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Sustainable Infrastructure Resources
Investments in urban infrastructure can tackle the climate crisis, spark COVID-19 economic recovery, create quality jobs, strengthen resiliency and address inequities in the built environment and infrastructure services — but designing and financing sustainability projects can be challenging. These resources were developed for local governments pursuing social equity in infrastructure, funding and financing sustainability projects, and other urban climate finance topics to equip and inspire your local government’s climate action journey. Contact [email protected] with questions or to request additional resources.
Making Climate Infrastructure Equitable: A Toolkit and Workbook
This toolkit is designed for people working within local governments to ignite ideas on how to ideate, design, implement and finance projects that equitably benefit people and the planet.
Financing Menus
This set of financing menus outlines options for financing and funding projects, relevant resources and links to case studies.
- Community Activated Networks and Emergency Support Systems
- Accessible Carbon-Neutral Mobility Options
- Affordable Net-Zero Housing and Workplaces
- Municipal Leadership on Clean Energy and Efficiency
- Regenerative and Resilient Community Landscapes
- Flood-Adapted, Safe and Livable Cities
Project Profiles
Learn about types of projects that can enhance community resilience and sustainability, explore project case studies and use the profile guide to begin your project journey.
Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Low-Income Households
St Croix Theater Renovation Resiliency Hub
Environmental Impact Bonds for Green Infrastructure
Recommendations
See a set of practical recommendations that align with the Toolkit and Financing Menus, organized around the themes of people, places and planet.
- Support regenerative and resilient community landscapes and flood-adapted, safe and livable cities.
Read the Planet Cluster Recommendations
- Create and strengthen accessible Carbon-neutral Mobility Options and community-activated networks.
Read the People Cluster Recommendations
- Lead on municipal clean energy and efficiency and create affordable, sustainable housing and workplaces.
Read the Places Cluster Recommendations
Recorded Webinars
Accessing Capital for Clean Energy Projects
As cities across the United States lead with renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, access to capital is critical to implement renewable energy projects. The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) provides access to debt capital for commercial-scale clean energy projects in the United States and has $40 billion in loans and loan guarantees available. Join CDP’s Sustainable Infrastructure Team and our partners the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) and National League of Cities, to learn more from DOE LPO Executive Director Jigar Shah on how leveraging LPO debt capital can help cities scale up their sustainability efforts.
PLACES — Clean Energy and Efficiency
This session covered affordable, net-zero buildings and municipal-centric efforts to advance clean energy and efficiency. What are the financing options available to support retrofits for low-income households, affordable public housing, private businesses and community shelters? We discussed green banks, C-PACE and other financing options that can support these vital emissions reduction activities, as well as how to best highlight the cost reduction, economic development and public health ramifications of clean energy and efficiency projects.
PLANET — Green and Blue Urban Resilience
This session focused on regenerative and resilient community landscapes and flood-adapted, safe and livable cities. What methods are available to attract capital into critical solutions such as natural ecological infrastructure, green infrastructure and other nature-based solutions? How can local governments structure urban canopy projects, stormwater storage and urban heat island mitigation projects to best lower costs while emphasizing public safety and community development efforts?
PEOPLE — Shared Community Assets
The PEOPLE session focused on community-activated networks and emergency support systems and accessible carbon-neutral mobility options. Focusing on the public systems most visible and usable for individual residents, what ways can innovative financial structures be used to promote emergency preparedness, form resilience hubs, improve public transportation options and EV charging infrastructure and access? We will focus both on potential financing paths as well as the methods available to highlight co-benefits for vulnerable neighborhoods and underserved communities.
Municipal Bonds & the Value of CDP Disclosure: Issuer Roundtable - Climate Week NYC 2020
Cities and public agencies explain how fixed income financing facilitates robust sustainability work, the importance of disclosure and transparency around the use of proceeds raised through bond finance and the role that CDP disclosure plays for these issuers in facilitating both their continuing disclosure and their sustainability work more broadly.
Solar Project Development & Best Practices for the Public Sector
Local governments face an uncertain future for tax finance tools to support solar development, turbulence in the global solar supply chains and increasing community demand for local, affordable, equitable clean electricity production. Despite these challenges, local governments must lead in building resilient systems to deal with climate volatility. How can municipalities overcome the hurdles to developing and financing their solar projects? What role does the unpredictable landscape for investment and production tax credits play? Hear from investors, project developers, and industry leaders in the solar space.
Municipal Bonds for Sustainable Communities
Due to the emergence of COVID-19, social bond issuance has unexpectedly surpassed green bond issuance in 2020. Both the treasury and federal reserve are engaged in grantmaking and lending activities that are completely unprecedented. At a moment when the flow of dollars into stronger, cleaner and more just cities is front and center on the national stage, how can local leaders position their projects and plans to achieve as much as possible while managing the climate change impacts, economic crisis and a pandemic?
Part 1 | Introduction to Water Infrastructure Project Financing
Financing municipal infrastructure projects always involves intense support by legal counsel, particularly during the contract development and financial structuring. Understanding the role of counsel can be important to the financing strategy. Norton Rose Fulbright will join CDP to demystify how project financing of water infrastructure works, explain how project financing differs from traditional municipal financing and explore the implications arising from those differences. This is part one of a two-part series on legal perspectives about project financing for water infrastructure.
Part 2 | Strategies for Financing Water Infrastructure: Exploring Credit Requirements, Federal Funding, Public-Private Partnerships and Private Capital
What makes an attractive water infrastructure project from the perspectives of a public or private lender, an investor or the public markets? Join CDP, Norton Rose Fulbright, Smith’s Research and Gradings and the Environmental Protection Agency to learn about structuring projects from a capital perspective, federal funding options, the role of public-private partnerships and strategies to involve private capital in your water infrastructure.
Issuing Environmental Impact Bonds
Environmental Impact Bonds (EIBs) are an innovative financing tool that can provide upfront capital to tackle environmental challenges. Join CDP and Quantified Ventures to learn about the process of issuing EIBs, the stakeholders involved and examples of successful EIB projects. This webinar is recommended for cities and counties in the U.S.
Developing a Green Bank
Green banks are a powerful tool to advance climate action by connecting clean energy and energy efficiency projects with capital. Join CDP and the Coalition for Green Capital for an introduction to green banks, including steps to launch a local green bank to serve your community.
Financing Fundamentals for Sustainability Projects
How do cities finance climate and sustainability projects? What are the financial mechanisms available to cities? Join CDP and HIP Investor to learn how cities can approach financing sustainability projects. HIP Investor will share insights from their work in the USDN Financing Sustainable Cities Scan & Toolkit, an action-oriented resource for city leaders to understand implementable funding mechanisms that can support cities striving toward bold climate action and sustainability goals.