About Us
Western Massachusetts is fortunate to be home to a business and residential community that has a rich history of sustainable living. The Western Mass Green Consortium is an information and networking resource to promote collaboration within the green economy. Our members are a diverse group of trades people, businesses, consultants, educators, and individuals who share a vision for a new prosperity through conscientious stewardship and cooperative development of our abundant natural and human resources.
Vision:The Western Mass Green Consortium (WMGC) and Project RetroFit (PRF) will create a future in which Green Building, Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy are mainstream building industry practices that people of all income levels reap the benefits of.
Our Mission: To stimulate market demand for green products and services by providing educational programs and public information to our diverse community of stakeholders. Our programs will benefit individuals, the environment, the economy, and the region in the form of healthier and more efficient homes, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, greater energy independence and the creation of many well-paying jobs.
Watch a quick video about our efforts and community of GREEN BUILDING leaders!
What need or problem does PRF’s program model solve? Despite economic stimulus funding being poured into energy efficiency training through President Obama’s 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, over 2.1 million construction workers across the country are now unemployed. The commercial real estate market is in the middle of a crisis with high vacancy rates and a significant reduction in transactions, leaving it much in need of a shot in the arm for resurgence. In addition, the US continues to face future national threats from global warming and heavy dependence on energy imports from other nations. With buildings consuming almost 50% of US energy consumption, they remain a primary target for efficiency improvements.
What evidence suggests that there is a need for PRF? In October 2009, a report entitled “Recovery through Retrofit” by the Middle Class Task Force Council on Environmental Quality (convened by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden) identified several barriers to the emergence of a national retrofit market. The barriers to a national retrofit market include:
• Access to Information: Consumers do not have access to straightforward and reliable information on home or commercial property energy retrofits that are needed to make informed purchasing decisions.
• Access to Financing: Although the benefits of efficiency retrofit stay with the building for many years, the current practice of frontloading all the cost often makes a retrofit unaffordable for the average business or homeowner.
• Access to Skilled Workers: There are currently not enough skilled workers and green entrepreneurs to expand weatherization and efficiency retrofit programs on a national scale.
Read THE FULL RECOVERY THROUGH RETROFIT Report Here .
