Self-Help Perspectives - Issue 3
Self-Help's quarterly newsletter, September 2008
Economics, Equity, and the Environment
The low-wealth people and 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, decrease quality of life, and lead to general physical deterioration in communities. Unfortunately, solutions to national environmental problems, such as land preservation, sustainable business development, and renewable energy production often do not benefit disadvantaged communities.
In response to this disparity, Self-Help is increasing its efforts to implement Triple Bottom Line (TBL) 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.
Read more about Self-Help's specific accomplishments and future plans for environmental stewardship
Success Story: Blue Ridge Biofuels
Keeping valuable resources in the local economy
A few years ago, in a little shed tucked away on a farm near the Blue Ridge Mountains, a small group of people started to work on some very big things. Their operation was simple but their vision was far-reaching. They'd visit local restaurants to gather waste vegetable oil and then process it into biodiesel with a reactor, which was little more than a modified 55-gallon drum. Biodiesel, made from plant oils and animal fats, is a clean-burning, biodegradable, alternative fuel. It can be used in a variety of applications, from heating a home to powering a car.
Building Green and Affordable
N.C. Sustainable Design Winner nears completion
After months of brainstorming, researching and designing an affordable, environmentally sustainable house, on April 21, 2007, 53 teams of architecture students from nine different schools across the state gathered in the N.C. Museum of Life and Science for the N.C. Sustainable Design Competition. The museum was bursting with the energy and enthusiasm of students hoping their design would win. The stakes were high. The first place winner would receive a $3,000 cash prize, represent North Carolina in the National U.S. Green Building Council's Emerging Green Builder Design Competition, and have their design built by Self-Help at 1020 Kent Street in Durham's Lyon Park neighborhood. The students brought their best new ideas and creative design solutions to the table.
Featured Partner: Advanced Energy
Self-Help Partnership with Advanced Energy Yields Savings for Homeowners
"Affordable housing" means more than a low mortgage payment. The experience of building and renovating 102 affordable homes has taught Self-Help that low utility bills are vitally important for low-income homeowners. With a commitment to maximize savings for our homebuyers, we have since 2004 participated in a groundbreaking energy efficiency and indoor air quality program called "SystemVision." The program is the brainchild of Advanced Energy, a North Carolina non-profit organization founded in 1980 to investigate and implement new energy technologies. Advanced Energy technicians provide design and construction support and verify the energy efficiency and health standards of the homes that Self-Help builds.
A $200 or $300 utility bill can easily break the budget of a middle-income family, not to mention a low-income single mother who is already struggling to pay the bills. SystemVision guarantees a specific level of energy savings, based on analysis of individual building plans and standards. If a year's energy bills exceed the guaranteed level, Advanced Energy pays the difference to the homeowner. The homes certified within the program deliver 15 percent lower utility bills, driven largely by a 40 percent reduction in heating and air conditioning costs. In addition, Advanced Energy is working at a scale that has real impact on greenhouse gas and other pollutant emissions, with more than 1,500 home certified under the program. SystemVision is a true "triple bottom line" effort-helping the environment while providing real economic benefit and peace of mind to the families who need it most.
Learn more about Advanced Energy.
Featured Borrower: Far Southwest-Southeast Community Development Corporation
Self-Help Works With Partners to Finance an Environmentally Responsible Retail Redevelopment
Far Southwest-Southeast Community Development Corporation (Far SW-SE CDC) is a faith-based non-profit that has spend nine years working to revive the low-income Bellevue neighborhood of Washington, DC. A lynchpin of their effort is Trinity Plaza, a highly visible retail shopping center redevelopment that is a particularly well-rounded example of community development. The ground floor will provide offices for two non-profit organizations and retail space for local businesses. Upstairs, the project's 42 condominiums will be equally split among market rate, moderateincome, and low-income units.
The CDC's comprehensive approach doesn't end with economic and social impact. Trinity Plaza will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, based on an independent assessment by the U.S. Green Building Council that will attest to the project's environmental responsibility. The project will include features such as high efficiency lighting and appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures, a highly insulated building envelope, and a "green" roof that will minimize water runoff.
Trinity Plaza will demonstrate that environmental impacts do not work in isolation. Homeowners, businesses, and community organizations will benefit from lower utility bills, proving that green building can significantly reduce environmental impact and have real bottom-line benefits for residents and the community.
Self-Help stepped in with flexible early-stage financing, but others partners are providing much larger pieces of the financial puzzle. Enterprise Community Partners, City First Bank of DC, the Washington DC Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development will each play a critical role. This breadth of support demonstrates the growing recognition that environmental concerns can and should be integrated into community development efforts.
Self-Help is a community development lender and real estate developer headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with offices throughout the state and in Washington, DC, and California. Visit our Locations Map for contact information or email us with your comments.
Self-Help: Creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for people of color, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families and communities.
