Daniel C. Esty is the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
 
DEEP is the state agency charged with conserving, improving and protecting the state’s natural resources and environment and bringing cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable energy to  Connecticut’s residents and businesses.
 
Commissioner Esty was appointed by Governor Dannel P. Malloy in March, 2011 to serve as Commissioner of what was then the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  He became Commissioner of DEEP when that agency came into being in July of that year.  DEEP is focused on better integrating energy and environmental policies and helping Connecticut to build a sustainable and prosperous 21st century economy.
 
Prior to becoming Commissioner, Esty was the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University.  He also served as the Director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Center for Business & Environment at Yale .   
 
Commissioner Esty is the author or editor of numerous  books and articles on environmental policy issues and the relationship between environmental and corporate strategy, including his prizewinning book, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage. In 2011, Commissioner Esty published a follow-up to this book, The Green to Gold Business Playbook: How to Implement Sustainability Practices for Bottom-Line Results in Every Business Function.

 

Commissioner Esty’s career includes serving in a variety of senior positions for the US Environmental Protection Agency as well as practicing law in Washington, DC. He was a recipient of the American Bar Association Award for Distinguished Achievements in Environmental Law and Policy for his role in developing the global Environmental Sustainability Index – a data driven approach to environmental decision making.

He also served as an energy and environmental policy advisor on the 2008 Obama Presidential campaign and was a member of the Obama Presidential Transition Team.
 
Commissioner Esty holds a B.A. from Harvard, an M.A. from Oxford, and a law degree from Yale.