Carrier Corporation will donate $35,000 to Syracuse University’s Sustainable Enterprise Partnership, a program aimed to further research in sustainability, the corporation announced Thursday.

The announcement of this donation coincided with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a perfect time, said Lisa Cleckner, assistant director of operations at the Center of Excellence.

“Earth Day is a good time to announce something like this,” she said. “Companies are recognizing the responsibilities they play to the environment.”

Carrier partnered with SU to further develop SU’s sustainability goals, which Carrier supports, said John Mandyck, vice president of sustainability and environmental strategies at Carrier. As part of the program, Carrier will have experts speak to students as guest lecturers, provide mini-grants and help with curriculum development.

“We believe that solutions to today’s environmental challenges require new thinking that Syracuse University can deliver to students through sustainability partnerships like those with Carrier,” Mandyck said.

The company also donated to other SU sustainability activities. In 2005, Carrier pledged $1.5 million for the creation of a world-class laboratory at the Syracuse Center of Excellence, Mandyck said.

“Carrier Corp. has been a really strong supporter of the Center of Excellence and the Sustainable Enterprise Partnership,” Cleckner said. “These donations and the collaborations are deepening our connection.”

The company donated to the Sustainable Enterprise Program three times, totaling more than $100,000. The donated money will be used to support three main projects.

“We have initiatives in three areas: research mini-grants, seminar series and curricular activities. The funds will be used to support all of these,” said Elet Callahan, the faculty director of the Sustainable Enterprise Program.

The sustainability program has used the money to bring speakers to students and has provided partial scholarships. Adam Werbach, the global chief executive officer of Saatchi & Saatchi S, spoke to students in November 2009, at an event co-sponsored by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Partnering with Newhouse was part of the program’s goal to reach across professions in addressing sustainability. 

“We know sustainability cannot be understood from the lens of just one discipline, and this gives our program a unique characteristic,” Callahan said.

The Sustainable Enterprise Program involves the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and the Center of Excellence’s Environmental and Energy Systems division. The program aims to offer high-quality education and research on sustainable enterprise through a transdisciplinary curriculum, according to the program’s website.

Carrier is a leader in heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration systems, according to its website, and made $11.4 billion in revenues in 2009. The company is a subsidiary of United Technology Corporation, based in Hartford, Conn. The company has distributors in more than 170 countries on six continents, according to its website.

Since 2006, the company lowered its greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent. Its focus is on delivering environmentally responsible, energy-efficient systems, services and solutions to the world, according to its website.

Lauren Allen, a freshman international relations major, said Carrier’s donation will be beneficial in helping promote sustainability at SU.

‘I think it’s really great that Carrier donated money to help develop new methods of sustainability,’ she said. “With the direction our generation is leaning toward, we need to sustain as much energy as possible.”

Published on April 26, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani