General Electric
CEF Lead Executives
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ROGER MARTELLA
Chief Sustainability Officer
Roger coordinates GE’s mission critical focus on contributing technology and innovation solutions to the global challenges of the energy transition and climate change, precision health, and the future of flight. Prior to GE, Roger co-lead Sidley Austin LLP's tier 1 ranked global environmental law and climate change practices. Prior to Sidley, Roger was General Counsel of the U.S. EPA. Roger currently teaches a first of its kind International Environmental Law and Justice class at Howard University Law School. Roger has co-authored and edited four books on the intersections of climate change law, international environmental law, human rights, and ESG. He is an active board member of the Environmental Law Institute, C2ES, and several environmental NGOs, energy think tanks, and “intrapreneurship” organizations and serves on the executive council of both the International Bar Association’s and ABA’s environmental sections (SEERIL and SEER). Roger graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and Cornell University.
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DANIELLE W. MERFELD, Ph.DList Item 1
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
As Chief Technology Officer of GE Renewable Energy, Danielle leads technical efforts to develop differentiated products and services across the broadest renewable energy portfolio in the industry, including onshore wind, offshore wind, grid solutions, solar PV, batteries, hydro and grid solutions. She also champions sustainability efforts across the business and serves as co-leader of the GE Women’s Network. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2021.
Danielle received her B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University. Danielle is on the Board of Trustees at the University of Notre Dame and also serves on the boards of Texas A&M University’s Smart Grid Center and Advanced Energy Economy. Danielle is also an Ambassador to the Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment (C3E) initiative representing the United States.
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GERALDINE BARNUEVO
Head of Sustainability GE Aviation
Geraldine oversees the Sustainability Function at GE Aviation. Prior to GE, Geraldine spent 20 years working at General Motors in many roles of increasing responsibility in several geographic regions. Most recently Geraldine was the Senior Manager of Environmental Strategies and Sustainability. Geraldine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Universidad International SEK in Quito, Ecuador, a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Illinois and a Master’s in Business Administration from Oakland University. Geraldine is focused specifically on creating and overseeing the implementation of an ESG Strategy for GE Aviation to support public commitments in the area of climate and product stewardship.
Sustainability Goals
Current Sustainability Goals
- Achieve carbon neutrality across operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030 (Carbon Neutral Infographic)
- Become a net-zero company by 2050, including Scope 3 emissions from the use of sold products
Latest Sustainability Reporting
Highlights
- Reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 28% (2019 baseline).
- Gas Power business saved a combined 43 million kWh of energy through energy consumption reductions from lighting, HVAC, compressed air, welding, large equipment, transport and waste management across 24 sites.
- Increased renewables and zero carbon power generation technologies through GE Vernova by 16% since 2010.
- Produced and tested a 100% recyclable blade as part of the ZEBRA (Zero wastE Blade ReseArch) consortium.
- Joined the U.S. Department of Energy Better Climate Challenge, committing to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% within 10 years.
- Decreased fuel consumption in GE aircraft engines by 10-18% compared to previous generations of engines; reductions of 40% in fuel consumption and 40% in CO2 emissions compared to engines manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s.
- GridOS® launched as world’s first software portfolio designed for grid orchestration.
- Passport, HF120 and GEnx engines successfully tested with 100% SAF.
- On average, men and women are paid within a half of a percent of each other in each GE business and corporate.
- GE Board of Directors is 40% female, 30% born outside the US.
2021 Diversity Annual Report (February 2022)
Highlights
- Achieved 100% pay equity for underrepresented minorities in its US workforce.
- Achieved 100% gender pay equity globally for GE Aviation and Healthcare, and 99% equity for GE Corporate, Power, and Renewable Energy.
- Increased the representation of racial and ethnic minorities in its US workforce to 24.2% overall (+0.1%) and 20.5% among leadership (+1.7%). Over 10% of US employees are military veterans, and 3.7% self-identified as having a disability.
- Increased the representation of women in its global workforce to 22.3% overall (+0.4%) and 27.2% among leadership (+1.2%).
- Its Board of Directors was 36% female (2 out of 4 leadership positions), 18% ethnically diverse, and 27% born outside the United States.
- Launched Next Engineers, a global college-readiness program to increase the diversity of young engineers.
- Was named Company of the Year by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the largest US association for Hispanics in STEM fields.
