Comment Log Display

The California Green Business Network provided verbal comments
supporting inclusion of a small to medium business category at the
3 August 2015 GGRF Concept Plan Workshop in Sacramento.  Our
comments included reference to the potential for small businesses
in our program that, with additional funding, would significantly
increase their environmental performance to save more water and
energy and reduce CO2 emissions.  Panel Chair Cliff Rechtschaffen
requested we follow up and submit specific comments about what that
potential was specifically.  
 
What we can tell you today is that 54% of small businesses decline
energy efficiency upgrades after a free audit and consideration of
the project costs minus available utility rebates (see below for
related emission reductions and costs).   An additional percentage
of businesses only implement a portion of recommended upgrades but
would do more with additional funding.  Further, there are many
businesses that the CAGBP serves that completely unserved by the
utilities or third party providers because programs are not
available in their area or they don't compete well for program
attention because they are not larger businesses.  The California
Green Business Network is already serving these businesses so with
additional project specific funds from GGRF we could avoid the loss
of GHG emissions reduction opportunities that we experience now for
these under/unserved businesses.

This data comes from one of the numerous partnerships the
California Green Business Network has with public agency and third
party energy efficiency service providers who implement energy
efficiency upgrades and manage utility rebate processes for our
businesses.  One of those third party providers is Ecology Action
who provides small to medium business energy efficiency services
throughout northern California on behalf of dozens of clients
ranging from PG&E to local government partnerships to municipal
utilities.  
Since 2010 Ecology Action has audited 12,020 small to medium
businesses for energy efficiency opportunities.   They offer a free
on-site audit for the business.  During the audit process they
assess lighting, HVAC and other measures to identify the upgrade
potential, including energy savings and projected reductions to
utility bills.  They then apply set job costs from a preselected
contractor pool and gather the potential rebates from the utilities
to assess what the customer co-pay would be to make the recommended
upgrades. The auditor recommends an upgrade list, along with total
costs, potential rebates and projected utility savings in a report
that is presented to the customer.  Upon seeing the project costs
after rebates, over half (54%) of the small businesses they audit
decline to proceed with completing upgrades.  
 
The specific audit results from those 6,505 businesses who declined
upgrades show a potential total energy savings of over 256 Million
kWh per year.  Applied to a conservative average equipment life
estimate of 8 years, this would result in 487,425 metric tons of
Co2 reduction if upgrades were implemented.  To make these upgrades
free to these businesses would cost $29M over that 5-year period,
but Ecology Action anticipates that if just half of the customer
co-pay could be covered by GGRF fund, 75% of businesses would
complete the recommended upgrades.  In that case if GGRF funds
covered an equipment/contractor budget of $10,881,546.64 the GGRF
program would gain 365,569.11 metric tons of voluntary CO2
reduction for a per metric ton reduction cost of $29.77.  
 
Additionally, more than half of the businesses that have applied to
be a part of the California Green Business Network find they cannot
achieve certification because they cannot afford the water saving
fixtures or the lighting upgrades as mentioned above. Many local
Green Business Program coordinators say that their businesses would
consider renewable energy with additional incentives. Funding from
the GGRF would be able to allow SMBs to do more, and the Green
Business Program would provide the framework and the incentives.
 
The California Green Business Network is continuing to work on
analyzing additional water, energy, green chemistry and composting
potential at businesses. We will do this assessment and provide a
more detailed list shortly to ARB staff and panel members
directly.
 
Thank you very much for the opportunity you have provided to the
public for a very transparent feedback process for the GGRF
investment plan.
 
Yours truly,
 
 
Josephine Fleming,
Executive Director,
California Green Business Networ