Portland State University

Portland State University Green Revolving Fund

The Portland State University (PSU) Green Revolving Fund supports energy reduction and climate action goals while further advancing PSU’s leadership in sustainable practices. Through an initial investment of $500,000, the fund will be used to implement efficiency projects and will be reimbursed through savings in the campus utilities budget. Projects will be selected by a committee based on the criteria below.

Required:

• Return on investment – provides a measurable, fiscally responsible benefit measured by savings in the utilities budget.  Payback must be within 10 years.
• Condition – prioritizes deferred maintenance that improves the condition of a building and results in resource conservation.
• Environmental benefit – demonstrates reduction in environmental impact and improved environmental quality.

Preferred:

• Impact – serves the greatest number of campus constituents.
• Encourage education – creates opportunities to showcase best practices in resource conservation.
• Inform and innovate – provides data to inform campus sustainability efforts.
• Promote institutional vision  – leverages sustainability programs and illustrates sustainability leadership.
• Economies of scale  – maximizes funds and minimizes disruption by coordinating with existing construction and maintenance work.
• Measurement and verification – leverages existing mechanisms for verifying energy savings.

The higher education participants in The Challenge are managed by Second Nature. To learn more about how Second Nature plans to expand use of GRFs in higher education, visit their page!