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Strategies to Fund Decarbonization Roadmaps

This article explores methods to fund and implement net zero roadmaps while considering both environmental objectives and financial limitations. By understanding these strategies, stakeholders can effectively drive the transition to a low-carbon economy.

What is the status of the decarbonization roadmaps in today’s landscape?

More than a third of the world’s largest 2,000 publicly listed companies have established net zero goals to some extent according to the Net Zero Tracker. Sixty-five percent of these companies, however, are not meeting the minimum reporting standards that are currently in place.

Additionally, just over 1% of these companies have a thorough decarbonization plan in place to achieve their net zero goals. The existing disparity between objectives and implementation poses a significant threat to achieving a sustainable future.

Before exploring funding options for your decarbonization plans, we recommend reviewing our comprehensive guide on achieving decarbonization targets. This manual provides a comprehensive approach for reducing carbon emissions in your company’s buildings.

Defining Decarbonization Targets

To succeed in a decarbonized future, companies must carefully assess their current position and define their desired outcomes. By recognizing the gap between these two, organizations can develop strategies that align with their goals and accommodate various scenarios.

Implementing these roadmaps enhances competitiveness and sustainability. In contrast to short-term factors, roadmaps focus on long-term advantages. It is important to recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for every company. To thrive in a rapidly changing landscape for decarbonization, organizations must adopt comprehensive strategies tailored to their specific objectives and requirements.

RENEW Energy Partners works closely with companies at any stage of their decarbonization process. If your company requires an energy audit, RENEW can provide a thorough evaluation of your energy needs without any risk or cost to you.

Effective Collaboration Drives Successful Implementation of Decarbonization Roadmaps

To achieve a successful implementation of decarbonization roadmap, close collaboration among key teams is imperative. The following three teams must work in concert:

  • Executive Leadership Team: A company’s leadership team is focused on strategic direction and managing what can be competing priorities. The leadership team leads and sets the tone for the organization’s commitment to sustainability.
  • Sustainability and ESG Team: This team shoulders the responsibility of formulating, managing, and executing the decarbonization roadmap. Collaboration with various departments, including operations, finance, and supply chain, is fundamental to effectively implementing sustainable practices.
  • Finance Team: We know the CFO and colleagues manage budget allocation and a limited capital budget. The finance team assesses the feasibility of decarbonization projects, as well as funding options.

Renew’s approach fosters collaboration between these three teams to synchronize the company’s financial resources, strategic vision, and sustainability objectives. Implementing a decarbonization strategy in an organization is difficult without committed leaders, a skilled sustainability team, and a knowledgeable finance team.

Exploring funding options for decarbonization initiatives

Decarbonization funding demands a well-thought-out strategy harmonizing environmental objectives with available financial resources. The approach to securing funds can vary based on the specific nature of the project in need of financing.

Consider building retrofit ventures that often require substantial investments reaching into the millions of dollars. Fortunately, a variety of funding avenues exist for such initiatives, widely embraced across industries. These include Energy Service Agreements (ESA), Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), and Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE).

Understanding different financial mechanisms and identifying decarbonization technologies needing funding is crucial for decision-makers, policymakers, and businesses. In the following sections, we will explore how to effectively fund the journey to the Net Zero future.

Internal Reallocation of Resources

Begin by examining your organization’s existing budget and operational expenses. Identify areas where we can reallocate funds to support decarbonization efforts. This could mean using money from less important projects, departments with extra funds, or cutting unnecessary expenses without affecting important tasks.

Green Bonds and Sustainability-Linked Financing

Green bonds are fixed-income financial instruments specifically designed to fund environmentally friendly projects. They enable organizations to raise capital from investors interested in supporting sustainable initiatives. Sustainability-linked financing, on the other hand, ties interest rates or terms to the achievement of sustainability goals, aligning financial incentives with environmental targets.

Government Grants and Subsidies

Many governments offer grants, subsidies, and incentives for projects that contribute to emissions reductions and sustainability. Research available options and apply for relevant funding programs that align with your decarbonization roadmap. These programs often vary by region and sector, so thorough research is key.

Utility Rebates

Many utility companies offer rebates for energy-efficiency upgrade projects. These rebates can be used to offset the cost of purchasing and installing energy-efficient systems, such as high-efficiency HVAC systems, lighting upgrades, and insulation improvements. These projects help reduce both energy consumption as well as carbon emissions.

Carbon Offsetting and Emission Reduction Credits

Participate in carbon offset programs or trading schemes where you can earn emission reduction credits for your sustainability efforts. These credits can be sold to other organizations seeking to offset their own carbon emissions, providing an additional revenue stream.

Funding decarbonization roadmaps requires a creative and multi-faceted approach. Organizations must explore a combination of strategies that align with their specific goals, resources, and market conditions.

