Green STEM Career Education Initiative Partners With Ingersoll Rand’s Trane and Thermo King Brands

MINNEAPOLIS, October 1, 2019 /3BL Media/ -- Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy is pleased to announce it will partner with Ingersoll Rand’s Thermo King® and Trane® businesses to further its national climate change education Green STEM Career initiative for the 2019-2020 year.

Together, the organizations will develop a new curriculum resource for educators and expand the existing Green Careers for a Changing Climate documentary and discussion guide. These education initiatives will reach over 5,000 educators across the U.S. and support Climate Generation’s mission to empower individuals and their communities to engage in solutions to climate change.

“We’re excited to partner with Ingersoll Rand and its Thermo King and Trane businesses to meet the need for Green STEM Career education,” says Nicole Rom, executive director of Climate Generation. “These careers are growing rapidly, but students don’t have the knowledge of what they are or what education pathway is needed to achieve them. Many educators in our nationwide network have expressed a desire for more classroom resources to help their students understand the skills and training needed for these careers.”

Nearly 27 percent of workers in the manufacturing sector will retire over the next decade which leaves up to 3.5 million engineering and manufacturing jobs that will need to be filled in the U.S. In 2018, the number of teenage boys interested in STEM careers dropped from 36 percent to 24 percent while the number of teenage girls with the same interest remained at only 11 percent.

“Companies like ours are experiencing the challenge of an aging workforce and establishing a pipeline of talent for STEM jobs,” said Donny Simmons, president of Ingersoll Rand’s commercial HVAC business in the U.S. and EMEA. “Partnering with Climate Generation will provide thousands of educators and students with breakthrough tools for learning about environmental, social and business sustainability and related careers. This type of experiential learning helps equip students with the tools they need to build a sustainable future.”

Ingersoll Rand is a world leader in creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments, and its Thermo King business ensures that perishables like food and life-saving medicines are transported safely and efficiently – through transport refrigeration systems for trucks, bus, marine, air and rail. Trane makes people comfortable at home and at work – through environmentally responsible heating and cooling for homes and commercial buildings.                           

As part of the company’s 2030 Sustainability Commitments, it has launched the Gigaton Challenge to reduce 1 gigaton of carbon emissions from its customers’ footprint by 2030, transforming the way the world heats and cools buildings, and refrigerates cargo in transport. One gigaton is the equivalent of the annual emissions of Italy, France and the United Kingdom combined. The Gigaton Challenge is one of three pillars of the brands’ 2030 Sustainability Commitment.

Since 2006, Climate Generation has built a suite of STEM-based climate change and energy curriculum resources and professional development opportunities for educators that are interdisciplinary and designed to foster student’s problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

About Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy

Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy empowers individuals and their communities to engage in solutions to climate change. Building on the experience of our founder, polar explorer and educator Will Steger, Climate Generation works with educators, youth and the general public to build climate literacy and action, using a solutions-oriented approach. For more information, visit climategen.org.

About Ingersoll Rand, Thermo King and Trane

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) advances the quality of life by creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments. Our people and our family of brands — including Club Car^®, Ingersoll Rand^®, Thermo King^® and Trane^® — work together to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings; transport and protect food and perishables; and increase industrial productivity and efficiency. We are a global business committed to a world of sustainable progress and enduring results. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com.

¹One gigaton equals 1 billion metric tons