Insights
Jul 9, 2024 _ insights
Finding Funds for Sustainability: GBBN’s IRA Calculator
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides hundreds of billions of dollars to decarbonize the economy and buildings. But its ability to fund sustainable development remains a mystery for some. GBBN studied the legislation to identify key priorities and project criteria that translate into financial opportunities for developers, building owners, and institutions. For those already committed to sustainability, the IRA can help overcome funding gaps. For others, it can help foster sustainable design.
We partnered with engineering firm, CMTA to create the IRA Calculator, a quick and easy to use tool to assess the financial impact of different sustainability strategies. To expand its impact, we developed a simple interface for public use. Using our IRA Calculator to answer a few questions about the sustainability features your project may have—for example, does it include renewable energy, high-efficiency, HVAC systems, or affordable housing— can help organizations discover potential funding opportunities. I recently presented a poster detailing different savings scenarios at the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. In addition to incentives for renewable energy and affordability, the presentation covered incentives for building electrification, using prevailing wage, or apprenticeship labor. We made the IRA Calculator public because our passion for sustainability extends beyond just our own projects. When all buildings meet the highest possible standards for sustainability, everyone benefits.
Check out the poster here. And you can learn more about and access our IRA Calculator here.
Stefan Cornelis
is an associate at GBBN. He is passionate about transforming communities in ways that increase density, affordable and mixed-income housing opportunities, and a sense of community for people of all ages and backgrounds. Stefan works to infuse projects with sustainable design strategies at their earliest stages for maximum impact and has led the development of our IRA calculator tool.
