As global climate change becomes a pressing social issue, green business has moved to the forefront of the agendas of many legislators, business leaders, and community activists. A green business blends economic success with environmental benefits, creating an economically viable path toward remediation of environmental damages and toward long-term sustainability.
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are becoming involved. CDFIs have always achieved social and economic returns on their investments. It is a natural fit to add the environment to the equation, with CDFIs deploying capital for green businesses and so promoting triple-bottom-line investing.
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- The United States emits more than 20 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). In fact, the 25 countries with the highest GHG emissions account for 83 percent of global emissions.
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- Levels of greenhouse gases have increased by about 25 percent since large-scale industrialization began around 150 years ago. In the past 20 years, about three-quarters of human-made carbon dioxide emissions have been from burning fossil fuels.
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- Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from petroleum and natural gas, represent 82 percent of total human-made greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
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- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that efficient lighting could reduce the nation’s electricity demand by more than 10 percent, resulting in a net savings of $17 billion and a reduction of 202 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Read more factsOf the thousands of corporations, hospitals, schools, utilities, and state and local governments that have signed on to the EPA’s Green Lights program, the average internal rate of return on investments in lighting upgrades is roughly 28 percent.
- Energy bills for existing U.S. commercial space (78 billion square feet) total $110 billion annually. Increasing the energy efficiency of that space could save more than $25 billion.
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- Nearly nine in ten (87 percent) of small business owners/managers have taken steps to make their business environmentally friendly. Half of small business owners have taken steps to recycle waste products (51 percent) or follow environmental recommendations within their industry (48 percent).
Read more factsLess than half (46 percent) buy and use recycled products or offer eco-friendly products and services to customers (24 percent). Most small business owners agree that it is important to give back their community (87 percent), and take actions in business to reflect concern for the environment (79 percent).
- Rural areas, especially those near urban areas, continue to experience changes in land use because of rapid development and urban sprawl. National Resources Inventory data indicate that between 1982 and 2001, about 34 million acres—an area the size of Illinois— were converted to developed uses.
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- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that small communities (those with fewer than 10,000 residents) with an average daily wastewater flow of less than one million gallons have documented needs of approximately $16 billion for wastewater treatment over the next 20 years.
Read more factsTotal rural needs for wastewater treatment systems are at a cost of more than $50 billion over the next 20 years.
- Of new ethanol plants under construction, 80 percent are in nonmetropolitan counties, 75 percent of which are counties with declining populations.
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- Improve and expand existing tax incentives for green housing development and rehabilitation. The tax code contains modest incentives for energy efficiency in new single-family homes and commercial buildings and provides a credit for solar installations, but the code does nothing specifically to encourage green rehabilitation of homes for low-income families.
Read more recommendations The new homes credit should be modified to serve multifamily rental properties, in combination with existing housing programs, and the solar credit should be expanded and revised to work more effectively with housing tax credits.
- Increase the funding level for the Green Jobs Program in the U.S. Department of Energy to $300 million
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- Create a green markets tax credit for investments in green technology, conservation efforts, and investments in green intermediaries.
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- Support funding for green power source innovation through the U.S. Department of Energy.
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- Green power is electricity generated using renewable resources, such as wind, geothermal, and biomass. Those resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions. Green power purchases also support the development of new renewable energy generation sources nationwide.
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- Give the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, extra credit toward meeting their affordable housing responsibilities for purchasing mortgages on properties that are energy efficient or otherwise environmentally responsible.
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- Provide loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy for financing provided to green businesses, particularly for loans made to start-up businesses that have shown promising new technologies.
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- Make the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification (or a comparable standard) for sustainable buildings, currently a voluntary process, a requirement for all new commercial construction.
Read more recommendationsThe certification should remain voluntary for homeowners, but the homeowners who build LEED-certified dwellings should receive an additional federal tax credit. According to studies done by the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings that receive LEED certification use less energy and cut carbon emission by as much as 40 percent.