Recent News
2023
GE / SVANTE — GE and carbon capture and removal solutions provider Svante announced a joint development agreement to develop, evaluate, and commercialize solid sorbent-based carbon capture technology for decarbonizing natural gas-fired turbines. This collaboration will build off Svante’s carbon capture filters, which can be used for capturing CO2 in refineries, cement, steel, aluminum, boilers and more. (March 2023)
The United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flights Fund — United Airlines, along with five corporate partners, launched this first-of-its-kind investment vehicle to support start-ups focused on accelerating the research, production, and technologies associated with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The fund starts with more than $100 million in investments from United and its inaugural partners: Air Canada and CEF Members Boeing, GE Aerospace (GE), JPMorgan Chase, and Honeywell. Customers can also donate to the fund when buying a ticket (with the first 10,000 receiving 500 United Miles). (Feb 2023)
ONTARIO POWER GENERATION (OPG) — Announced a contract to deploy a small modular reactor (SMR) at OPG’s Darlington New Nuclear Project site in Canada, the first commercial contract for a grid-scale SMR in North America. This agreement, made in partnership with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), SNC-Lavalin, and Aecon, includes design, licensing support, construction, testing, training, and commissioning. GEH is a global nuclear alliance between CEF member GE and Hitachi. (Feb 2023)
2022
RUBICON CARBON — Launched as a new carbon credit platform to scale and provide easier access to high-integrity emissions reduction solutions by vetting projects and their credits. Rubicon received an initial capital commitment of $300 million from CEF member TPG, with a total capital commitment target of $1 billion. As part of its launch, Rubicon also formed a coalition of corporate sustainability leaders to help guide its platform and product development, including CEF members Bank of America, Dow, GE, Honeywell, J.P. Morgan, JetBlue, McKinsey & Co., and TD Bank. (Dec 2022)
GE / SHELL — Announced they will develop a way to convert turbines that compress natural gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) to run on hydrogen. GE will develop a retrofit solution for the turbines, and Shell will evaluate the development of on-site production of hydrogen at LNG facilities. A successful conversion would reduce the largest source of CO2 emissions at an LNG facility. (Nov 2022)
Corporate Coalition for Innovation & Technology toward Net Zero (CCITNZ) — Made up of six global companies, this cross-sector business alliance is partnering with governments, international organizations, and others in industry to help countries meet decarbonization and climate change goals. CCITNZ intends to serve as an accelerator for industries across sectors, with the objectives of promoting cost-effective technology solutions; supporting sound public policies; promoting partnerships; and providing expertise and thought leadership. CEF members involved include: GE, GM, and Honeywell. (Nov 2022)
Powering Net Zero Pact — A new collaboration focused on delivering a fair and just transition to net zero carbon emissions. The initiative is led by Scottish-based energy company SSE plc and includes 10 additional founding corporate partners from across the power sector, including CEF member GE Renewable Energy, Siemens Energy, Siemens Gamesa, Balfour Beatty, DEME Offshore, GE Renewable Energy, Hitachi Energy, NKT, RJ McLeod, subsea7 and Vestas. Partners have committed to investing at least £16 billion ($19.6 billion) in net zero and have identified five areas for collaboration: 1) Quantification of scope 3 carbon emissions; 2) Frameworks for achieving Biodiversity Net Gain; 3) Innovative products and methods for reducing waste; 4) Human rights risk mitigation across global supply chains; and 5) Support for competitive, local supply chains close to assets. (May 2022)
GE RENEWABLE ENERGY / INVENERGY — CEF member GE’s renewable energy division and Invenergy—the world’s largest privately held developer, owner, and operator of sustainable energy solutions—have completed construction on the 998-megawatt Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma. It is the largest wind farm constructed in a single phase in North America. (March 2022)
Over 90 total companies, municipalities, states, and other organizations have joined the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Climate Challenge, committing to reducing portfolio-wide Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by at least 50% within 10 years. Signatories will collaborate to identify pathways for improvement, and the DOE will provide technical assistance and convene peer-to-peer solution exchanges. CEF members GE, Honeywell, International Paper, Siemens, and Trane Technologies are among the signatories. (March 2022)
27 companies that collectively generate over $1.2 trillion in annual revenue and have 1.4 million employees sent an open letter calling bold climate action a “business imperative” and urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to enact the Build Back Better Act’s climate and clean energy provisions. They said the provisions would “help spur private sector investment at the scale needed” to help them meet their long-term climate goals and would greatly affect opportunities for exporting low-carbon technologies, products, and expertise. The letter was organized by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), and signatories include CEF members Duke Energy, Ford, GE, HP Inc., Schneider Electric, and Trane Technologies. (Feb 2022)
2021
UNITED AIRLINES — Completed the world’s first passenger flight powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The fuel is “drop-in ready” and compatible with existing aircraft fleets, and the flight was operated in partnership with CEF member Boeing, CFM International (a GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines joint venture), Virent, and World Energy. (Dec 2021)
Will form three public companies focusing on energy, aviation, and health care.
