Green Economy

Elevate Energy

Elevate Energy (formerly CNT Energy) is a "think-and-do" tank that combines research with effective solutions. Elevate Energy focuses on helping customers and communities access the information and services they need to control energy costs and become more energy efficient. Through relationships with municipalities in the Chicago region, utilities throughout Illinois, and other non-profit environmental organizations, Elevate Energy is able to achieve actual results in providing innovative solutions to energy challenges.  Energy Savers, one of its core programs that aims to improve the energy efficiency of apartment buildings, is credited with retrofitting nearly 26,900 units, creating over 565 jobs, and saving 17,477,200 kWh of energy—enough to run nearly 2,752 refrigerators for a year.

Greening Healthcare: How Hospitals Can Heal the Planet

Kathy Gerwig
Oxford University Press

Authored by Kaiser Permanente’s Environmental Stewardship Officer Kathy Gerwig, this new book provides a roadmap for healthcare institutions aiming to help build healthy and sustainable communities. Gerwig’s case studies of current hospital best practices identify environmentally preferable purchasing policies, investments in local food systems, and other green strategies that provide powerful examples of how healthcare institutions can meet existing community benefit requirements and reduce health disparities, thereby improving health outcomes while building wealth in low- to moderate- income communities. 

Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance

Aiming to promote and facilitate energy efficiency among homeowners, nonprofits and businesses, the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance is a nonprofit that provides education and training on energy efficiency, project management services, and financial assistance for efficiency projects. It is credited with providing nearly 3,000 reduced-price energy assessments, generating nearly $673,000 in energy savings each year, and creating hundreds of green jobs for Cincinnatians. Read more about Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance ...

Green Umbrella

Focused on maximizing the collective impact of Greater Cincinnati residents and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability, Green Umbrella is a nonprofit umbrella organization aiming to facilitate collaboration among over 200 area nonprofits, businesses, educational institutions and governmental entities interested in eco-focused issues. Read more about Green Umbrella...

Slow Living Summit 2015

June 3rd, 2015 to June 5th, 2015
Brattleboro, VT

The Latest Trends in Sustainable Communities

Gar Alperovitz and Michael Shuman
Solutions

Democracy Collaborative co-founder Gar Alperovitz joined BALLE co-founder Michael Shuman in a conversation on how to build sustainable communities through inclusive local economic development.

Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future

Robert Costanza and Ida Kubiszewski
World Scientific

Gar Alperovitz and Democracy Collaborative Senior Fellow James Gustave Speth have chapters in a new anthology, edited by leading environmental studies scholars Robert Costanza and Ida Kubiszewski. With contributions from over 40 thought leaders in the field of sustainable development, the anthology advances a shared vision of sustainability and establishes priorities for the transition to an ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable future.

Enterprise Financing for WealthWorks Value Chains

Marjorie Kelly

This new report, authored by Democracy Collaborative Senior Fellow Marjorie Kelly, offers a comprehensive framework of community investing, ownership, and wealth control models to enhance the social, ecological, and economic well-being of rural areas.

Clean Energy Finance Through the Bond Market: A New Option for Progress

Lewis Milford, Devashree Saha, Mark Muro, Robert Sanders and Toby Rittner
Project on State and Metropolitan Innovation

Interview with Orlando Santaella, Worker- Owner of Evergreen Energy Solutions

In a DiversityInc interview, Orlando Santaella, a worker-owner of Evergreen Energy Solutions, talks about the transformative role that Evergreen has had on his life Read more about Interview with Orlando Santaella, Worker- Owner of Evergreen Energy Solutions...