F.A.Q.

Question: What is the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities?

Answer: The next generation of Enterprise Green Communities has two parts. First, it is a five-year, $4 billion commitment to take to scale our lessons since 2004 and to green everything we do. It includes:

• A national protocol for retrofitting existing buildings. Demonstrations are underway in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Ohio and Portland, Ore.
• A data platform that will track operational (water, energy usage, carbon emissions and indoor air quality) and financial metrics for buildings to ensure they perform as expected.
• Retrofit fund(s) that will be lent to existing multifamily building owners for energy- and water-reduction capital purchases, such as boilers, water heaters, improved insulation and other enhancements. These features will reduce the consumption of energy and potable water usage as well as improve indoor air quality.
• The development of green equity funds, such as the new Enterprise Green Communities West Coast Equity Fund, which offers financial institutions, developers and other investors the opportunity to put their capitol to work developing more sustainable communities.
• Enterprise Green Communities New Markets Tax Credit Program, enhances financing for commercial and mixed-use developments that help build vibrant and economically sustainable communities.
• The Enterprise Green Communities Offset Fund, raises charitable contributions to purchase additional carbon emissions reductions from developers creating healthy, energy-efficient affordable homes for people in need.
• Enterprise Homes, Enterprise’s regional developer of affordable and mixed-income rental and homeownership communities, which builds all developments to meet or exceed the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria.
• Multifamily debt and equity financing that capitalizes energy, water and health improvements.

The next generation of Enterprise Green Communities is also a call to action for America’s public, private and nonprofit sectors to make all affordable housing – new and existing – green by 2020.

Question: Why is the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities so focused on retrofitting existing buildings?

Answer: Our initial five years of Green Communities started with a focus on greening Low-Income Housing Tax-Credit investments, most of which involved  newly constructed affordable housing. We now know how to green new and substantially rehabilitated housing–and have made significant progress greening moderately rehabilitated housing–through the implementation of the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria. More than 30 million U.S. households live in substandard housing. Anything that can be done to make these buildings healthier and more water conserving and energy efficient will greatly improve the lives of residents.

In addition, existing buildings emit 21 percent of total U.S. CO₂ emissions. Installing energy efficiency measures can significantly reduce emissions while also reducing operating costs.

Also, retrofitting is inherently green. Recent calculations indicate that it takes approximately 65 years for an energy-efficient new building to save the amount of energy lost in demolishing an existing building. Now is the time for specific tools and a unique program to retrofit existing properties. Enterprise is uniquely positioned to deliver these solutions.

Question: How will the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities help meet the nation’s needs?

Answer: Enterprise is focused on assembling the multiple components needed for a retrofit – from an initial building performance assessment, to construction bidding, to installation and to securing subsidy and financing improvements. In short, we will provide a turnkey retrofit solution for building owners.

Question: What is the study, Incremental Cost, Measurable Savings: Enterprise Green Communities Criteria about?

Answer: This study answers the two hotly debated questions: How much does it cost to meet the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, and what are the financial cost savings? A study of 27 Green Communities projects conducted by Enterprise Community Partners provides in-depth answers to both questions.

Question: How are Enterprise and Enterprise Green Communities related?

Answer: Enterprise Green Communities is Enterprise’s commitment to creating green affordable housing and community and commercial buildings nationwide. Enterprise wants everything it touches – our capital, products, the homes we build and preserve, and our operations – to be green by 2013.

Question: Why is Enterprise launching the next generation of Green Communities now?

Answer: We spent the first five years of this initiative learning what works and piloting solutions to show taht green and affordable could be one and the same. Now it’s time to take that learning and experience to scale and make all affordable housing in the United States green. The need is urgent and the benefits are clear. Enterprise has the experience and expertise to deliver the health, economic and environmental benefits of green affordable housing to communities across the country. With a national agenda focused on correcting the housing crisis and transitioning to a green economy, greening all affordable housing – both new and existing – is more important than ever, and the time for action is now.

Question: What communities will the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities affect?

Answer: While Enterprise operates nationwide, the next generation of Green Communities will largely focus on the eight Enterprise Impact Markets: Washington, D.C.; New York City; Baltimore; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Ohio; the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) and the Gulf Coast.

Question: Who are the partners involved with the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities?

Answer: Partners include the Bank of America, Citi, Home Depot Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, The Kendeda Fund, Kresge Foundation, the Oak Hill Fund, Surdna Foundation, and many other public, private and philanthropic entities.

Question: What are the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria?

Answer: The Green Communities Criteria are the nation’s only comprehensive framework for bringing the health, economic and environmental benefits of green to affordable housing — to date, nearly 16,000 homes in 360 development projects around the country meet the Criteria. HUD has adopted the Green Communities Criteria as a requirement for capital grant funding for public housing authorities. The states of Minnesota, Washington and Iowa, along with the cities of San Francisco, Cleveland, Miami, Denver and the District of Columbia also have adopted the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria. Many others, such as Cambridge, Mass., are in the process of adopting the Criteria. In addition, at least 40 state housing finance agencies have adopted portions of the Green Communities Criteria as part of their scoring systems for awarding allocations of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

Question: How did Enterprise Green Communities begin?

Answer: Enterprise launched Green Communities in 2004 as a five-year, $555 million initiative to create 8,500 green homes and to show that green and affordable could be one and the same. We exceeded our own goals by investing more than $700 million in nearly 16,000 green affordable homes. The next generation of Enterprise Green Communities will work to scale our efforts nationwide.