Page 45 - Green Builder July-August 2017 Issue

CREDIT: GREEN HOME INSTITUTE

A standard market. Green building certifications such as LEED Platinum—awarded to this single-family home constructed by Meadowlark
Builders—can help investors better understand such projects and increase the likelihood of investment.
To complicate matters, each market segment involves different and government support. To replicate this elsewhere, government,
barriers and motivations for investments in efficiency. For example, finance and civil society groups in local markets should cooperate
homeowners are often motivated by a desire for a comfortable closely on stepping stones to success.
temperature in their house, but any costly or inconvenient upgrades
discourage action. Businesses tend to be more concerned about
productivity and their reputation, and will therefore be more likely Building Efficiency Accelerator:
to consider the lifecycle costs of their investment. Putting Principles into Action
Governments and NGOs need to design mechanisms that appeal
to the varying motivations of building decision-makers in different ACH OF THESE METHODS align with actions cities are taking
market segments. For institutional real estate investors, for example, in the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA). Cities that join
Carbon Trust demonstrated why greener buildings are attractive the BEA partnership commit to implementing a building
investments: They rent at a premium, have lower vacancy rates, and efficiency policy and a demonstration project, which often
make employees happier and more productive. E then mature into a project or program investment pipeline.
As the 28 Building Efficiency Accelerator cities move to implement
5. Sequencing their actions in 2017 and fund the implementation of future efforts,
their commitments are complementary and reinforcing. Clear
CITIES THAT ONLY OFFER SHORT-TERM OR ONE-OFF BUILDING policies encourage investments, and investor interest encourages
EFFICIENCY POLICIES ARE UNLIKELY TO DEVELOP THE SCALE government action—getting us back on track to deliver against our
OR STABILITY needed to transform their real estate market toward 2030 Sustainable Energy for All goals. The combination leads to
demanding efficiency. But governments that develop a long-term strong markets for building efficiency that attracts more private
vision with a sequenced package of policies create a healthy market investment at less public cost: an efficient solution for clean,
for building investment. affordable energy. GB
The government of Jakarta, for example, adopted both a new
energy code for all buildings and a tax rebate for buildings that The World Resources Institute (www.wri.org) is a global research
exceeded standards, encouraging investment by those that simply organization with offices in the United States, China, India, Brazil,
want to comply with the law and more investment by those who Indonesia and 45 other nations. The organization’s goal is to sustain
see efficiency as an opportunity to reduce costs or improve their the planet’s natural resources by focusing on six critical issues in
business. As of May 2016, the program was saving around $68 million environment and development: climate, energy, food, forests, water,
every year. and cities and transport. Eric Mackres and Debbie Weyl are building
The pathway to green financing may also follow a sequence. Bruce efficiency managers at the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities,
Schlein of Citi observed that the company’s investments in energy and Daniel Melling is the communications specialist for WRI’s Global
efficiency often stemmed from an early combination of philanthropy Energy Program.

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