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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory launched the world’s most advanced energy efficiency test bed, FLEXLAB, the brainchild of Berkeley Lab energy efficiency experts. Cater Communications spearheaded the launch, securing extensive coverage in The Guardian, The San Francisco Chronicle, FOX News, San Jose Mercury News and many other outlets.
During the largest march for climate action in history, The Solutions Project leaders and colleagues Mark Ruffalo, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Leilani Munter, Marco Krapels, Brandon Hurlbut, Sarah Shanley Hope and Jon Wank supported frontline indigenous community leaders at the head of the 60 block and over 200,000 person-strong protest calling for 100% clean energy for 100% of America. Cater Communications was on the ground with the team, live blogging and providing real-time strategic media outreach and communications support. Coverage included an op-ed by Mark Ruffalo in The Huffington Post, and appearances on Fox News, CNN and The Daily Show.
In the face of repeated attacks on California’s pioneering AB 32 clean energy standards, Cater Communications worked with partners to fight back with targeted op-eds and news stories, making the economic case for ongoing action in Los Angeles News Group, San Diego Union Tribune, San Jose Mercury News, Desert Sun, Businessweek and many other outlets.
When an Analysis Group assessment found states are well positioned to implement the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, Cater Communications designed and executed a successful release strategy, including the development of original icons and infographics. The assessment earned coverage in dozens of national publications including National Geographic, Salon, E&E TV, Breaking Energy and Forbes. It also generated buzz on social media, including a post from Nat Geo and USA Today’s Wendy Koch.
Energy efficiency projects, sparked by DOE’s national laboratories, are boosting economies in states across the country. Cater Communications worked with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to develop an interactive touchscreen app that tells these stories. The custom app debuted at National Lab Day on Capitol Hill.
Despite their position on the economic front lines of climate change, most insurance companies show a profound lack of preparedness in addressing climate-related risks and opportunities. Cater Communications supported the release of a Ceres report ranking the nation's 330 largest insurance companies on what they are saying and doing to respond to escalating climate risks. The report earned coverage in The New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, Insurance Journal and The Wall Street Journal.
In one of the most heated and expensive ballot initiative battles in years, California voters headed to the polls armed with in-depth nonpartisan information thanks to Next 10’s pioneering website, California Choices. Cater Communications created buzz and drove voters to the site through a mix of opinion columns, editorial outreach and electronic and other media engagement.
When polling from the Consumer Federation of America found that three-quarters of U.S. consumers favor requiring manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of large trucks, Cater Communications worked to place stories in national outlets including U.S. News & World Report, National Journal and ClimateWire.
When the Iowa Supreme Court issued a landmark decision allowing third-party power purchase agreements for solar energy, Cater Communications worked with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), to generate widespread coverage of this win for Iowa consumers. Highlights included an editorial cartoon in Iowa City Press-Citizen, interviews with the statewide Radio Iowa network and KFJB-FM and an op-ed in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
As part of a post-election effort to build Republican support for clean energy action, Cater Communications secured targeted media opportunities for Young Conservatives for Energy Reform President Michele Combs and CNA Military Advisory Board member Lt. General Richard Zilmer, USMC (Ret.), during their November trip to Michigan. Coverage included an article in MLive.com and interviews with WGVU-TV, the Frontlines of Freedom radio show, the Michigan Talk Network and Michigan’s Big Show.
As California’s Title 20 rulemaking process for plug-in digital devices moves forward, state and national consumer groups are weighing in to support greater energy efficiency. Working with the Consumer Federation of America and Consumer Action, Cater Communications placed op-eds in the Sacramento Bee and Fierce Energy calling for California Energy Commission action and applauding the veto of a bill that would have hamstrung the process.
When Californians sped past a major mile-marker – buying more than 100,000 plug-in cars since 2010 – Cater Communications helped generate significant coverage for the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative and its members in The New York Times, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News.
In the midst of an historic drought, educating Californians about the state’s coming trillion-gallon water gap is no small task. The nonpartisan nonprofit group Next 10 tapped Cater Communications to publicize its new online tool, The California Water Challenge, and build a strong user base. We engaged the U.S. Drought Monitor in our efforts and executed a media campaign that earned publicity in some of the state’s top electronic outlets (KQED, KPBS, ABC7, KPIX) and reached more than 120,000 Twitter accounts.
Working with local partners and NCEL, Cater Communications helped get the word out about the grand opening of Iowa’s largest solar farm — a project of Farmers Electric Cooperative and Eagle Point Solar. The event featured bipartisan political, agricultural, business and military leaders. It earned widespread TV, radio, print and online news coverage throughout the state and nation. The Des Moines Register, the state’s top newspaper, published an op-ed by CNA Military Advisory Board member Gen. Ronald Keys, Air Force (Ret.), to coincide with the event.
