IEA: EDF Initiative to Spur Global Energy Efficiency Finance Market in Building Sector

(NEW YORK – October 8, 2014) The International Energy Agency (IEA) today is spotlighting a signature energy efficiency initiative of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) as a program that will “facilitate a global market for financings by institutional investors that look to rely on standardized products” in the commercial building sector. IEA, a global organization for 29 member countries, highlighted EDF’s Investor Confidence Project in its annual Energy Efficiency Market Report 2014, noting its ability to standardize project development and estimate energy savings.

“By standardizing how projects are developed and savings estimates are calculated, EDF’s Investor Confidence Project can increase investor and building owner confidence in energy savings,” said Andy Darrell, Chief of Strategy for EDF’s US Climate and Energy Program. “We are encouraged that the IEA report not only acknowledges growing interest by the financial community in the solid returns of the energy efficiency market, but also profiles an exciting EDF initiative aimed at breaking down one of the sector’s most significant barriers.”

Representing nearly 40 percent of all energy consumption in the United States and Europe, the building sector arguably offers the greatest untapped opportunity to save money on electricity bills and reduce harmful pollution that accelerates the pace of climate change. Improving the commercial building sector’s energy efficiency by modernizing the way building energy is managed presents an enormous opportunity to cut costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Investor Confidence Project is enabling a market for Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ projects by reducing transaction costs and engineering overhead while increasing the reliability and consistency of savings. ICP takes the variability out of the process by leveraging best practices for each phase of an energy retrofit and credentialing projects through third-party review. The result is a commercial building sector with lower operating costs, higher market value, and a significantly lower carbon footprint.

ICP has been gaining traction in the United States, where it has partnered with hundreds of private sector allies, including energy service providers, building owners, and finance companies, and is currently in use by Connecticut’s Green Bank and Texas’ Commercial property-assessed clean energy (PACE) programs. Next month, EDF will launch ICP in Europe, capitalizing on the size and maturity of the European energy efficiency sector. For more information on ICP, visit www.EEperformance.org.