ELEEP Network – Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy

Ecologic Institute and the Atlantic Council of the United States co-organize the Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy Network (ELEEP). ELEEP was created under the I-CITE project, which was funded by the European Union's External Action Service. In early 2012, the ELEEP Network was awarded additional support by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, which provided for two study tours and other events in the second half of the year. The ELEEP Network has received additional funding from the European Union under the auspices of the EU's "Transatlantic Civil Society Dialogues EU-USA 2012"; with this grant, Ecologic Institute and the Atlantic Council will conduct “The ELEEP Energy and Climate Dialogue” from January 2013 through mid-2014. In addition to a second round of funding from the European Union, the Robert Bosch Stiftung has also provided a second round of support to ELEEP through mid-2014.

Those interested in joining the ELEEP Network are welcome to apply at any time. Selection is made on a rolling basis. The application form [pdf, 800 kB, English] can be downloaded here.

Informational materials for decision makers

In addition to five study tours and two conferences, ELEEP members be able to plan more of their own activities through mini-grants, a public website will be launched, and they begin to develop informational materials and outputs for decision makers and policymakers that highlight best practices in business and policy innovation to address pressing environmental, energy, and climate issues in Europe and the United States.

Dynamic, membership-only forum around environmental and energy issues

ELEEP is a dynamic, membership-only forum for the exchange of ideas, policy solutions, best-practices, and professional development for emerging American and European leaders working on or around environmental and energy issues. ELEEP currently has 80 members, split between the US and the EU. The first-of-its-kind Facebook forum created for the ELEEP Network has resulted in over 8,000 unique posts, comments, and other activities by the members since its launch in November 2011.

Face-to-face engagements

Augmenting the online component of ELEEP are face-to-face engagements. ELEEP members have initiated over 20 local and regional meetings. Larger activities have been organized by Ecologic Institute and the Atlantic Council. To date, ELEEP members have participated in a number of formal events:

• a study tour to Germany and Austria investigating opportunities and challenges for agriculture and forestry to contribute to the renewable energy economy;
• a study tour to Detroit and Pittsburgh looking at the transformation of industrial regions;
• a study tour to Germany and Denmark exploring the transformation of the energy economy;
• a summit in Brussels, which explored a wide range of issues and gave ELEEP members an opportunity to highlight their work for the rest of the group, and
• a study tour to Budapest, Hungary on the subject of the EU’s energy and environmental policy in Central Europe.
• a study tour to Colorado and California on hydraulic fracturing and renewable energy, to provide an American context to energy policy developments;
• a study tour to Stuttgart and Paris examining the evolution of sustainable transportation and mobility through business and policy initiatives;
• a study tour to London and Aberdeen on Energy Efficiency in the UK.
• a study tour to Warsaw, Berlin and Hamburg focusing on the international climate change negotiations and Germany's Energiewende (and the interworkings between climate change and energy policies).

Network members engage in transatlantic conversation and debate about pressing issues of energy, climate, and environmental policy. Coordination and collaboration is encouraged and has already resulted in jointly published articles and organized events. European and US members include: elected officials, legislative staff, businesspeople, academics, scientists, entrepreneurs, national security experts, urban planners, energy professionals, and journalists.

ELEEP members influence the public debate

ELEEP members influence the public debate and they are willing and able to affect policies, citizen behavior, and business activities that ensure the security of our energy sources while preserving the environment. ELEEP has no policy agenda, and no partisan or political affiliation. It is a "big tent" collection of individuals committed to enacting pragmatic policies, focusing on best practice examples, and who are interested in joining a unique transatlantic network of practitioners from a wide range of industries and specialties.