By Arah Schuur, Director of the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, Clinton Climate Initiative
(This article appears in the April, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

“How do we pay for this?” More and more, that is one of the first questions that public and private sector building partners ask before undertaking energy efficiency improvements to their buildings. Through the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, we provide pro bono advisory support to building owners around the world to help address this very issue, helping to plan, develop and implement large-scale energy efficiency projects. For almost every building owner, regardless of real estate sector and geography, finding or justifying the up-front capital for large energy efficiency projects is increasingly challenging as internal finances get tighter and the quick-payback projects are exhausted.

To address capital availability barriers, CCI works with financial institutions and other providers of capital to adapt existing and create new financial products that are specifically tailored to building energy efficiency projects. CCI typically assists in convening stakeholders; assessing market demand from building owners and financial institutions; identifying legal and accounting related issues; and developing and executing work plans. At a project level, we help building owners with financial modeling and to assess financing options in the local market; solicit interest from capital providers; review proposals and term sheets; and assist, where appropriate, in the negotiation process.

By Mark Orlowski, Founder & Executive Director, Sustainable Endowments Institute

(This article appears in the April, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

Facing rising energy costs and steep budget cuts, many colleges are grappling with how to finance urgently needed carbon emissions reductions. In response, more schools are tapping a new option for financing energy efficiency improvements, while earning a high return on investment. Their successful methods are revealed in Greening the Bottom Line: The Trend toward Green Revolving Funds on Campus.

The Cambridge-based Sustainable Endowments Institute (a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) published the report in collaboration with 11 partner organizations including the ACUPCC, AASHE, Second Nature, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.

Based on the first survey ever conducted about green revolving funds (GRFs) in higher education,Greening the Bottom Line details how GRFs help cut operating expenses and greenhouse gas emissions at 52 schools. The number of green revolving funds has more than quadrupled since 2008. A major incentive is the financial benefit–a median annual return on investment of 32 percent. The breakthrough in this approach is using the substantial cost savings to replenish the fund for investment in the next round of green upgrades.

“A Sustainability Makeover in Higher Education”
Video by Sustainable Step New England.
Watch the video on YouTube here.

Update: Mount Wachusett’s wind turbine project featured in the Department of Energy’s Energy Blog.

For details and an application, visit:
www.secondnature.org/awards

Read about last year’s recipients on the blog.