The Cambridge Community Center will receive a major energy efficiency upgrade this Sunday when community members and experts gather to reduce the building’s energy consumption. The community “barn raising” project is a combined effort of the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) and the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) that aims to improve the comfort and efficiency of the Cambridge Community Center while teaching volunteers energy efficiency and conservation skills. Volunteers are gathering at the Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St, Cambridge, MA from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on June 28th. The project is expected to draw approximately 60 community volunteers, primarily from the Riverside neighborhood in Cambridge. A team of eight volunteers from Mass Climate Summer will also be joining this neighborhood effort as part of their broader campaign to educate residents on efficiency solutions in partnership with the Cambridge Energy Alliance. Mass Climate Summer volunteers are spending their summer bicycling across Massachusetts to promote climate change solutions in collaboration with community groups in the commonwealth. Community volunteers will learn how to make doors and windows less drafty, seal air leaks in the building, install interior storm windows, and save on electricity through simple changes. They will also receive energy efficiency kits that contain materials to make their own homes more energy efficient and information on community environmental resources and programs. The volunteers will apply these valuable skills and conservation tools to start saving energy and money in their own homes. These community-style energy efficiency barn raisings have garnered remarkable popular support since HEET’s launch in August of 2008. Coming together with neighbors and local energy experts to improve the efficiency of the Cambridge Community Center will have benefits for both individuals and the community. It is a chance to meet neighbors, try out a green job, cut energy bills at the Community Center, and get a free energy savings kit, while learning to save energy and money at home.

Wednesday- Over forty businesses attended a Green Your business Affair hosted by the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) and the Sustainable Business Leadership Program (SBLP). Participants represented a diverse background of small and large commercial entities from the efficiency, renewable energy, nonprofit, design, and retail sectors. The business affair connected attendees to sustainable programs including the New England Wind Fund renewable energy program and Prism Consulting Inc., which provides energy efficiency audits to commercial entities. The Cambridge Energy Alliance shared information about its free one-stop-shop service available to Cambridge businesses including access to NSTAR’s business audit and rebate program, financing options through local banks, and an in-house energy advisor to help businesses connect to the services they need. Lilah Glick, Outreach Manager for the Cambridge Energy Alliance notes that there is a huge opportunity for energy efficiency improvements in the business sector. “Almost 80% of Cambridge’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, and the commercial sector makes up 2/3rds of total emissions. Energy efficiency is a great way for businesses to not only become green leaders but also reduce their energy bills.” Ms. Glick noted that saving energy is easy and makes financial sense, with robust incentives made available through the Cambridge Energy Alliance. Emily Kanter, consultant at the Sustainable Leadership Program, has over nine years of working with local businesses and recognizes the challenges they face in a global economy. Ms Kanter performs sustainable assessments and shares that, “greening a company’s operations reduces both resource usage and expenses.” The Sustainable Leadership Program identifies viable environmentally sustainable improvements and then pairs companies with the tools and resources to make those changes happen. Participating businesses learn about ways to become sustainable through improvements in energy efficiency, water conservation, recycling and waste reduction, transportation, pollution prevention, and sustainability management The event was hosted at Greenward Eco-botique located in Porter Square. Greenward is a small, locally-owned eco-boutique in Cambridge, MA, owned by the husband-and-wife team of Scott Walker and Simone Alpen. Locally brewed beer was provided by Cambridge Brewing Company, pizza was donated by Stone Hearth Pizza, and organic fair-trade chocolate from Theo. Ms. Kanter concluded that the, “event was a great success and the Sustainable Business Leadership Program and the Cambridge Energy Alliance aims to host similar Green Affairs in the future.”