GE Renewable Energy, GE Power, and GE Digital will become one business concentrating on the energy transition, with a new “spin-off” to come in early 2024. A spin-off of GE Healthcare will be created in 2023. The aviation business will help customers “achieve greater efficiency and sustainability.” (Nov 2021)
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The Department of Energy (DOE) released a
progress update on its
Better Plants program,
which aims to decarbonize the industrial sector. Over 250
manufacturers and water utilities
have participated in the program and
cumulatively saved $9.3 billion in energy costs and over 1.9 quadrillion BTUs of energy—more energy than Wisconsin uses annually. Program partners include CEF members
3M, Dow, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, International Paper, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble,
and Schneider Electric.
(Oct 2021)
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GE RESEARCH / PROLEC GE —
Partnered with Mississippi power company
Cooperative Energy
to launch a
six-month field demonstration of what they’re calling
“the world’s first large flexible transformer,” created to
boost grid resilience and allow
better integration of renewables. The project is
backed by the US Department of Energy.
(Oct 2021)
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GE AVIATION —
The
General Electric operating unit will
partner with NASA
on its Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration project
to accelerate hybrid electric flight technologies for commercial aviation. The company will conduct
ground and flight tests
of a megawatt-class hybrid electric propulsion system, as well as provide
data and guidance
to establish certification and regulatory requirements for hybrid electric engines. (Oct 2021)
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A new
Hydropower Sustainability Standard
was released
to increase transparency around ESG performance in the sector.
The Standard was developed by the
Hydropower Sustainability Council, a global multi-stakeholder body including WWF and the World Bank. CEF member
GE Renewable Energy has announced it will seek to achieve the standard. (Sept 2021)
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A coalition of over 160 companies, labor unions, environmental and conservation groups, and national, state, and local organizations sent a letter to congressional leaders calling for the infrastructure bills moving through Congress to bolster carbon capture and storage (CCS) policies. Policy priorities in the letter include changes to tax credits for CCS projects as well as financing for commercial-scale pilot projects and carbon-storage pipelines and facilities. Coalition members include CEF members
Archer-Daniels-Midland, GE Gas Power, Honeywell, and
Waste Management.
(Aug 2021)
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TPG —
Announced a
first close of $5.4 billion for the TPG Rise Climate Fund, the largest climate-focused fund in the world. Over
20 global companies—including CEF members
3M, ADM,
Alphabet, Apple,
Bank of America, Boeing, Dow, GE, General Motors, Honeywell,
and
TD Bank Group—participated in the close and will form a
Rise Climate Coalition. The fund will take a broad sector approach, focusing on growth equity to value-added infrastructure to
driving solutions for 5 climate sub-sectors. (Aug 2021)
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98% of General Electric shareholders voted—with management support—to require GE disclose how it plans to achieve net-zero GHG emissions across its businesses and products by 2050 in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement’s 1.5°C goal. (May 2021)
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The global wind power market had a record year in 2020, growing by 59%
with nearly 100GW of new commercial wind turbine capacity commissioned for build, according to BloombergNEF. China led with 58GW of newly commissioned wind capacity, and the U.S. marked a new record with 16.5GW of additional capacity. Just four manufacturers—General Electric (GE), Vestas, Goldwind
and Envision—accounted for 51% of all wind turbines deployed.
(March 2021)
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2020
General Electric released a white paper, “Accelerated Growth of Renewables and Gas Power Can Rapidly Change the Trajectory on Climate Change,” detailing the merits of gas-fired generation as a complement to support and accelerate renewable energy. It outlines multiple technical pathways for gas power to achieve a lower-carbon generating footprint through the use of low and zero-carbon fuels—including hydrogen—as well as carbon capture utilization and sequestration (CCUS) technologies. (December 2020)
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General Electric Gas Powered joined Carbon Capture Coalition, a nonpartisan collaboration of more than 80 businesses and organizations building federal policy support for economy-wide deployment of carbon capture, transport, use, removal and storage. (December 2020)
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General Electric committed to achieving carbon neutrality across its operations by 2030.
(October 2020)
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General Electric announced plans to exit the new build coal power market. (September 2020)
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