Southface Energy Institute Inc

FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS, SOUTHFACE INSTITUTE, A NONPROFIT 501(C)3 ORGANIZATION, HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE RESEARCH, DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A REGENERATIVE ECONOMY, ONE THAT GIVES BACK MORE THAN IT USES. SOUTHFACE WORKS IN COLLABORATION WITH A NETWORK OF PARTNER NONPROFITS, BUSINESSES, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, UNIVERSITIES AND TECHNICAL EXPERTS TO IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABLE, HIGH-PERFORMANCE AND SCALABLE SOLUTIONS IN HOMES, WORKPLACES AND COMMUNITIES. OUR THREE OVERARCHING GOALS INCLUDE: 1) ACHIEVING CLIMATE MITIGATION AND RESILIENCE AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS; 2) INCREASING HEALTH AND EQUITY THROUGH IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT; AND 3) BUILDING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE AND WORKFORCE TO CATALYZE THE TRANSITION TO A REGENERATIVE ECONOMY.

GOODUSE: FOR OVER 13 YEARS, OUR GOODUSE PROGRAM HAS PARTNERED WITH OVER 300 NONPROFITS IN 27 STATES TO HELP THEM SAVE OVER 16.2 MILLION IN UTILITY COSTS WHILE REDUCING THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. USING TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND CONSULTATIVE AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE, AND WITH THE LEVERAGE OF MATCHING GRANT SUPPORT, WE UNCOVER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT WITHIN FACILITIES TO INCREASE RESOURCE EFFICIENCY. IMPORTANTLY, THE PROGRAM HAS REDUCED CO2 EMISSIONS BY OVER 89,000 METRIC TONS AND SAVED OVER 99 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER AND MORE THAN 131 MILLION KWH IN ELECTRICITY SINCE ITS INCEPTION. IN FACT, OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS SEE AN AVERAGE REDUCTION OF 30% IN UTILITY COSTS. THESE SAVINGS ARE REINVESTED IN THEIR MISSION-CRITICAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. FOR EXAMPLE, SAVINGS ACHIEVED BY PARTICIPATING BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS AND FOOD BANKS ARE SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO POSITIVELY IMPACT OVER 7,000 CHILDREN AND SERVE AN ADDITIONAL 1.7 MILLION MEALS TO PERSONS IN NEED. BUILDING ON OVER A DECADE OF SUCCESS, SOUTHFACE INSTITUTE WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND OUR IMPACT THROUGH THE GOODUSE PROGRAM - INCREASING RESOURCE EFFICIENCY THROUGH DELIVERING CONSULTATIVE TECHNICAL SERVICES AND MATCHING GRANTS TO NONPROFITS SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES AROUND THE NATION. IN 2020, WE ALSO LAUNCHED A PILOT TO LEVERAGE A GROUNDBREAKING FINANCING MECHANISM CALLED A SOLAR ENERGY PURCHASE AGREEMENT (SEPA) TO HELP THE SAE SCHOOL IN SOUTHWEST ATLANTA BECOME THE FIRST NET ZERO SCHOOL IN GEORGIA. EQUITABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY FOR ALL: OUR POLICY ADVOCACY TEAM SEEKS TO ADVANCE STATE AND LOCAL POLICIES THAT PROPEL THE CLEAN-ENERGY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY MOVEMENT FORWARD, AND THEN DEMONSTRATE THE POWER OF THOSE SOLUTIONS THROUGH STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERSHIPS WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE STAKEHOLDERS. WELL-DESIGNED POLICY CAN TRANSFORM THE MARKET FOR A CLEAN-ENERGY ECONOMY, AND WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS TO INFLUENCE DATA-DRIVEN, RIGOROUS APPROACHES TO ACHIEVE A LOW-CARBON FUTURE. WE FOCUS ON THREE KEY AREAS OF INFORMED STATE AND LOCAL POLICY TO LEVERAGE THE MOST IMPACT: 1) SPEED THE TRANSITION TO A REGENERATIVE ECONOMY BY ADVOCATING FOR AND SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EQUITABLE STATE AND LOCAL POLICIES AND COMMITMENTS TO CLEAN ENERGY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY; 2) EXPAND UTILITY-LED CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT AND REMOVE MARKET BARRIERS TO DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES, WORKING TO ENSURE HIGH ENERGY BURDENED, LMI, AND BIPOC COMMUNITIES ARE PRIORITIZED FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION; AND 3) INCREASE THE SCOPE, FINANCING AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CLIMATE RESILIENCE EFFORTS AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL, PRIORITIZING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AT GREATEST RISKS FROM CLIMATE IMPACTS AS A KEY FOCUS OF OUR POLICY WORK, WE HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ADVOCATING FOR INCLUSION OF CLIMATE AND EQUITY OUTCOMES IN QUALIFIED