Mayor Byron W. Brown announced during his 14th State of the City address that Buffalo will launch the largest Environmental Impact Bond (EIB) in the country at $30 million. The funds from this investment will allow the City of Buffalo and Buffalo Sewer Authority to capitalize on the Rain Check Buffalo program.
EIBs offer a novel approach to pay for high-impact projects based in part on the environmental, social, and/ or economic outcomes they generate. In this way, EIBs can help hedge the performance uncertainty that some developers new to green infrastructure may have, and capitalize on the multiple benefits of innovative projects like green infrastructure.
Buffalo will become the first city where an EIB is used to capitalize on a green infrastructure incentive program, in the form of the Rain Check 2.0 Grant Program, which targets the deployment of green infrastructure on private properties with large amounts of impervious surfaces. These private properties form a key component of the Buffalo Sewer Authority’s goal of using green infrastructure to manage over 500 acres of impervious surface area to help eliminate the effects of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) on Buffalo’s waterways. However, unlike projects on public property, incentives are required for private property owners to agree to install and maintain green.
“The City of Buffalo, will become the first in the nation to use an EIB to provide property owners the ability to fund green infrastructure projects and help to make our community more resilient to the impacts of climate change” said Mayor Byron W. Brown. “My administration does not view individual projects as activities in isolation, and instead views them as part of a network that functions as a system-wide improvement to our city’s water system.”
The City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Sewer Authority were selected as the winner of the Great Lakes Environmental Impact Bond Challenge through the P3GreatLakes Initiative by Quantified Ventures and Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. (ECT). Along with the support of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo, the City of Buffalo has created a public- private, and philanthropic partnership to tackle our stormwater challenge, ensure that our city’s waterways, are protected, and guarantee a more resilient Buffalo.
In its work in Buffalo, Quantified Ventures will build on its previous successes structuring green infrastructure EIBs in cities like Washington, DC, which was also based around CSO issues and the cost-effectiveness of green vs. grey infrastructure to address them, and Atlanta, which was based around the local impacts of green infrastructure in mitigating flooding and providing access to greenspace and workforce development opportunities in underserved neighborhoods.
“Cities face massive stormwater challenges as they respond to a changing climate. Nature-based solutions reduce urban flooding risk and CSOs, and the EIB reduces Buffalo’s financial risk,” said Eric Letsinger, CEO, Quantified Ventures. “It’s a winning combination!"
Like DC and Atlanta, Buffalo will also seek to incorporate economic and community goals as part of the Rain Check 2.0 program, and the EIB used to capitalize it. “We want to see the city transformed at the end of this process, in terms of stormwater management, equity, and innovation,” said Oluwole McFoy, General Manager of the Buffalo Sewer Authority. “Our Rain Check 2.0 Opportunity Report along with this EIB allows us to invest in our neighborhoods, increase green jobs and economic prosperity for our residents while directly addressing climate change.”
“Our foundation is excited to support the implementation of the City of Buffalo’s Rain Check 2.0 program,” said Jim Boyle, Vice President of Programs and Communications for the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. “These types of projects provide sustainable solutions that can reduce flooding, improve water quality and have a wide range of economic, environmental and public health benefits. Proactively incorporating these types of solutions in new developments, as well as the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, highlight the City of Buffalo’s strategic approach to address some of the effects of climate change.”
“We deeply appreciate our project sponsors, namely the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and of course, the Great Lakes Protection Fund, for their support. Their contribution will enable more than a hundred-fold investment in climate-resilient infrastructure in the region,” says Sanjiv Sinha, PhD., Water Resources National Director, Senior Vice President at ECT. “Buffalo joins a growing number of cities leveraging the EIB as a means to gain access to an emerging field of impact investors who seek not only financial returns, but also measurable environmental impact.”
