Agnes Scott College
IN-40: Sustainability Projects Fund

The Green Revolving Fund (GRF) was initiated at Agnes Scott as a practical solution to reducing energy use and reducing the college’s carbon footprint. The GRF was designed to strengthen the college’s institutional capacity for building upgrades while ensuring that the campus will be more energy efficient. The basic concept of a green revolving fund is to establish a pool of financial resources dedicated to funding energy efficient and sustainable projects that generate cost savings. The money saved through these projects is then recycled back into the fund for future projects, resulting in an efficient and sustainable funding source for climate neutrality efforts. The initial funding for the GRF was from donations and gifts. Agnes Scott’s goal was to raise $1 million for the fund through donations by the end of 2015. The College met this goal by combining initial donations with the largest grant received to date from the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta's Grants to Green program. Over $2 million has now been invested through the GRF.

The GRF was designed to be managed by the whole campus community rather than by one department. Agnes Scott’s GRF is truly a collaborative effort involving students, faculty, and staff from departments and offices across campus. No single sector of the campus owns the projects or manages the GRF alone. This strengthens institutional capacity and ensures broad support for the fund, while achieving GRF goals of lowering utility expenses and carbon emissions.