Cleveland Clinic announced the establishment of a $7.5 million Green Revolving Fund — the largest of its kind among U.S. healthcare systems, it says.
Energy-efficiency projects pull money from the fund, which then is replenished by reinvesting the savings from reduced energy consumption as well as rebates.
Nationally, the $7.5 million annual commitment, announced during the Better Buildings Summit in Washington, D.C., is one of the largest in any business sector.
“The establishment of this fund strengthens Cleveland Clinic's commitment to reducing our energy usage and serves as a catalyst for future projects to further reduce our impact on the environment,” said Jon Utech, senior director for Cleveland Clinic's Office for a Healthy Environment, in a statement. “As a leader in health care, we are continually looking for ways to improve the health of the communities we serve and reduce our operating costs in order to make care more affordable for our patients.”
The dedicated fund will help drive the clinic's commitment to sustainability and energy conservation, including the goal of reducing energy intensity by 20% by 2020, which is part of President Barack Obama's Better Buildings Challenge, according to a news release.
As part of the challenge, the clinic reduced its energy demand by 12.3% through the end of 2015 by using Energy Star-rated lighting appliances and equipment, making targeted investments, improving energy efficiency of existing buildings through optimization of building systems and other projects.
“We are honored to welcome the Cleveland Clinic to the Billion Dollar Green Challenge and are excited about their commitment to developing the largest green revolving fund in the healthcare field,” said Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, in a statement.
“We're enthusiastic that more hospitals will follow their leading example and commit to investing in deeper building energy efficiency through self-managed green revolving funds to reap significant financial and environmental benefits,” he said.
The green fund is part of the Sustainable Endowments Institute's Billion Dollar Green Challenge, which encourages colleges, universities, and other nonprofit institutions to invest in self-managed green revolving funds. The goal is to create a combined $1 billion in funding.
So far through the challenge, 57 institutions have committed a total of $117 million to energy efficiency upgrades by developing such funds.
"Cleveland Clinic establishes $7.5 million Green Revolving Fund" originally appeared in Crain's Cleveland Business.