Environmental Stewardship Initiative

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.

Examples of Environmental Stewardship Successes to Date:

 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.

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 provide quality “green collar” jobs where workers can develop useful skills in growing industries.  Success stories include Shimar Recycling and Blue Ridge Biofuels.

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.

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.

Plans To Enhance Our Environmental Stewardship:

Self-Help is further “pushing the envelope” in energy efficient, healthy, and environmentally friendly home construction.  In 2008 we are completing construction on the winning design from a sustainable house design competition sponsored by Advanced Energy.  The home will include 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. Read more about the Sustainable Design House.

We are increasing the focus on energy efficiency and green building in our commercial real estate program.  With 15 buildings under management and two more under development, Self-Help has the opportunity to reduce its carbon footprint while exploring the cost/benefit practicality of green building in the historic renovation.  We are improving the energy efficiency of our existing buildings, and we will seek LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for our next project, a historic mill building in rural North Carolina.  LEED is a widely-recognized standard for green building that is independently certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

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 still in the development stages, but we envision a program that provides affordable loans for energy efficient renovations, including heating/air system upgrades, improvements in lighting efficiency, solar thermal hot water systems, and simple improvements to modular classrooms.