The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently recognized Vicinity Energy, a decarbonization company, with The Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.
The award acknowledges businesses, community organizations, civic leaders and schools working on projects that promote environmental stewardship in Pennsylvania. This includes sustainability, environmental justice, environmental protection, consideration of climate change, innovation, partnership, and economic impact.
“We are thrilled to support Philadelphia in its efforts to decarbonize and offer locally-sourced energy to our customers,” Matt O’Malley, Vicinity Energy chief sustainability officer, said. “With the help of our local partners, we have been able to reduce the amount of dangerous greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and keep waste and pollution from harming our community. It’s a truly circular solution we’re proud to be a part of.”
The company has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions. To achieve this goal, it has incorporated a biogenic fuel composed of waste vegetable oil collected from Philadelphia’s restaurants and food services businesses into its fuel mix. This clean fuel source is expected to reduce air emissions from nitrogen oxides and particulate matter by half and from sulfur dioxide emissions by nearly 99 percent.
Vicinity Energy provides sustainable, reliable, and resilient energy to more than 230 million-square-feet of building space nationwide.