Community-Based Energy Efficiency

Increasingly, China and the world are recognizing that resource efficiency and sustainability are critical not only to environmental health, but to continued economic health as well. While changes in laws and business practices are vital, efforts to develop a more circular and harmonious economy will ultimately depend on citizens of all backgrounds working together to safeguard natural resources, increase energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their homes, workplaces, and communities.

ISC specializes in helping communities around the world build their capacity to take meaningful action on priority issues. To build public support and commitment for using resources wisely, ISC is working with several pilot communities in Guangdong Province to identify, plan, and implement priority energy efficiency and emission reductions projects in their factories, schools, municipal buildings, hospitals, and multifamily dwellings.

The program brings citizens of all backgrounds together to identify and prioritize projects. Each community forms a Multi-Stakeholder Committee, comprised of leaders from government, local businesses, and the larger community to manage the project, ensuring widespread buy-in and support. By working together and leveraging the resources of the entire community, the Committee makes projects more attractive to external funders, a key step in securing financing and establishing long-term capacity to continue their work without ISC's involvement.

This model has been employed successfully in several other countries, and ISC is now adapting it to China's unique circumstances. ISC facilitates the engagement process, mentoring each community through the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating their projects. Participants draw on ISC's international network of experts in the areas of community strengthening, energy efficiency, finance, and project evaluation.

ISC will also work with local banks and investors to establish revolving loan funds that will help communities reinvest their energy savings in additional efficiency or community improvement projects. Together, these activities will form the basis of a model that can be replicated by communities throughout China, sparking a wave of energy efficiency initiatives at the grassroots level.

Partner communities for this pilot project include Doumen Township in Zhuhai, Sanjiao Township in Zhongshan, and Guanlan Township in Shenzhen