Greening Supportive Housing: Strategies for Sustainable Living

1. Connecting the Green Dots: Capital Upgrades, Benchmarking & Training The Supportive Housing Network of New York Greening Supportive Housing: What’s Next? By: Valerie Neng, Sustainability Manager, WHEDco Date: June 9, 2011

2. WHEDco: Who We Are, What We Do Green, Energy Efficient Homes Family Support and Housing Services Education and Youth Development Small Food Business Incubator Childcare Improvement Project Head Start Early Childhood Discovery Center

3. Urban Horizons is WHEDco’s flagship building. It is a historic building transformed from an abandoned hospital to a thriving community hub. • WHEDco opened Urban Horizons in 1997. This housing and economic development center includes: • 132 energy-efficient and affordable apartments • The Early Childhood Discovery Center, a Head Start program for 104 kids • Family Support social services • A commercial kitchen and incubator for local food businesses • The Institute for Primary Health, a healthcare center operated by a partner nonprofit Urban Horizons

4. Urban Horizons

5. Why Build Green? • WHEDco’s decision to go green was driven by the following factors: • Financial sustainability • Community health concerns, especially in the South Bronx • Global climate change and the need for drastic greenhouse gas emissions reductions

6. Financial Sustainability

7. Community Health Asthma emergency room visit rates in the Bronx were more than double the NYS average in 2005-2007. Average rates for NYC overall were much higher than NYS average. New York State Asthma Surveillance Summary Report - October 2007

8. Global Climate Change GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP: Global warming is an urgent concern. As building owners and operators, we must do our part to reduce our CO2 emissions. Buildings contribute 75% of all CO2 emissions in NYC. Why else should we green the kitchen?

9. Urban Horizons Retrofit Project Installed Measures Total initial investment of $71,785 with a simple payback of 2.2 years. We did a before-and-after analysis that showed tenants’ electricity bills went down 6.1% after the measures installed, while bills of other NYC residents went up 8.2%.

10. Urban Horizons Retrofit Project Total initial investment of $610,314 First year savings are projected at $125,843 Simple payback projected at less than 5 years

11. Retrofit Funding Sources

12. What’s Next? Benchmark and Measure Performance Once the buildings are retrofitted, how do you verify the projected consumption and cost savings? Benchmark and measure performance! + WHEDco is measuring actual performance of our buildings by collecting and analyzing utility data. The benchmark for heating energy usage at Urban Horizons is 10 BTU/SF/HDD. This is better than most typical NYC multifamily buildings, but there’s room for improvement. In comparison, Energy Star certified buildings range from 3-6 BTU/SF/HDD. + Through a database called Wegowise (www.wegowise.com), we are automating uploads of future utility data directly from the utility or Energy Services Company. + The database is still in development, but will eventually enable comparisons to similar affordable housing (size, construction type, location, tenant make-up, fuel type).

14. What’s Next? Training & Education + According to environmental psychologist Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez, human behavior changes have the potential to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 9%. + Training and education are an essential part of any energy/water reduction effort, and makes energy/water visible. + Make energy saving easy and fun for your tenants or staff. Don’t be afraid to use humor and competition to motivate behavior changes. + It’s not enough to give people information! Tips given at trainings must be practical, simple, and relevant to the population.

15. Commercial Kitchen Energy/Water Training

16. Set Goals and Incentives Next Steps Set energy reduction goal Can we aim to reduce gas and electric use in the kitchen by 5-10% next month by using the tips we just discussed? Reward for meeting goal Using April’s utility bills as a baseline, if the entire kitchen utility costs are at least 5% less, we will give you a Green Discount off July’s rent! Review and sign pledge If you would like to participate in the Green Discount program, please review and sign the Energy and Water Savings Pledge.

17. Sign the Energy and Water Reduction Pledge

18. Thank you!Valerie Neng, Sustainability ManagerPhone: 917.346.9409Email: vneng@whedco.org