In this season of big wishes and huge stimulus packages, we'd like to tip our hat to the folks at Architecture 2030, who have come up with one of the Biggest, Hairiest and most Audacious Goals for the home energy sector that we've seen in some time. (BHAGs are a concept of business strategist Jim Collins of Good to Great fame). Architecture 2030's BHAG pertains to energy efficient building improvements over the next few years. Like Eric Schmidt of Google, whose presentation to the Commonwealth Club of California highlights the power of combining hard facts with practical optimism, Architecture2030 is setting the stage for big changes, sooner rather than later, by framing the issue of energy use in buildings in terms just about anybody can get their fingers around. Combining both residential and commercial sectors, they point out that seventy-six percent (76%) of all power plant-generated electricity is used just to operate buildings, making it painfully obvious that it's time to concentrate our attention on the building sector. Unique amongst the myriad green stimulus plans, theirs is one of the most innovative, compelling and job-rich.
The Architecture 2030 Challenge Stimulus Plan (click here for the pdf of the Obama Transition Team Brief) calls for an $85.56 billion federal investment each year for two years. The approach is especially clever: it uses the investment to lower mortgage rates according to the efficiency of the building. A house that is 80% better than code, for example, would have its mortgage interest reduced to 3%. The reduction in monthly mortgage expense more than makes up for the $40-50,000 cost of a deep retrofit required to achieve this level of energy reduction. (Carbon neutral gets you to 2%.)
With that infusion, 2030's Plan will:
in just two years,
- create at least 8.4 million new jobs and
- create a new $1.6 trillion renovation market
and in just five years,
- save consumers $142 to 201 billion,
- reduce CO2 emissions by 481 Million Metric Tons,
- reduce energy consumption by 6 Quadrillion Btus,
- save 1.83 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and
- save 83 million barrels of oil.
Frankly, that is exactly the kind of big impact thinking we need. Jobs. Smart renovations. Reduction in energy consumption. Reduced emissions. Sometimes investment suggestions seem too good to be true. And sometimes, (thank you for your full-color illustration, Mr. Madoff), they are. But this? We think this is smart. Homeowners win twice – on monthly costs, and long-term value of their homes. The planet sighs with relief as we tackle building energy en masse.
We were a bit surprised at the plan's 8th place finish in the Ideas for Change voting at Change.org that ended December 31. Only the top 3 move on. A statement, perhaps, of our current tolerance for even marginally complex financial ideas. We're confident, however, that the smart thinking in this plan will continue to attract the attention it merits.
