WASHINGTON, D.C. –This week, on the eve of the 50^th Earth Day, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Recycling Caucus invited leaders of organizations from both the private and public sectors to participate in a roundtable to and discuss local, national or global sustainability initiatives being implemented by businesses and other organizations across the country.

Today’s roundtable, “Understanding Corporate Sustainability: How Do We Appropriately Measure and Define Good Sustainable Practices?” featured sustainability experts from Ceres, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and from the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment’s Urban Sustainability Administration. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) also joined the discussion.

“A lot of people may not know or think about the real meaning of ‘sustainability.’ When I think of sustainability, I think about our planet and what we need to do now to make sure our Earth is still a healthy place to call home hundreds of years from now. We have a climate crisis and we have no Planet B. We all need to work together – as countries, states, cities, business, organizations or, simply, as people – to do what we can now to protect our planet for the years to come,” Senator Carper said.

This panel was the first of several roundtables that will provide a forum for sustainability leaders in business, finance, government and elsewhere to discuss the environmental and economic impacts of their initiatives on water use, energy, climate, waste management and disadvantaged communities.

“In the coming weeks and months, I hope these forums will provide an opportunity for my fellow Senators and their staff to hear firsthand what corporations, states, cities, and others are doing under the umbrella of sustainability,” Senator Carper stated at Thursday’s roundtable. “Whether it’s committing to net-zero emissions by 2050, making more strategic choices in the products we produce and consume, or being conscious of the water we use, many in the private sector and local and state governments across our land have launched ambitious goals and plans to achieve them.”

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