As the world grows ever more connected, access to financial tools has expanded dramatically. Today, 79% of adults worldwide have a bank account, an increase from 51% in 2011. This is a remarkable gain.
Historically, most utility capital investments focused on regulated generation and transmission assets that provided the basis for customer rates structures and returns. But the growing interconnectivity within utility assets and electric distribution networks now requires a more holistic approach to planning, and many regulators are requiring utilities to invest in distribution under similar reliability mandates to those governing generation and transmission markets.
PLAINFIELD, Ind., April 19, 2017 /3BL Media/ – PaperWorks Industries has made a strategic investment of approximately $3.5 million to reduce its energy consumption at its Wabash operations. The result earned the company a $1.13 million incentive payment from Duke Energy’s Smart$aver® Custom program, which helps reduce the purchase and installation costs of high-efficiency equipment.
KeyBank has provided a $6.5 million bridge loan to Harmony Housing, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing safe, clean and comfortable affordable rental housing throughout the United States. Key has provided financing solutions to Harmony Housing since 2014, financing 25 of its last 28 transactions.
“The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which continues, has implications beyond the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. It is a fight for everyone who wants clean air, clean water, and gender equality. As governments increasingly prove incapable or unwilling to protect these things, citizens are turning to the market and the market is responding.”
Answering the call for increasing energy self-reliance, a grassroots electricity-sharing model is emerging. “Community microgrids,” comprising community-owned or subscribed solar PV and other renewable energy sources, offer participants and surrounding consumers the security of energy resilience in times of grid failure and protection from energy price increases driven by volatile energy markets.
We must make lending decisions in which we effectively balance the needs of our customers and prospective customers with the interests of our other stakeholders. Determining which industries or companies within a particular industry we should lend to isn’t always easy. Another challenge is balancing the long-term payback of CSR with Wall Street’s focus on the next quarter.
Launching next week, we teamed up with Jeff Johnson, a well-known photographer of California adventure culture, for our We Wear Fair Trade photo series to honor a few of the individuals and brands who are making a bold, collective commitment to value the people who make our clothes.
Much attention has been paid to the concept that global warming will cause a dramatic drop in the value of carbon
reserves. A major shift towards non-carbon-based energy and non-carbon feedstocks for chemical processes could “strand” assets tied to oil drilling, coal mining, and fracking activities. Various groups have tried to quantify the downside risk to energy companies, if the response to climate change occurs.
However, there are other assets that climate change could strand. And, there are other sustainability trends that could result in stranding other types of assets. Both corporate managers and investors should probably examine these risks, too.
Join us as we travel the world to uncover real stories of impact—from landfills and energy transition to workplace safety, emerging contaminants, and...
Join us as we travel the world to uncover real stories of impact—from landfills and energy transition to workplace safety, emerging contaminants, and...
The SCS Kingfisher certification mark is showing up on an increasing number of products around the world. It differentiates companies that are making...
Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator with a clear purpose to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. See how embedding...
