“62% of colleges and universities stated lack of funding to pay for improvements was by far the biggest barrier to pursuing energy efficiency projects1.”
Energy Efficiency Indicator Study
by the Institute for Building Efficiency
The Challenge
While higher ed has made significant strides in implementing energy conservation efforts, many investments are reactive and focused on immediate needs. Concerns of budget constraints and competing priorities limit many schools from investing in larger, long-term energy-efficiency solutions that could significantly reduce operational costs and the school’s carbon footprint. The potential impact of these improvements have school’s reprioritizing these initiatives on campus – but wondering how to fund these important campus improvements.
Sustainability Strategy
While many schools have sustainability on their radar, they are in different stages of moving toward reducing the environmental impact of their campuses. For most, it starts with making sustainability a priority and putting a strategic plan in place. However, many schools are realizing that it is not enough to just focus on projects that generate ROI, but that they need to move towards a proactive plan that reduces their carbon footprint and helps to achieve even greater environmental goals.
The Solution:
Establishing budget neutral financing allows schools to replace old, outdated equipment with new, energy-efficient alternatives that will produce savings that can be used to fund the upgrades. Proactively identifying and planning to address energy-efficiency projects is the first step towards a more sustainable campus. Prioritizing energy upgrades is crucial, since these projects can often pay for themselves. Updating to more energy-efficient equipment often produces savings that can be used to fund your upgrades, creating a cash-flow neutral or shared savings scenario that produces a return on investment and positively impacts your campus environment.
Source1: Energy Efficiency Indicator Study by the Institute for Building Efficiency