AMES, Iowa -- A leader of Whole Foods Market, the world's top retailer of natural and organic foods, will speak at Iowa State University about the chain's sustainable engineering and energy management practices.
Kathy Loftus, global leader for sustainable engineering, maintenance and energy management for Whole Foods Market, will speak on "Innovation in Sustainable Engineering and Energy: A Whole Foods Perspective," at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. The talk is free and open to the public. It is part of the university's National Affairs Series, "Innovation and Ethics," and the Women in STEM Series.
Loftus is an engineer and coordinates strategic energy procurement, efficiency upgrades, engineering and maintenance best practices, and green building efforts for the Whole Foods Market chain. Her work includes coordinating program partnerships and efforts with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Prior to joining Whole Foods, Loftus was director of business development for EnerNOC Inc., where she worked with commercial, industrial and institutional national accounts to implement improved energy management strategies across their diverse facility portfolios. She also spent eight years as director of energy and environmental management for Shaw's Supermarkets Inc., where she was active in the EPA Energy Star and Green Power Partners Programs, and the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) retail advisory committee.
Loftus earned her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass., and is a certified energy manager through the Association of Energy Engineers. She was on the 2005 New England Roundtable on Federal Renewable Energy Policy, and participates on the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. She is an officer on the board of directors of Clean Air-Cool Planet.
The lecture is cosponsored by the Council on Sustainability, Engineers for a Sustainable World, Engineers without Borders, National Affairs and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body.
More information on ISU lectures is at http://www.lectures.iastate.edu, or by calling (515) 294-9935.
