muhtar Kent

• 2012: Dow Chemical Corporate Vice President for Sustainability Neil Hawkins; The Sustainable Apparel Coalition; and Unilever and CEO Paul Polman

• 2013: FEMSA Foundation Director Vidal Garza Cantú; Nike Vice President for Sustainable Business & Innovation Hannah Jones; and UPS CFO Kurt Kuehn

• 2014: Robert Carter from FedEx, Tamara “TJ” DiCaprio from Microsoft, and The Global Water Challenge

Nominees for the 2016 C.K. Prahalad Award will be accepted beginning November 1, 2015 at www.corporateecoforum.com. A full list of eligible voters can be found at http://www.corporateecoforum.com/conference/advisory_board.php. 

CEF Members
21st Century Fox, 3M, Alcoa, Apple, ATI,  Balfour Beatty, BASF, Boeing, Bose, BP, Cargill, CBRE, CH2M, Chevron, The Clorox Company, Coca-Cola, Dell, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, Ecolab, Enterprise Holdings,Eriks, Exelon, Facebook, FedEx, Femsa, Fidelity Investments, Gamesa, General Electric, General Motors, Google, HanesBrands, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Ingersoll Rand, International Paper, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson Controls, Kaiser Permanente, Kimberly-Clark, Lockheed Martin, Marriott, McKinsey & Co, Microsoft, Nike, Northrop Grumman, NRG Energy, Oracle, Patagonia, Procter & Gamble, Salesforce.com, Tata Consultancy Services, TD Bank, Tiffany & Co., TPG Capital, Unilever, UPS, VF, Walt Disney, Waste Management, Wells Fargo, Wyndham and Xerox

CEF

CEF

CEF is an invitation-only network of leading executives from Fortune and Global 500 companies driving sustainability strategy and innovation worldwide. Members include Fortune and Global 500 companies from diverse industries with combined revenues of $4 trillion. CEF provides a year-round safe, neutral space for influential executives to exchange best practice, collaborate, and innovate. The diversity of executives, coupled with the cross-industry nature of CEF, creates a world-class platform to accelerate sustainable business problem solving and innovation.

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