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How Can an Economic Case Be Made for the Green Building Wave?
All of the roundtable participants agreed that making an economic case for the green building wave was the main priority. In large, multi-family residences such as condos or apartment buildings, building owners had a stake and responsibility in this transition. They needed to be engaged in solutions and challenges.
Educating Builders
For instance, some building owners might be reluctant to place a solar PV system on their rooftop where prime penthouse suites could generate extra income. But, showing these builders that they could also place that PV panels on the sides of buildings to overcome certain logistical restraints would be a worthwhile effort.
Lowering Costs Down for Homeowners
In single-family residences, keeping renovations and green technologies affordable for the average family was another major challenge. Different financing instruments related to green building are becoming increasingly available to other sectors of society. However, for most homeowners to willingly take on these loans' costs, they have to be shown the long-term advantages, both economic, environmental, and health-related.
Dispelling That Green Costs More
The panel also agreed that many individuals automatically assume that green and sustainable buildings will be expensive. Helping people see this transition from a more extended timeframe is thus essential to get people on board. "Obviously, energy savings do add up," the moderator Diana Fox Carney stated. "In the very short term, households by insulating better and changing to electric can save $1,000 to $2,000 per year in most states. While this is good, we need to get the payback period shorter."
Financing Mechanisms Needed
The panel also discussed the need for a financing mechanism directed towards low-income households struggling to pay their bills (including their energy bills). "While it can be a win-win if we help them retrofit (older and energy inefficient homes, low-income families are the least likely to be able to finance those issues. How do we help those people?" Carney asked.
Collaboration is Key
A combination of effective government regulation, visible and creative projects that show the functionality of green building technologies and methods, and accessible financing instruments can help push the widespread adoption of green building techniques and change homeowner's expectations for how our buildings and homes should look and function.
Why Is Financing Necessary For Green Building?
The transition to a green building future will necessarily be multifaceted. But, the lack of specialized financial instruments for deep retrofits and new construction is one of the most significant roadblocks.
The panel mentioned that homeowners are aware of the performance and payback for specific sustainable home retrofits (such as updating insulation or switching to a heat pump). However, there is a need to create financing schemes for a deeper, multilayer retrofit that truly drives down emissions. Ideally, homeowners should be able to access 100 percent financing for these types of net-zero emission building projects.
Besides traditional financing channels, layering in government grants can help all parties see the types of return on investments they need to make a project feasible. Though affordability is an issue for lower-income classes, for others, the main challenge is helping them to see and understand the broader value proposition.
Frederic Bettez of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) offered his experience from a financial institution with a mandate to finance green retrofits. Bettez stated that one of the main challenges wasn't necessarily a lack of capital, but educating all parties involved in the benefits of the transition to a green building future. "We know that there are different needs (for different stakeholders)," he said, "and we are working in developing an aggregation market."
The CIB is currently searching for longer-term and cheaper financing options to allow people from all income brackets to go for deeper retrofits. This project involves a bit more risk for the bank. Still, Bettez stated that the bank was willingly taking on this risk to promote building projects that guarantee energy savings. "Ultimately, if we can go deeper and create a market (for a green building future), and if the market eventually adopts these standards...that is the goal," Bettez stated.
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Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
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