ALLOCATION PLANS (QAPS) ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST, WHICH DETERMINE TAX CREDIT ALLOWANCES FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS. SOME OF OUR RECENT SUCCESSES INCLUDE: 1) ORIGINALLY PROPOSED FOR REMOVAL, SOUTHFACE AND OUR PARTNERS SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATED TO RETAIN GREEN CERTIFICATIONS IN GEORGIA'S QAP THIS YEAR; 2) OUR ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION EFFORTS SUCCEEDED IN GENERATING NEW INTEREST IN GREEN CERTIFICATIONS IN ALABAMA, WHICH WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR INCLUSION IN THEIR 2022 QAP PROCESS; AND 3) WE SUCCESSFULLY INTRODUCED EARTHCRAFT, SOUTHFACE'S FIRST-TO-MARKET GREEN BUILDING STANDARD, AS AN ACCEPTED GREEN CERTIFICATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA'S QAP. SOUTHFACE BUILDS MORE EQUITABLE, RESILIENT COMMUNITIES, WORKING WITH MUNICIPALITIES AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES TO CREATE SUSTAINABILITY AND BUILD RESILIENCY BY PROMOTING RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES AND REGENERATIVE DESIGN INITIATIVES. PROGRAMS SUCH AS CCPRP (CARE AND CONSERVE PLUMBING REPAIR PROGRAM) REACH DIRECTLY INTO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES TO HELP WITH STORMWATER ISSUES AND MUNICIPAL WATER EFFICIENCY CHALLENGES, RESPECTIVELY. SOUTHFACE IS ALSO A LOCAL PARTNER OF THE CITY OF ATLANTA IN THE AMERICAN CITIES CLIMATE CHALLENGE, AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY FOR 25 AMBITIOUS CITIES TO SIGNIFICANTLY DEEPEN AND ACCELERATE THEIR EFFORTS TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE AND PROMOTE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THEIR RESIDENTS. TECHNICAL SERVICES & GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATIONS: SOUTHFACE INSTITUTE IS A TRUSTED RESOURCE FOR OWNERS, BUILDERS AND ARCHITECTS NAVIGATING THE BUILDING TEST OUT AND CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR MOST NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS, INCLUDING OUR OWN EARTHCRAFT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS LEED, NGBS AND ENTERPRISE GREEN COMMUNITIES. IN ADDITION, WE PROVIDE ON- SITE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND THE PHYSICAL INSPECTIONS AND VERIFICATIONS OFTEN REQUIRED FOR GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION. OUR BUILDING AUDITS AND ASSESSMENTS FOR ANY BUILDING OR HOME ARE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO EVALUATE THE SOURCE OF PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS AND THE COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS THAT BEST ADDRESS THEM. WE IMPACTED MORE THAN 71,000 HOMES AND 10,000 WORKPLACES, HELPING SAVE ON UTILITY BILLS AND IMPROVE INDOOR AIR QUALITY THROUGH OUR ASSESSMENTS, AUDITS AND OTHER TECHNICAL SUPPORT. THROUGH THAT WORK, WE'VE HELPED REDUCE WATER AND ELECTRICITY USE, AS WELL AS HARMFUL CLIMATE POLLUTION, HELPING BUILD TOWARD A REGENERATIVE FUTURE. WE ADVANCE REGENERATIVE BUILDING AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THROUGH THE FOLLOWING CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS: (1) "EARTHCRAFT-SOUTHFACE'S FAMILY OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS SERVES AS A BLUEPRINT FOR ENERGY, WATER AND RESOURCE-EFFICIENT BUILDINGS AND COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEAST. OVER THE COURSE OF EARTHCRAFT'S HISTORY, NEARLY 60,000 HOMES, MULTIFAMILY UNITS, LIGHT COMMERCIAL SPACES AND COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST. (2) "BIT BUILDING-- WITH ONLY ABOUT 15% OF U.S. BUILDINGS OPERATIONALLY ELIGIBLE FOR SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATIONS SUCH AS LEED OR ENERGY STAR, BIT BUILDING GIVES FACILITY OPERATORS AND MANAGERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPLEMENT PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR BUILDINGS REGARDLESS OF AGE OR CONDITION. BIT ADVISORS GUIDE THE ORGANIZATION THROUGH THE PROGRAM'S 16 BEST PRACTICES FOR RESOURCE SAVINGS AND OPTIMIZATION, AND THE ORGANIZATION DETERMINES WHICH PRACTICES TO IMPLEMENT FIRST. TRAINED BIT AIDES WORK WITH PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS TO MONITOR AND BENCHMARK BUILDING OPERATIONS, EVALUATE POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS AND ASSIST IN IMPLEMENTING A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN. SOUTHFACE PARTNERED WITH TWO LEADING TECH FIRMS, AMONG OTHERS, IMPACTING MORE THAN 11 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF BUILDING SPACE.