CAROLYN S. KAPLAN

Carolyn Kaplan serves as Chief Sustainability Officer for Nixon Peabody, the first such position in a law firm. In that role, she leads our Legally Green® initiative, working closely with the firm’s Green Operations Steering Committee to implement sustainable policies and practices, identifying opportunities for our clients to further their own sustainability objectives, and partnering with leading organizations on joint sustainability initiatives.

Carolyn is the former co-chair of the Renewable Energy team in the firm’s Energy and Environmental practice group, which is composed of attorneys experienced in the development, construction, financing, and operation of renewable energy facilities. She has assisted clients on a variety of renewable energy projects, including siting of land based and offshore wind energy facilities.

Carolyn concentrates her practice on land use and environmental matters. She counsels her clients on the array of issues that affect development projects and facilities, including environmental impact review, wetlands, waterways and tidelands licensing, storm water, water supply, wastewater, zoning, and hazardous waste site assessment and remediation. She is adept at navigating the often overlapping jurisdictions of federal, state and local permitting programs. Carolyn interacts with and appears before various regulatory boards and agencies, including local conservation commissions and zoning boards, state environmental agencies, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Sustainability Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, “Sustainable Franchises,” Nixon Peabody Webinar, April 2012.
• Speaker, Sustainable Investors Roundtable, Federal Street Advisors, December 2011
• Panelist, “What Business Models are Contributing to a Sustainable 21st Century Economy?” National Institute for a Sustainable Economy (NISE) Business Summit, Boston, MA, October 2011
• Panelist, “Green Leasing,” Aligning Tenant/Landlord Sustainability and Energy Goals A Better City Forum, October 2011
• Speaker, “Nixon Peabody’s Legally Green® Initiative,” Charles River Associates, February 2011
• Panelist, Making the Business Case for Sustainability, A Better City Forum, Boston, MA, November 2010
• Panelist, “Commitment to the Triple Bottom Line: Nixon Peabody’s Legally Green, Diversity and Pro Bono Initiatives,” ABA/Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL, November 2010
• Lecturer, “An Introduction to Sustainability Initiatives,” Boston University Metropolitan College, Boston, MA, October 2010
• Panelist, “Sustainability for Franchises: Ideas and Implementation Strategies to Enhance your Brand,” Nixon Peabody Webinar, October 2010
• Panelist, “Greening Your Law Firm: Practical Solutions,” Green Matters: Green Cities, Business and Beyond,” New Orleans, LA, October 2010
• Speaker, “Linking Sustainability to Business and Compliance Strategies,” Are You Prepared: Staying Ahead in a Changing Regulatory World, ENSR/Nixon-Peabody, Boston, MA, October 2010
• Speaker, “Legally Green® in a Tough Economy,” Association of Legal Administrators Annual Conference & Exposition, Boston, MA, May 2010
• Speaker, “LEED Professional Credentials,” Nitsch Engineering, Boston, MA, February 2010
• Panelist, “LEED Professional Credentials,” US Green Building Council, Massachusetts Chapter/Nixon Peabody, Boston, MA December 2009
• Panelist, “The Green Job Economy and You,” Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, New York, NY, November 2009
• Speaker, “Greening the Law Firm,” Legal Marketing Association New England Annual Conference, Boston, MA, November 2009
• Panelist, “LEED 2009—A Sustainable Strategy for Everyone,” Commercial Real Estate Women Network Convention, Boston, MA, October 2009
• Panelist, Green Building Rating Systems,” Green Building Law: Opportunities & Risks, HB Webinar, September 2009
• Panelist, “The Green in Green:  Sustainability, Green and Cleantech—Clearing the Hurdles to Value Creation,” The Executive Council, New York, NY, May 2009
• Panelist, “Corporate Environmental Stewardship—Best Practices,” Environmental Business Council of New England, Waltham, MA, May 2009
• Panelist, “Going Green—How Legal Departments Can Save Time, Money, and the Environment,” Corporation Service Company Earth Day Webinar, April 2009
• Panelist, “Legally Green,” Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, October 2008
• Moderator, “Money, Technology & Policy: The State’s Green Future,” Boston Business Journal Green Business Summit, Boston, MA, May 2008
• Moderator and Panelist, “Is it Easy Being Green?” Association of Corporate Counsel, Northeast Chapter, Boston, MA, May 2008
• Moderator, “Sustainable Development & Green Design,” Higher Education & Real Estate: Innovative Strategies for Campus Planning and Facility Financing, Institute for Professional and Executive Development, Inc., Boston, MA, April 2008
• Panelist, “Legally Green,” Rochester Green Business Network, Triple Bottom Line Conference & Expo, Rochester, NY, April 2008
• Speaker, “Legally Green,” Association of Legal Administrators, Rochester, NY, April 2008
• Panelist, “Getting from Trash Cans to Recycling Bins…and other ways to green your office,” Urban Land Institute Green Program, Boston, MA, April 2008
• Panelist, “Case Study: Mobilizing to ‘Go Green,’” Association of Legal Administrators, Law Firm Green: The New Black, Washington, DC, February 2008

Renewable Energy Speaking Engagements

• Program Chair and Panelist, Environmental Business Council of New England, Seminar Series on Land Based Wind Energy, Boston, MA, March 2008
• Panelist, “AWEA Siting Handbook,” AWEA Wind Power Project Siting Workshop, Austin, TX, February 2008
• Introductory Speaker, “Logistics: Garnering Wind Power Offshore,” Environmental Business Council of New England Seminar Series on Offshore Wind Energy, November 2007
• Panelist, “Legislative Update and Policy,” and “Siting, Real Estate, Environmental and Regulatory Issues,” Institute for Professional and Executive Development, Inc., Financing Wind Power: The Future of Energy, Santa Fe, NM, July 2007
• Panelist, “Navigating Environmental Review: Lessons Learned from Large-Scale Offshore and Land-Based Wind Projects,” American Wind Energy Association, Windpower 2005 Conference and Exhibition, Denver, CO, May 2005
• Moderator and Panelist, “Local Permitting: Strategies and Pitfalls,” American Wind Energy Association, East Coast Siting Workshop, Boston, MA, March 2005
• Panelist, Wind Energy Development, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Fall Legal Conference, Boston, MA, October 2003
• Moderator and Panelist, Coastal Wind Power Energy Generation: Capacities and Conflicts, Boston College Law School Environmental Affairs Law Review, Fall Symposium, September 2003

Publications

• “Congress, the Courts, and the Army Corps: Siting the First Offshore Wind Farm in the United States,” Boston College Law School Environmental Affairs Law Review (Vol. 31, Issue 2), 2004.
• “Opportunities and Challenges for Wind Power Developers,” North American Wind Power, (Vol. 1, No. 6), July 2004, co-authored with Richard M. Cogen, Esq.