by Beth Gray

In 2009 the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) published a resource entitled, Financing Sustainability on Campus.  Ben Barlow, a consultant for Second Nature, and Andrea Putman, Director of Corporate Partnerships at Second Nature, team up to author this resource and do a very good job at exploring a variety of funding options that can be helpful in pushing forward with sustainability initiatives.  At just over 100 pages, this publication is a worthwhile resource for anyone tasked with implementing sustainability initiatives on a college or university campus.  Read the rest of this entry »

by Allison G. S. Knox

Interest in the climate crisis has peaked during an economic recession plagued by a massive amount of foreclosures and risky behaviors on behalf of many financial institutions.  In recent decades, many people did not believe in “global warming” or the notion that our planet’s atmosphere has seen an incredible increase in the amount of carbon dioxide – a situation that is warming the oceans and melting the polar ice caps.  Perhaps because in light of the economic recession, people are finding creative ways to save money, many are beginning to believe in the climate crisis.  Many are becoming increasingly interested in the ways that addressing the climate crisis can help save billions of dollars in the long run. Read the rest of this entry »

by Beth Gray

In February 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the Recovery Act.  According to the Administration’s website established to track the Recovery Act and the funds allocated from it, the purpose of the Act is three-fold: to “create new jobs and save existing ones,” to “spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth,” and to “foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.”  The Recovery Act included more than $80 billion in clean energy investments.  As institutions of higher education begin addressing their own carbon footprints and the issues related to climate change in general, there are opportunities for them to apply for funds through the Recovery Act in order to implement projects that can help.

Various government agencies have been provided with portions of the total allotted in the Recovery Act and institutions of higher education may find funding for their sustainability projects through these agencies.  For example, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is responsible for some $16.8 billion of Recovery Act funding.  Included in that total is some $11.3 billion for projects related to weatherization, state energy programs, and conservation block grants.  Additionally, according to Financing Sustainability on Campus, a National Association of College and University Business Officer’s publication, the Recovery Act allocated $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program (SEP) “for onward allocation by state energy offices to higher education institutions and other organizations within their jurisdictions.” 

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