News

The Challenge in the New York Times!

February 7, 2015

The Sustainable Endowments Institute and its flagship project, the Billion Dollar Green Challenge, were featured in the New York Times “Fixes” column on Friday, February 6 in the article, “Investing in Energy Efficiency Pays Off” and became the third most emailed article on the NYT! Read what the people are emailing about here.

SEI Announces New Partnerships with MiAPPA and IGEN

February 3, 2015

It’s January 2015, and we’re back in action after the holiday break. Now that we find ourselves in a new year, SEI is looking ahead to see what the field of sustainability needs and how we can amplify the good work that is already being done on the ground at institutions, organizations, and campuses across North America. But first, some exciting announcements!

Meet The Challenge at AASHE 2014

October 16, 2014

The Billion Dollar Green Challenge team is excited to participate in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE’s) 2014 conference in Portland, Oregon in less than two weeks! Find out where we’ll be presenting here.

The Challenge Featured on NPR

August 19, 2014

On August 6, National Public Radio’s Marketplace, hosted by David Brancaccio, featured the Billion Dollar Green Challenge as a “compelling idea.” Read the full article and listen to Executive Director Mark Orlowski’s on-air interview here.

Launch of GRITS 1.0, GRITS Affiliates

April 22, 2014

PRESS RELEASE — “GRITS will level the playing field,” said Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute. “Now, schools, colleges, hospitals and municipalities can more easily manage complex energy projects that previously required the extensive resources of large corporations and institutions.” Read more.

New Web App to Save Energy, Money

April 15, 2014

On Earth Day (April 22) SEI will launch the full Green Revolving Investment Tracking System (GRITS) 1.0 webtool and introduce the new GRITS Affiliates Program, open to all institutions and organizations in the United States and Canada. Learn more.

First hospital system and four other institutions commit to $1 million revolving funds each

March 12, 2014

In the past month, five more institutions joined the Billion Dollar Green Challenge, including a healthcare system and a secondary school. Each committed to capitalizing a $1 million green revolving fund (GRF) at their institution, with several hoping to grow their fund even beyond that target. Read on.

Four Schools to Join The Billion Dollar Green Challenge

December 4, 2013

We are excited to announce four institutions joining The Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Champlain College, the University of La Verne, Portland State University, and Pine Cobble School. The Challenge now includes a total of 41 institutions participating with a combined total of $75 million invested in self-managed green revolving funds (GRFs).

Webinar on Submetering in Green Revolving Fund Management

December 3, 2013

At 3pm EST on Tuesday, December 10, SEI will host Measurement and Verification: Submetering in Green Revolving Fund Management. This will be the first of The Billion Dollar Green Challenge’s new webinar series. This webinar will feature Jim Gudjonson from Thompson Rivers University and Matt O’Keefe from the University of New Hampshire who will present on building submetering methods.

Leading the Way in Sustainability

November 20, 2013

SEI Senior Research Fellows Shoshana Blank and Max Storto authored an article on green revolving funds in the October-December 2013 issue of the Planning for Higher Education Journal.