Funding Net Zero Roadmaps with RENEW’s Master Service Agreement

Renew Energy Partner’s Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a fully funded service agreement for improving and decarbonizing the built environment.

The MSA is a comprehensive contract that covers the legal aspects of the agreement between RENEW and the customer. It also includes specific Project Addenda that allow for scalability in energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives. This contract is much more flexible and modular compared to traditional funding options, making it an ideal solution for decarbonization plans.

  • The MSA might have an Energy Service Agreement (ESA) for energy-efficient upgrades such as lighting, HVAC, or smart energy controls. It could also have a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for on-site clean power like solar + storage or combined heat and power (CHP).
  • It is a funding solution that enables owners to decarbonize their buildings today, without making an investment.
  • Just like a utility expense, an MSA can achieve off-balance sheet treatment and be treated like any other operating expense, tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor in order to determine if this is an aspect of the MSA that you can take advantage of.
  • An MSA takes the financial and project implementation burden from the building owner. Building owners pay a monthly amount that is less than the total saved, so from day one there are savings applied to the bottom line.

Overall, the MSA provides a sustainable funding solution that streamlines decarbonization efforts while providing immediate cost savings for building owners. By treating the MSA as off-balance sheet, companies can decarbonize while simultaneously freeing up capital for non-energy related projects.

Conclusion

By understanding these funding strategies, building stakeholders can lower energy bills, avoid impending tariffs, improve their company’s image, and fund the transition to a Net Zero future. If you are looking to find the best way to fund decarbonization initiatives, consider contacting RENEW Energy Partners today.

Water Saving Retrofits

Water Saving Retrofits

Water Saving Retrofits

RENEW Energy partners specializes in helping fund energy saving retrofits for your commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings. There are many different technologies we can install to make your buildings more efficient and reduce your energy bill. One place to deliver significant savings is by reducing your water consumption with a water saving retrofit.  

Water Saving Retrofits

Water savings are a very beneficial by-product of energy saving projects, but not always the initial driver of a new project. Typically, when we talk about saving water, we are really talking about saving the energy required to pump, purify, and/or heat water. In an energy saving retrofit, you want to eliminate places where you’re wasting water for the same reason’s you want to improve efficiency of any energy systems–to reduce the energy usage. Except for fixing a large leak, water saving retrofits are always going to be grouped together with controls or another efficiency improvement in order to decarbonize most effectively.

The Basics

Opportunities for water savings can be found in three places: plumbing fixtures, irrigation, and HVAC equipment.

As with any retrofit it is important to meter your consumption before planning a project. Water submeters can help break down your building’s usage in more detail than your utility bills, and in complex systems submeters can help identify sources of waste that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Water efficiency is one of the easiest and most measurable energy saving retrofits because it typically involves one-to-one fixture or appliance replacements.

It is important to remember that while simple upgrades are simple to implement, more complicated upgrades require knowledge of the water codes in your building’s jurisdiction.

Plumbing

Common plumbing retrofits include low-flow urinals and toilets, which can provide significant water savings. Both urinals and toilet upgrades will require the upfront cost of flush valve and china replacement. Additional modifications to the piping in the plumbing chase or below the flow may be required as well.

To provide low-flow lavatory and shower upgrades, it is important to review all water distribution systems. Oversized pipes and the location of the fixture compared to the heating source can increase the amount of energy your system needs to heat water. Adjusting the locations of these features and sizing piping diameter correctly can reduce that energy spend. Additionally, ensuring that hot water recirculation loops are sufficiently insulated is a critical part of reducing domestic water costs.

Irrigation

If irrigation is your biggest energy spend, upgrading controls should be a priority. Irrigation controls can help you monitor consumption in real time, as well as more accurately deliver water where it’s needed.  Delivering the right amount of water at the right time is the key to efficient irrigation.

HVAC

You can learn more about the history, basics, and future of HVAC retrofits in our previous blog posts here.

Besides decreasing carbon fuel usage, major water reductions are often a great side effect of upgrading an outdated heating system. In particular, transitioning away from steam heating can yield both huge water and energy savings.  If eliminating steam is not an option, upgrading and replacing steam traps or condensate return systems can still have major impacts in a large system.

Additional Water Conservation Methods

Beyond the basics, retrofits can include more specialized technology such as dishwasher and garbage disposal replacement for buildings that have kitchens and food waste. More efficient closed loop dishwashers can use significantly less water and energy than older steam driven ones, providing plenty of energy savings.

Water controls are also a crucial element in sustainability projects. Smart water meters deliver consumption and temperature data in real time in order to educate building owners and provide the opportunity for long-term behavioral changes. Smart leak detection technology, as well as humidity detectors, can easily detect leaks that need to be addressed in a retrofit. In addition, they send out alerts as soon as a new leak happens, thus preventing more damage from occurring and minimizing maintenance costs. Water control technologies can deliver significant savings for customers and new products are continuing to be developed and introduced to the market.