Related Stories
| Feb 15, 2011
New Urbanist Andrés Duany: We need a LEED Brown rating
Andrés Duany advocates a "LEED Brown" rating that would give contractors credit for using traditional but low cost measures that are not easy to quantify or certify. He described these steps as "the original green," and "what we did when we didn't have money." Ostensibly, LEED Brown would be in addition to the current Silver, Gold and Platinum ratings.
| Feb 14, 2011
Sustainable Roofing: A Whole-Building Approach
According to sustainability experts, the first step toward designing an energy-efficient roofing system is to see roof materials and systems as an integral component of the enclosure and the building as a whole. Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Feb 14, 2011
More companies willing to pay extra for green office space
New CoreNet Global/Jones Lang LaSalle survey shows real estate executives forging green strategies that balance environmental, financial and workforce issues.
| Feb 11, 2011
Sustainable features on the bill for dual-building performing arts center at Soka University of America
The $73 million Soka University of America’s new performing arts center and academic complex recently opened on the school’s Aliso Viejo, Calif., campus. McCarthy Building Companies and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects collaborated on the two-building project. One is a three-story, 47,836-sf facility with a grand reception lobby, a 1,200-seat auditorium, and supports spaces. The other is a four-story, 48,974-sf facility with 11 classrooms, 29 faculty offices, a 150-seat black box theater, rehearsal/dance studio, and support spaces. The project, which has a green roof, solar panels, operable windows, and sun-shading devices, is going for LEED Silver.
| Feb 11, 2011
Kentucky’s first green adaptive reuse project earns Platinum
(FER) studio, Inglewood, Calif., converted a 115-year-old former dry goods store in Louisville, Ky., into a 10,175-sf mixed-use commercial building earned LEED Platinum and holds the distinction of being the state’s first adaptive reuse project to earn any LEED rating. The facility, located in the East Market District, houses a gallery, event space, offices, conference space, and a restaurant. Sustainable elements that helped the building reach its top LEED rating include xeriscaping, a green roof, rainwater collection and reuse, 12 geothermal wells, 81 solar panels, a 1,100-gallon ice storage system (off-grid energy efficiency is 68%) and the reuse and recycling of construction materials. Local firm Peters Construction served as GC.
| Feb 11, 2011
Justice center on Fall River harbor serves up daylight, sustainable elements, including eucalyptus millwork
Located on historic South Main Street in Fall River, Mass., the Fall River Justice Center opened last fall to serve as the city’s Superior and District Courts building. The $85 million facility was designed by Boston-based Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc., with Dimeo Construction as CM and Arup as MEP. The 154,000-sf courthouse contains nine courtrooms, a law library, and a detention area. Most of the floors have the same ceiling height, which will makes them easier to reconfigure in the future as space needs change. Designed to achieve LEED Silver, the facility’s elliptical design offers abundant natural daylight and views of the harbor. Renewable eucalyptus millwork is one of the sustainable features.
| Feb 10, 2011
Zero Energy Buildings: When Do They Pay Off in a Hot and Humid Climate?
There’s lots of talk about zero energy as the next big milestone in green building. Realistically, how close are we to this ambitious goal? At this point, the strategies required to get to zero energy are relatively expensive. Only a few buildings, most of them 6,000 sf or less, mostly located in California and similar moderate climates, have hit the mark. What about larger buildings, commercial buildings, more problematic climates? Given the constraints of current technology and the comfort demands of building users, is zero energy a worthwhile investment for buildings in, for example, a warm, humid climate?
| Feb 9, 2011
Fortune 1000: Despite moral obligation to sustainability, cash is still king
Eighty-eight percent of Fortune 1000 senior executives feel business has a moral responsibility, beyond regulatory requirements, to make their companies more energy efficient, according to a new poll released today by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Schneider Electric. At the same time, the vast majority (61%) of respondents say that potential cost savings are their biggest motivator to save energy at the enterprise-level, outranking environmental concerns (13%) or government regulations (2%).
| Feb 9, 2011
Businesses make bigger, bolder sustainability commitments
In 2010, U.S. corporations continued to enhance their sustainable business efforts by making bigger, bolder, longer-term sustainability commitments. GreenBiz issued its 4th annual State of Green Business report, a free downloadable report that measures the progress of U.S. business and the economy from an environmental perspective, and highlights key trends in corporate culture in regard to the environment.
| Feb 7, 2011
President Obama cites PPG glass, coatings in Penn State speech
President Barack Obama yesterday acknowledged PPG Industries as a leader in the development of high-performance glass and coatings for energy-efficient buildings during a visit to Penn State University that kicked off the U.S. government’s “Better Buildings Initiative.’
