"Colorado University-Boulder's green loan fund earns 38 percent return..."

"Three years ago, University of Colorado student leaders invested $500,000 in an endowment for energy efficiency projects designed to green the Boulder campus.

Now they're starting to roll in a different kind of green.

Projects paid for by CU's Energy and Climate Revolving Fund are reducing carbon emissions on campus by about 261 tons a year -- and receiving, on average, a 37.8 percent return on investment.

By the numbers
CU's student government established a $500,000 "Energy and Climate Revolving Fund" for green projects on campus. So far, the endowment has loaned out $379,600.

$24,000: First-year savings

$59,583: Second-year savings

$143,500: Expected third-year savings
"Nobody is getting that on Wall Street," said Dave Newport, director of CU's Environmental Center.

So far, the endowment -- which Newport initiated in 2007 -- has loaned out $379,600. In the first year, the efficiencies saved the school $24,000. In the second year, it slashed bills by $59,583.

This year, savings are expected to be about $143,500.

The fund has financed 80 micro-projects aimed at increasing efficiency in the campus' student, recreation and health centers, earning the CU-Boulder concept a spotlight in a new report called "Greening the Bottom Line: The Trend toward Green Revolving Funds on Campus."

The report was published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a Cambridge, Mass.-based group that advances green practices on college campuses.

Projects include replacing radiator valves and windows, switching to LED lights, better insulating ceilings and adding smart censors that turn off lights in conference rooms when they're not occupied. Approved projects must reduce energy use and most have payback periods under five years. The LED light projects have between 10 to 12 years to pay back the

Justin Browne, left, and Merritt Branch work out at the University of Colorado Recreation Center on Tuesday. The building is the target of several energy efficiency investments. loans.

Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, said that the number of green revolving funds has more than quadrupled since 2008.

"A major incentive is the financial benefit," he said. "Our survey found a median annual return on investment of 32 percent."

Here's what makes a green revolving fund: It must finance measures that reduce resource use, such as energy, water or paper, or mitigate carbon emissions. And those measures must generate savings.

Projects vary on college campuses across the country, ranging from showerhead replacements in dorms to retrofitted lighting.

At Harvard University in 2009, campus officials installed energy efficient lighting in 10 parking garages, and now net $400,000 in savings every year. The money came from a $1.2 million loan from the Harvard Green Loan Fund.

CU, when developing its loan fund, looked to Harvard as a model.

Of the 52 colleges and universities with green revolving funds, 24 are public."


Read more: CU-Boulder's green loan fund earns 38 percent return - Boulder Daily Camera http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_17396585#ixzz1E8ciFYVe
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