After graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor's in Environmental Studies in 2009, Louise Huttinger moved to San Francisco to work in the green building, sustainability industry.
She spent a year working as a Research Assistant at the environmental consulting firm ICF International. Her role consisted of research, data analysis, and report writing for projects, from implementing San Francisco’s Energy Watch Program to developing green house gas (GHG) inventories and reduction strategies for corporations.
From environmental consulting, Louise went on to work at Impact Carbon, a small non-profit that develops “carbon assets” from projects in developing countries that use improved cookstoves and other clean household technologies. These technologies reduce carbon emissions, improve public health and help achieve development goals.
In her role as a Program Associate at Impact Carbon, Louise supports the development of projects by writing "Project Design Descriptions" and quantifying and documenting the reductions in solid fuel use. The projects are then approved and audited by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Clean Development Mechanism (UNFCC CDM), or Gold Standard Foundation. The carbon emission reductions awarded to the project by the auditors are then sold on the mandatory or voluntary carbon markets, and the revenues are re-invested into the project in the form of subsidies that reduce the price of the clean technology to the end-user. Currently, Impact Carbon is working on projects in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Darfur, Mozambique, China, Guatemala and El Salvador.
As she reflects back on her days as a UCSC ENVS undergrad she writes: "I had the unique opportunity to do my internship in Senegal. I think a lot of what I learned that summer factored into my decision to work in the field of international development and climate change mitigation. What stands out the most is how real it felt when I was able to do field work and actually see the impacts of my work. I think keeping a journal was very rewarding as well.” Louise says she enjoys working at Impact Carbon because she is able to use the theoretical knowledge and intern experience from her Environmental Studies degree and apply it to a projects that make tangible and measurable effects on human and environmental health.
