When the White House this summer proposed America’s first carbon controls to limit climate change, President Obama said the United States has “a moral obligation” to lead in curbing emissions of greenhouse gases to make the globe less polluted for future generations.
Dan LeVan has built an energy consulting business in Chattanooga over the past three years that helps businesses reduce their carbon footprint and achieve Obama’s clarion call. But LeVan, a former banker, controller and finance officer for a number of international companies, sees his company’s efforts in more practical than moral terms.
“The projects we work on help businesses save money on their energy bills and often make their operations less vulnerable to power disruptions,” says LeVan, the managing director for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (EES) Consulting in Chattanooga. “Our recommendations are typically a 25 percent plus return on investment with a payback of less than four years.”
Before he started EES in December 2012, LeVan worked in units of financial giants AIG, GE Capital and TD International around the globe. LeVan brings a business approach to the company’s environmental work.
“This was an investment for me, and we focus our efforts on those projects that make the most financial sense and have the strongest payoff,” says LeVan, who bought out his two original partners of EES in 2014.