Environmental Stewardship Initiative
Economics, Equity, and the Environment
The low-wealth communities we serve are often disproportionately impacted by environmental issues. Low-income people are more likely to live in energy inefficient homes, attend schools with poor indoor air quality, and live or work near waste dumps and industrial polluters. These conditions cause health problems such as asthma and cancer, increase the cost of living, and decrease quality of life. Unfortunately, solutions to national environmental problems, such as land preservation, sustainable business development, and renewable energy production often do not benefit disadvantaged communities.
Self-Help implements Triple Bottom Line solutions, which strive for community impact in three interrelated areas: 1) Social equity, by insuring benefits flow to low-wealth communities and people; 2) Economic development, in the form of wealth-and income-building opportunities; and 3) Environmental benefits, by building and financing more energy efficient and healthy homes, schools, and workplaces, and by supporting businesses working to sustain the environment.
Although our traditional focus has been on social equity and economic development, our work has always considered environmental impacts as well.
Examples of Environmental Stewardship Successes
Green Term Certificates (CDs):
When you open a Green CD with Self-Help Credit Union, you are helping to support the wide range of sustainable development projects that Self-Help finances. Our Green term certificates offer competitive rates, guaranteed dividends (interest earned), and the satisfaction of putting your investments behind efforts you believe in.
Home Energy Loans:
The Western North Carolina Green Building Council assists Buncombe County homeowners to upgrade the energy efficiency of their houses. Called Neighbor Saves, the program brings together neighbors, friends, co-workers and community groups to work together to complete energy-efficiency improvements on each others’ homes, under expert supervision. Due to the mutual contributions of labor, the out-of-pocket costs per household are anticipated to be only $500 to $1,000. Self-Help administers a revolving loan fund so that participants can borrow funds to complete their projects.
Residential Real Estate Development:
The affordable homes we build meet state-of-the-art energy efficiency standards, resulting in very low heating and cooling costs-- only $30 per month for our typical homeowner. These energy savings add up to a substantial reduction in greenhouse gases, typically one ton per year for every house we build, equivalent to 3,500 miles worth of automotive emissions.
In addition, we focus on the innovative use of infill housing in cities and small towns, to avoid the negative impacts of sprawling development. Altogether, these strategies benefit the environment and low-wealth families by providing affordable mortgage payments, guaranteed low utility bills, and savings on gasoline expenses due to shorter commutes.
In partnership with Advanced Energy, we constructed the Sustainable Design House. The home includes passive solar construction, water-efficient plumbing and landscaping, and attention to locally distributed and produced materials, all integrated in a design that blends with the existing neighborhood.
Commercial Lending:
We provide business loans that enable low-wealth entrepreneurs to capitalize on sustainable business opportunities, such as ecotourism, recycling, environmental technology, green retail, and renewable energy. In addition to significant environmental benefits, many of these businesses and projects provide quality “green collar” jobs where workers can develop useful skills in growing industries. Success stories include Shimar Recycling and Blue Ridge Biofuels. Learn more about Self-Help's green commercial loans.
Natural Resource Preservation:
To preserve a scenic woodland in Western North Carolina, Self-Help provided a $3 million bridge loan, working within an initiative that included the Open Space Institute, the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy, and private donors. The tract has been transferred to the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation to create a state park, ensuring that this land will be permanently accessible to the general public rather than developed for private use. Read more about the World’s Edge preservation project here.
Commercial Real Estate Development:
We renovate buildings in distressed downtown areas, an initiative that improves blighted structures, reduces demolition waste, decreases the use of new building materials by reusing old buildings, and supports pedestrian- and transit-friendly development. We’ve completed 15 projects totaling almost 500,000 square feet throughout North Carolina.
We have made energy efficiency improvements in the buildings we own and manage, including upgrades in heating and cooling, lighting, daylighting, and occupant awareness.
Triple Bottom Line Collaborative:
Self-Help is a founding member of the Triple Bottom Line Collaborative, a group of eleven community development lenders that invest in projects with environmental, social equity, and economic development impacts. The Collaborative’s innovative members share knowledge and resources, with the goal of increasing environmental benefits for disadvantaged communities across the country.
We are greening how we do business:
Self-Help staff who bike, walk, carpool or take mass transit to work receive parking rebates and other incentives. We work with a local office supplies vendor to specify recycled content and low-emitting products. We have installed video conferencing and remote desktop sharing to reduce the need to travel for meetings.
Self-Help invites you to join us in saving energy with these FAQs:
We are developing specialized energy efficiency lending that benefits disadvantaged communities:
Our microenterprise, charter school, childcare, and non-profit borrowers are likely to occupy low-cost, aging facilities with energy inefficiency and indoor air quality problems. These buildings can sap business profits, endanger the health of students or employees, and divert scarce funds from non-profit missions. We are working towards loan products that provide affordable loans for energy efficient renovations.