Bridging the Partisan Divide over Climate Change might seem like an impossible task, but it’s the subject of Morrow Cater’s TED talk, and it’s getting a lot of attention. Morrow is Cater Communications’ founding principal. Challenging conventional liberal wisdom, she draws on her long experience working with leaders across the political spectrum and across the country, including courageous conservatives who refuse to let politics trump science.
Our nation's highest-ranking retired military leaders identified climate change as a "catalyst for conflict" in CNA’s recently released Military Advisory Board report, "National Security and the Accelerating Risks of Climate Change." Working with a bipartisan team of experts, Cater Communications helped develop and execute a multi-dimensional launch landing coverage in Wall Street Journal (which included video and radio), Daily Caller, Foreign Policy, National Review, NBC, The New York Times, E&E, Platts, The Guardian, Climatewire and The Week, among others.
In the heart of the world's largest energy storage cluster, Cater Communications helped CalCharge — a public-private partnership accelerating development, commercialization and adoption of new energy storage technologies — announce its first members to a packed audience at a high-profile Department of Energy event. The impressive lineup of members ranged from multinational giants like Duracell and Volkswagen, to cutting-edge startups. Stories appeared in San Francisco Chronicle, KQED, Silicon Valley Business Journal, ClimateWire and Greentech Media, among other media outlets.
Cater Communications worked with UCSF and its partners to launch the Brain Health Registry — a groundbreaking online project designed to speed the path to cures for brain disease — and shattered initial registration goals. The project kicked off with an eye-catching San Francisco Bay swim event at the historic Dolphin Club. Coverage included front page stories in Huffington Post, San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner, as well as pieces in San Jose Mercury News and other outlets.
Energy: A Conversation with Conservatives, produced by Cater Communications and released by Young Conservatives for Energy Reform, is being posted on Young Republican websites around the country. From business leaders to military generals, and from the head of the Christian Coalition to President Reagan’s Secretary of State, these right-leaning voices eloquently explain why clean energy matters for our economy, our national security and the American way of life.
To help keep methane-producing food out of landfills, Marin Sanitary Service — a family-owned recycling and waste hauler — launched a pioneering public/private partnership with Marin County’s wastewater treatment plant to produce electricity from food scraps and wastewater using anaerobic digestion. Stories appeared across the Bay Area, including KRON4, CBS SF and North Bay Public Media.
Cater Communications worked with The Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group — an alliance of top truck fleets, engine manufacturers and technology suppliers — who urged the Administration to move forward with a schedule for big truck fuel economy improvements. Analysis by the Consumer Federation of America found that improving truck fuel economy would save businesses and consumers money, which helps drive economic growth. When President Obama announced a schedule for new big truck fuel economy standards, Cater helped Con-way Inc., Waste Management, Cummins Inc., Eaton Corporation, Wabash National Corporation as well as CFA to earn coverage in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and many others.
When former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter engaged leaders from beyond the Beltway to provide President Obama with a plan for curbing climate change in the face of Congressional inaction, he asked Cater Communications to handle the project’s public release. Powering Forward: Presidential and Executive Agency Actions to Drive Clean Energy in America, earned coverage in The Washington Post, Politico, The Hill,Associated Press, Reuters, the National Journal, and other top outlets.
In a series of op-eds, media interviews and events with hundreds of conservative activists, entrepreneurs and community leaders, Young Conservatives for Energy Reform is calling for Republican leadership on climate change and clean energy. In a Breaking Energy op-ed, YCER President Michele Combs encouraged Congress to pass the bipartisan Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill. She also traveled to Washington, DC, to participate in an energy event featuring Sen. Rob Portman (R) to discuss clean energy from a conservative perspective.
To harness growing demand for greater energy choice and control, Cater joined with the bipartisan National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) to work with influential leaders from both parties in Iowa and Wisconsin to advocate for on-site clean energy. Highlights include creative social media tools, July 4th op-eds in The Courier and the Appleton Post-Crescent, columns in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Des Moines Register, and radio interviews praising a recent Iowa court ruling that clears the way for more distributed solar energy.
From the Statue of Liberty to Kennedy Space Center to Mesa Verde National Park, some of America’s most treasured places are threatened by sea level rise, increased flooding and wildfires, and other side effects of climate change. When the Union of Concerned Scientists rolled out its well-received report on the subject—National Landmarks at Risk—UCS asked Cater Communications to reach out to local media in five states. Cater secured coverage in dozens of outlets in Virginia, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Hawaii.