Marketing is an essential ingredient for the success of energy efficiency finance. But too often, finance and efficiency experts focus on technical and financial issues and underestimate the importance of marketing. Using best practices in marketing is necessary to drive demand to the high levels state goals require.

At a New England Clean Energy Council panel (more…)

A quick survey of cleantech advances in Europe shows that it’s easier than ever for individuals and private households to live the cleantech lifestyle without sacrificing comfort or convenience. And while we may not think our individual decisions matter, we all know that when it comes to resources, we’re factoring these choices by 7 billion these days. Even your choice to (more…)

Whether driven by a genuine desire to reduce their environmental footprint, or simply to insulate themselves against rising costs, energy efficiency is becoming a significant organizational goal for many companies around the country. In order to achieve these goals, businesses are looking for direction on how they can have their buildings’ designed and/or (more…)

The US consumer wants food to be fresh, local and organic. But that means larger grocery bills in an economy where most people need them to be smaller.

As the New York Times tells it, 20-somethings, just out of college, feel the squeeze the most. They are more intent on Whole Foods-style eating than their predecessors, but less able to afford it. (See “The (more…)

Energy benchmarking can unlock $9 billion in energy savings by 2020, suggests a recent report by the Institute of Market Transformation. Despite our lofty aspirations of energy independence and tackling global climate change, we are only beginning to implement the first step in the multifamily building sector – understanding our energy use. Multifamily (more…)

The economic premise behind energy efficiency – that it’s cheaper to save a unit of energy than to make one – has caught on in the US. Energy efficiency spending is up, and our energy use is declining, measured both per capita and per dollar of gross domestic product, according to government figures.

So it is not surprising to see the year begin with (more…)

On January 1, 2013, the U.S. Congress passed last minute legislation known as the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 to avoid automatic increases in income taxes for millions of Americans, as well as draconian cuts to the budget of the federal government, that many feared would plunge the nation’s economy back into recession.  (more…)

California holds the unofficial title of greenest of US states. But Massachusetts might swipe the crown if it keeps up its current pace investing in green energy.

For those in the energy efficiency industry, Massachusetts is a state to watch for opportunity. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has named Massachusetts the top state (more…)

This article has been written to help time-poor but environmentally conscious homeowners and small business bosses make an informed choice about flat roofing materials.

Divided into sections, it looks at five common flat roofing products and examines their energy efficiency in terms of three things: insulation, projected life-cycle and manufacturing process. (more…)

According to a new study presented by the Renovate Europe Campaign, weatherizing European buildings in an important way could boost local GDP by up to 291 billion Euros ($370 billion) by 2017.

Furthermore, gross annual investments of €41 to €78 billion per year in the EU could bring ongoing annual (more…)