Making the Financial Case
Most sustainability projects touch the budget. A clear, respectful financial case helps leaders say yes.
Which Budget Will Fund It
- Operating budget: lower-cost pilots or small changes, such as a low-mow test area.
- Capital budget: larger projects, such as solar, central plant upgrades, or fleet changes. Clarify budget timing and approval steps early.
Is It a Sound Investment
Consider total cost of ownership, estimated savings, maintenance, reliability, and service life. Simple payback is helpful, and life-cycle cost tells a fuller story.
Examples you can adapt:
- LED lighting: quick payback, ongoing savings.
- Battery tools for grounds: higher purchase cost, lower fuel and maintenance, favorable total cost after several seasons. [link to case study]
- Heat pumps and solar: improving economics, value grows over time, strong resilience and emissions benefits.
Use your Energy/GHG Audit to uncover cost-effective measures and to size bigger steps. Bring quotes, incentives, and a short one-page summary with numbers that leaders can review quickly. When a project is mission-critical for emissions, but savings are modest, say so plainly and connect to stated community values and risk reduction.
Non-Financial Benefits That Matter
- Reduced outage risk and better comfort.
- Reputation and marketing advantages with climate-aware prospective residents.
- Alignment with community mission and donor interests.
- Staff safety and noise reduction with electric equipment.
