A Financing Mechanism Powerful Enough to Catalyze the Green Economy

Written on 12/07 at 09:02 PM by Andy Posner 1 comments

Filed under: Huffington Post Business environment Renewable Energy

I wrote this article for the Huffington Post.  It can be seen in its original context here.

Despite the recent (and undoubtedly temporary) drop in energy prices, the fact remains that because of the economic downturn and an aging housing stock, many families will struggle to heat their homes this winter.  At the same time, the need to create jobs, stimulate the economy, create sound investment opportunities and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions has never been greater.  There is no silver bullet for solving all these challenges, but an innovative financing mechanism for renewable energy and energy efficiency could go a long way toward putting the country on the right track.  Here’s how it works.

Homeowners Need Efficiency Upgrades--But Can’t Afford Them
Imagine you are a low-income homeowner in Providence, Rhode Island. Chances are your home is 100 years old: the walls are barely insulated, the windows single-paned, and the boiler a relic of the 1950s.  In the winter your heating bills are such that you can hardly afford to run the heat, often leaving your family shivering.  And even though a $10,000 investment would dramatically lower those heating costs and pay for itself within 5 years, you can hardly pay for the mortgage--let alone $10,000 in efficiency upgrades.

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Too Big To Fail, Too Powerful to Regulate

Written on 12/06 at 01:49 PM by Andy Posner 2 comments

Filed under: Business environment

The Big Three Dama
I’ve been watching the Big Three bailout drama with increasing dismay.  First, the executives from GM, Ford and Chrysler flew in private jets to Washington for a hearing, and then proceeded to beg for $25 billion--without offering a plan as to how the money would help them get out of their present mess.  Congress told them to come back with a plan, and suggested that next time they find a more plebeian mode of transportation. So back the executives came this week, humbly carpooling in the poorly made cars their companies produce, with more detailed plans for restructuring.  The CEOs magnanimously offered to work for $1 a year if they received the bailout money (nevermind that the bulk of their salary comes from stock options and bonuses, not salary).  They presented a plan for laying off workers, closing plants, focusing on core brands, and lowering health care and other costs.  Congress wasn’t exactly impressed, and polls show Americans are not in favor of yet another bailout for yet another mismanaged corporation.

But here’s the problem: the Big Three are just too big to fail.  They directly employ roughly 100,000 people in the United States, but their suppliers across the country employ hundreds of thousands more, and the ripple effect would send our already reeling economy into a tailspin.  It now looks like the auto companies will get their money, albeit only half of what they were originally seeking.  The same “too big to fail” logic was used to justify the bailout of AIG and several other financial institutions.  And, like it or not, in a “centralized” economy, the logic is quite sound.  What concerns me is that “too big to fail” usually means “too powerful to regulate.”

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A Conglomerate for Good

Written on 09/12 at 04:59 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments

Filed under: Business environment

Conglomerates Abound
There is no shortage of conglomerates whose purpose is to maximize profit, at any cost, provided that no laws are broken (of course, we all know that laws are stretched and often broken).  In fact, publicly traded companies have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to maximize profit; that is, they are required by law to do so.  What this means is that a company cannot focus on social or environmental goals unless working towards those goals somehow helps the bottom line.  As a result, the traditional approach taken by corporations with respect to social and environmental goals has been to 1)influence laws to their benefit, 2)avoid litigation, and 3)lower operating costs (e.g., by installing CFL light bulbs, cutting wages or benefits, or reducing packaging waste).

A consequence of this paradigm is that, at least in America, public policy is too often shaped by what benefits corporations rather than individuals; getting corporations to follow the law is time-consuming and expensive, since large companies have a fleet of high-powered attorneys at their beck and call; and only limited inroads have been made on fair trade, environmental sustainability, and other important issues. 

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I Am Now A LEED Accredited Professional!

Written on 08/25 at 03:25 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments

Filed under: Business environment News

Passing the LEED Exam
Last Thursday I took--and passed!--the LEED accreditation exam.  LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and it is a performance-based rating system for green buildings established by the U.S Green Building Council.  It has come to be accepted as the benchmark for green building, and covers all aspects of a building, from materials, to energy, water and building operation.  Becoming a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP) allows you to be a consultant on a LEED project, and it is also something you can put after your name to improve your credibility.

How LEED works
I studied for about a month to pass the exam, which consists of 80 questions covering all aspects of the rating system.  The way LEED works is that the points are broken down into 5 topic areas: Sustainable Sites; Energy & Atmosphere; Water Efficiency; Materials and Resources; and Indoor Air Quality.  A final category rewards efforts that don’t fall under the other topic areas.  Within each category, points are awarded for achieving environmental performance.  For instance, 1-10 points can be earned in the Energy & Atmosphere, depending on the energy-efficiency of the building.  Each category has pre-requisites that must be earned, and depending on how many points the project is awarded a building can be rated anywhere from LEED certified to LEED platinum.  (Learn more about how LEED works here)

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Green Microfinance: Advancing Social Equality and Environmental Sustainability in the United States

Click here to download a PDF of my complete thesis. Questions and comments are much appreciated!

My masters thesis in Environmental Studies at Brown University looks at how microfinance--the provision of small…

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A Solution to the Limited Success of Micro-Credit in the United States?

Micro-credit has undoubtedly been a runaway success in developing countries as a tool of both poverty alleviation and economic development.  To date, some 100 million people have been reached by micro-loans, and Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank…

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Tonight, the Oneness of Things

It is late and my mind should be drifting through the colorful abyss of deep sleep, yet instead i find that tonight sleep will not come.  I am like a hungry flower who dreams of bees so ardently that all…

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