Harvard University, MA Green Campus Loan Fund

Type: Program

Status: Launched in 2001

Source File: http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/gclf/

Description:

What is the Green Campus Loan Fund?
The Green Campus Loan Fund provides capital for high performance campus design, operations, maintenance and occupant behavior projects. Basic project eligibility guidelines state that projects must reduce the University’s environmental impacts and have a payback period of 5-10 years or less. The model is simple: GCLF provides the up-front capital. Applicant departments agree to repay the fund via savings achieved by project-related reductions in utility consumption, waste removal or operating costs. This formula allows departments to upgrade the efficiency, comfort, and functionality of their facilities without incurring any capital costs.

Loan Fund Criteria and Eligibility Requirements
We recommend that project proponents contact the HGCI staff at project conception to benefit from a range of support services and to align project direction with the GCLF criteria. This pre-application conversation will lead to a smooth application and review process.

Projects will be evaluated on their ability to contribute to one or more of the following areas of consideration:

• Greenhouse gas reductions
• Energy conservation
• Water conservation
• Sewage and storm water output reductions
• All types of pollution reduction

• Hazardous waste
• Solid waste
• Liquid waste
• Gaseous emissions

• Operations improvements that decrease environmental impacts
• Environmental procurement practices
• Environmental leadership development within the University
• Number of individuals with improved environmental literacy and increased levels of participation in conservation activities
• Education of and reputation building with surrounding community

Assessing your project's Loan Fundability

The Criteria
Projects that will be considered for GCLF review must meet both of the following core criteria, with exceptions and qualifications noted below:

• Projects must generate infrastructure or behavioral improvements that directly decrease Harvard University's current environmental impact. These projects must demonstrate an innovative design and implementation approach. Projects that are part of scheduled or routine maintenance will not be eligible for consideration unless they demonstrate environmentally beneficial design innovation.
• Projects must have a payback period of five years or less. (see exceptions below)

Eligibility Exceptions and Qualifications

• Loan Funded applicants can include any rebates in end calculations of pay back periods (a rebate from an energy utility can reduce a 6 year payback period to 5 years, making the project eligible for loan funding).
• Loans of up to $20,000 are available for Feasibility Studies supporting early project start-up efforts. Feasibility loans must either be repaid within 2 years or rolled into a repayment schedule of any loan funded project resulting from the feasibility assessment.
• Loan funding is available for Photovoltaic (PV) Projects in support of renewable energy at Harvard University. Loans must still be repaid within 5 years even though actual pay back periods are much longer for PV.
• "Project bundling" allows funding applicants to apply for one loan fund for multiple projects. The terms of this agreement are that the total payback period of the bundled projects cannot exceed 5 years. For example an applicant may apply for one loan to fund two projects including a 2 year payback lighting project and a 6 year payback ventilation upgrade as long as the combined payback does not exceed five years. The intention of this concept is to leverage very low payback projects to enable projects with longer paybacks.