Other campus water improvements can include leak monitoring as well as replacing any grass lawns with drought-tolerant or native landscaping.

Conclusion

By pairing water savings with a larger energy saving retrofit, you can simultaneously decarbonize and reduce your energy bills. When paired with buildings controls, clients can monitor their water use and identify maintenance issues in real time.

Reducing your buildings water demand will also benefit your greater community by reducing demand on communal water infrastructure.

No matter how you decide to improve your water system, energy savings retrofits projects require funding. In order to fund an energy saving retrofit for your building(s), RENEW Energy Partners offers our own energy service agreement (ESA). The Energy Service Agreement:

  • Can be treated as an off-balance sheet transaction. You do not own the asset or carry it on your balance sheet. (You will consult with your accountant on this).
  • RENEW provides preventive and corrective maintenance in the service agreement.
  • Your payment to RENEW will be based on the energy savings confirmed once the system is operational.

Unlike a lease or a loan, which are on balance sheet, do not include maintenance, and may or may not deliver energy savings, the service agreement provides all of the above and then some:

  • Executing a service agreement is fast – once the project is scoped by an energy professional (and we can recommend one), you execute a simple service agreement contract and RENEW will fund the project.
  • Executing a service agreement frees up your capital budget for your other priorities, allowing you to focus on growing your core business.
  • Executing a service agreement now means your net cash flows are higher than waiting and doing it yourself in a year.
  • And finally – executing a service agreement means flexibility. Perhaps you buy another building or look at additional efficiency measures–with a one-page addendum to your existing ESA you can have those new lights, HVAC, plumbing, and controls at your new building, and you simultaneously reduce your operating expense! 

The RENEW Energy Service Agreement allows businesses to focus on what they do best, while ensuring that their facilities are performing at their peak with brand new, and high-efficiency equipment. In this current climate of cost control and resource allocation, the energy service agreement is the perfect solution to help businesses meet sustainability goals and keep facilities in top condition. Reach out to RENEW and talk to us about funding your energy saving retrofits today.

hvac energy efficiency retrofits

HVAC Energy Efficiency Retrofits: The Basics

hvac energy efficiency retrofits

RENEW Energy partners specializes in helping fund your energy saving retrofits for your commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings. There are many different technologies we can install to make your buildings more efficient and reduce your energy bill. One place to deliver significant savings is by heating and cooling your building more efficiently, with energy efficiency retrofits to your Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning “HVAC.”

Last month we discussed the history of HVAC, a story where Willis Carrier’s practical solution to too much humidity in a publishing factory led to the first mass-produced Cooling and Ventilation System. Today, HVAC systems continue to get more efficient, regulating climates throughout modern buildings.

HVAC Retrofits

For energy efficiency retrofits, the first places you need to look are the upgrades that will save you the most money. You should aim for an HVAC system that is at least 80% efficient. If your HVAC is not as efficient, updating your system will reduce your energy bills. When updating your HVAC, you need to think about the following:

Basic Energy Efficiency Retrofits

    • Economizers:
      • An economizer is a part of the outdoor system, most often mounted on the roof, of an HVAC system for commercial buildings. The economizer evaluates outside air temperature and even humidity levels. When the exterior air levels are appropriate, it uses the outside air to cool your building. HVAC economizers use logic controllers and sensors to get an accurate read on outside air quality. As the economizer detects the right level of outside air to bring in, it utilizes internal dampers to control the amount of air that gets pulled in, recirculated and exhausted from your building. It saves on energy, helps your A/C last longer, and improves air quality.
    • Compressor/Condenser
      • The compressor reduces the volume of gas to add pressure to it. The compressor uses more power than any other component of an air conditioner, cutting down on how much power it uses helps immensely with increasing energy efficiency. Upgraded compressors provide the ability to operate at a lower capacity with controls that include Variable Frequency Drives.
      • An HVAC condenser takes the pressurized gas and turns it into liquid vapor.
      • Condensers and compressors should be upgraded at the same time to create the most efficient system possible.
    • Condensate Recovery
      • In a typical commercial air conditioning system, warm, humid air from the building is run over a cold air handler that cools the air. When this is done, condensate water is created and recovered for reuse. A drip pan collects this relatively clean water, and it is discharged to a sewer.
      • With condensate recovery, that water is diverted to the cooling system, helping the system run more efficiently.
    • Duct Insulation/Duct Sealing
      • To prevent air leaks, duct sealing is necessary along the entire length of the ductwork system. Air leaks in your ductwork system can account for a significant loss of energy and money, especially larger systems in commercial buildings. The most insulated method of construction continues to be pioneered by the Passive House International construction standard.
    • Duct Size Optimization
      • Oversized Ducts: Larger than normal ducts are certainly capable of handling more airflow. But your HVAC system may not be equipped to pump that much air. In fact, your system needs a specific air pressure in the ductwork to properly distribute air. Oversized ducts could cause your HVAC system to work too hard and limit the amount of conditioned air that reaches your home. Forcing your system to work harder than it should leaves it prone to breakdowns and increases your energy usage.
      • Undersized Ducts: If your ducts are too small to accommodate the air flowing through them, the pressure increases and backs up in the system. This causes resistance for the blower fan, reducing your HVAC system’s efficiency and longevity. Over time, this can lead to significant stress on the components and can inevitably lead to a breakdown.
      • Duct Sizing Method: The Manual D Sizing Method is the industry standard that was developed by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. This method involves evaluating the individual rooms in your home to determine optimal airflow, control excessive noise, seal ductwork, provide insulation, and retrofit the design as needed. This all works to correct pressure imbalances and ensure your system runs as efficiently as possible to supply each room of your home with adequate, conditioned airflow.
    • Variable Air Volume (VAV)
      • Variable air volume (VAV) systems enable energy-efficient HVAC system distribution by optimizing the amount and temperature of distributed air. Appropriate operations and maintenance (O&M) of VAV systems is necessary to optimize system performance and achieve high efficiency.
    • Heating and Cooling Recovery
      • This is the process of recovering excess thermal energy that would otherwise be emitted, in order to use it as energy and reduce your overall consumption.
      • Thermal energy can be recovered from water, air, or a ground source.
      • This can also fall under the umbrella of CHP (Combined Heat and Power), which could further reduce energy usage.

Chiller Upgrades.

For energy efficiency retrofits, it is important to specifically think about how your building is cooled. Freezer storage alone makes up about one percent of global emissions. Here are a few things to think about:

      • Chillers can be regulated by air or water. Air chillers are less expensive but use more energy.
      • Water chillers must be efficient and up to date to conserve and reuse water, but when maintained, are much more energy efficient.
    • Chiller Controls
      • The most efficient ones we can install include Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) that regulate the amount of energy needed throughout the day depending on internal and external temperatures.
    • Modular Chillers
      • Modular chillers are ideal because each module can operate independently from each other. If one module fails, the other can continue to run. This is ideal for efficiency and maintenance.
    • Heat Recovery Chillers
      • If heating and cooling are needed at once, heat recovery chillers can allow for the heat they emit to be redirected to other energy sources. These chillers don’t always get hot enough for cold climates but are ideal for mixed use spaces.

Conclusion

To summarize, when contemplating energy efficiency retrofits, updating your HVAC systems is a crucial way to decarbonize and save money. Additional savings can be made by implementing water saving retrofits. The most ideal systems interact with each other and redirect excess energy for further use. An energy management system and variable frequency drives can help you control and monitor your HVAC effectively so that it does not have to run at full capacity 24 hours a day. Stay up to date about HVAC energy efficiency retrofits by reading our most recent article on the future of HVAC retrofits. Finally, keep your buildings and pipes well-insulated to prevent energy leakage.

No matter how you decide to increase your energy efficiency and decrease your carbon footprint, these kinds of project require funding. In order to fund an energy efficiency project for your building(s), RENEW Energy Partners offers an energy service agreement (ESA). The Energy Service Agreement:

  • Is an off-balance sheet transaction. You do not own the asset or carry it on your balance sheet.
  • RENEW provides preventive and corrective maintenance in the service agreement.
  • Your payment to RENEW will be based on the energy savings confirmed once the system is operational.

Unlike a lease or a loan, which are on balance sheet, do not include maintenance, and may or may not deliver energy savings, the service agreement provides all of the above and then some:

  • Executing a service agreement is fast – once the project is scoped by an energy professional (and we can recommend one), you execute a simple service agreement contract and RENEW will fund the project.
  • Executing a service agreement frees up your capital budget for your other priorities, allowing you to focus on growing your core business.
  • Executing a service agreement now means your net cash flows are higher than waiting and doing it yourself in a year.
  • And finally – executing a service agreement means flexibility. Perhaps you buy another building or look at additional efficiency measures–with a one-page addendum to your existing ESA you can have those new lights, HVAC, and controls at your new building, and you simultaneously reduce your operating expense!

The RENEW Energy Service Agreement allows businesses to focus on what they do best, while ensuring that their facilities are performing at their peak with brand new, and high-efficiency equipment. In this current climate of cost control and resource allocation, the energy service agreement is the perfect solution to help businesses meet sustainability goals and keep facilities in top condition. Reach out to RENEW and talk to us about financing your energy saving retrofits today.

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