As the nation’s largest natural gas utility, we are well aware of our responsibility to implement sustainable practices and remain a sound environmental steward. And, we gladly embrace this role.
We are proud to serve a region that places a high priority on environmental issues, with a wide array of organizations dedicated to important causes, such as urban greening, beach cleanups and clean air initiatives.
Our Activities in 2021:
Earth Month 2021
In honor of Earth Month, our Community Relations team gave employees the opportunity to get involved with the following nonprofit organizations in person and/or virtually:
- TreePeople
- CA State Parks Foundation
- Ventura Land Trust
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SoCal Climate Champions Grant Initiative
In 2021, we awarded $400,000 to ten non-profit organizations through the SoCal Climate Champions Grant initiative. The program was designed to encourage and foster clean, safe, and innovative solutions towards a clean energy future. Awards were given for climate solution projects that aimed to reduce, mitigate, and sequester greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improve air quality, or provide organic waste diversion solutions in the communities SoCalGas serves.
2021 SoCal Climate Champions include:
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Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation: Funding be used for the research and development of low-cost energy storage using repurposed waste produced during desalination. During the desalination process, salt and other minerals are removed from a target substance such as wastewater. This project aims to repurpose the salt collected during desalination and use it as a low-cost energy storage medium. The desalination industry is facing environmental and economic challenges associated with disposal. At the same time, there is growing need for low-cost energy storage to pair with an increase in intermittent renewable energy generated from solar and wind.
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Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP): Offering job training and internships, life-time career support and culinary scholarships for 20,000 students in underserved communities. The organization will use its funding specifically for its Waste Not: The C-CAP Food Sustainability Series project. C-CAP is developing a video-based curricula focused on educating students on sustainability and food waste. This program will not only teach students the fundamentals of how to lead a waste-free lifestyle as citizens and chefs but encourage them to develop sustainability practices in their own communities and within their own families.
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Trust for Public Land:The Transverse Range Climate Conservation program will develop measurable, replicable and scalable strategies to implement nature-based solutions to climate change. This vital land conservation work will also strengthen local communities across Southern California by increasing resilience to wildfires and other climate threats.
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Orange County Conservation Corps: Funding will support the construction of the Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Project that will capture, filter and infiltrate stormwater runoff through natural processes. This process will replenish groundwater, provide water supply, improve the health of receiving waters and lower the heat island effect, to enhance local air quality.
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San Diego State University Research Foundation: The organization’s Farms of the Future project will pave the way toward a deep understanding of the carbon footprint from the agriculture sector in the Imperial Valley.
A complete list of the 2021 grant recipients can be found here.
Other organizations we support:
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Clean Air Day: We joined forces with Coalition for Clean Air to bring the fourth annual Clean Air Day to fruition on October 6th. We had 500 individuals take the pledge. California Clean Air Day is built on the idea that shared experiences unite people to action to improve our community health. By coming together for a unified day of action, we can create new habits to clear the air for all members of California’s diverse communities.
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California Greenworks: Funding was provided to improve the urban landscape by planting 47 trees and several native plants along public streets in Hyde Park neighborhood, a disadvantaged community in south Los Angeles. The project area is located within the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority Active Transportation Rail To River Corridor Project, a multi-purpose transportation corridor. The corridor includes approximately 10 miles of bike and pedestrian pathways linking neighborhoods, schools, and other key destinations by connecting travelers to three major Metro transit lines.