How Joe Biden’s Green Program Threatens Alaska’s Wilderness
Little-known and controversial Alaska highway project highlights the Biden administration’s struggle to protect environmentally sensitive areas while promoting a green energy economy that depends on large amounts of copper and other minerals.

How Joe Biden’s Green Program Threatens Alaska’s Wilderness

Standard Chartered Taiwan garners awards
Staff writer
Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (渣打國際商業銀行) on Thursday said it took home the “International Retail Bank of the Year — Taiwan” title from this year’s Retail Banking Awards presented by Asian Banking and Finance magazine for the second year in a row. The bank also received the “Wealth Management Platform of the Year-Taiwan” and the “Corporate Social Responsibility & Green Program of the Year” awards from the magazine. Standard Chartered Taiwan is also highly rated by professionals and consumers among foreign banks in the nation, as it also received Excellence Magazine’s “Best Digital Bank Award” and “Best Social Inclusion Award” on Thursday, it said. Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Ltd consumer, private and business banking head Kate Lin, left, receives Excellence Magazine’s “Best Digital Bank Award” and “Best Social Inclusion Award” from Commerce Development Research Institute chairman Hsu Tain-tsair at a ceremony in Taipei on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Ltd
Standard Chartered Taiwan consumer, private and business banking head Kate Lin (林素真) said the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have not only changed people’s daily behavior patterns, but also tested the innovation capability and resilience of banking services. Standard Chartered Taiwan’s digital banking strategy and advanced deployment of related platforms, coupled with its customized services, fully support clients’ financial needs and make the “International Retail Bank of the Year — Taiwan” award more precious, Lin said. In addition, Standard Chartered Taiwan said its efforts in actively implementing financial innovation in its investment and wealth management services have been recognized by its clients. As the COVID-19 pandemic has become more severe, clients have increasingly made investments or transactions through digital channels. The bank said that the proportion of clients subscribed to funds through digital channels alone has increased by 20 percent. The bank said its online foreign-exchange trading platform provides 24-hour foreign-exchange transaction service. Along with real-time foreign exchange quotes and foreign-exchange order watch functions, the bank’s digital services have significantly improved convenience for its clients to conduct foreign exchange transactions, it said. The bank in May launched an online foreign-exchange event to encourage its clients to use digital channels during the pandemic, which led to a 43 percent monthly increase in the number of clients using the channels, it added. Standard Chartered Taiwan said that winning the “Best Digital Bank Award” for the second time as a foreign bank, as well as the “Best Social Inclusion Award,” from Excellence Magazine shows that it is committed to fulfilling its corporate citizenship responsibilities, as well as community feedback and care for disadvantaged people, in addition to its core financial business. For instance, the Futuremakers charity program promoted by the bank focuses on visually impaired and low and middle-income disadvantaged people aged 16 to 35, aiming to help them pursue higher education and careers, it said. Last year, the bank served more than 1,200 disadvantaged young people through the program, while its employees also helped disadvantaged youths and families overcome difficulties through various assistance projects, it added. Standard Chartered Taiwan said that whether it is “International Retail Bank of the Year-Taiwan,” “Wealth Management Platform of the Year-Taiwan” and “Best Digital Bank Award” that focus on its core financial business, or “Corporate Social Responsibility & Green Program of the year” and “Best Social Inclusion Award” that affirms its corporate social responsibility, it will continue to focuses on the development of digital banking, expand the financial ecosystem through cooperation with multiple partners, and combine group resources to provide clients in Taiwan with world-class financial services and help them align with international trends. The bank said it will also promote sustainable development with practical actions, aiming to become the world’s most sustainable bank. Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.

Standard Chartered Taiwan garners awards

About Callan Quinn
Callan first began her media career in China with the expat magazine City Weekend. After travelling around Australia and New Zealand, she went on to launch an NGO-focused magazine in Somaliland and later worked as a freelance editor for China Daily. She has also lectured at Frantz Fanon University and Tianjin Polytechnic on academic English and cross-cultural communication. Get in touch with Callan at callan@thepienews.com
We have had over 180 majors represented on our programs over the years
The PIE: Tell us about The GREEN Program . What drove you to create it? Melissa Lee: My story with The GREEN Program started when I was a student. I was unclear on what I wanted to do with my studies, and how it translated into making a difference in the world. At the time, I had peers who were studying engineering or environmental fields, who were unable to study abroad in the traditional sense for a whole year or even a semester without graduating late. STEM fields really did not have a lot of opportunity to gain international education that fit their curriculum. “STEM fields really did not have a lot of opportunity to gain international education that fit their curriculum”
What was missing for us was a critical experience element in our education – how were we expected to build the future energy infrastructure or cities towards a more sustainable world without gaining any practical hands-on experience before we graduate? Fast forward to what we’re doing now: we’ve been able to reinvent and create a new model for short-term, high-impact sustainable education and study abroad. We are proud that 95% of TGP students experience a sustainability-related shift with an increase in awareness and consciousness of personal impacts, personal exchange, and expertise in sustainability issues. The PIE: What do you offer students and how does this link to sustainability in education? ML: Our mission is to educate and empower future sustainability leaders through experiential education travel, and adventure. The goal is to design high-impact educational programs that drive climate action, long-term. Our programs are eight to 10 days long and allow the busiest student to be able to get an international experience and up to three graduate credits. Our course framework is focused around the Sustainable Development Goals. Every program incorporates a minimum of two SDGs. Our programs specialise in granting industry access, opening the doors to facilities and local communities that you can’t just walk into on a normal trip. “Our programs specialise in granting industry access”
From Iceland’s largest geothermal power plants to Fukushima’s disaster zones, we’re suiting up and going into nuclear facilities and the epicentres of our world’s top case studies of sustainable development. The PIE: Are your programs specifically geared towards STEM students? ML: While a majority of our participants represent STEM fields, we have had over 180 majors represented on our programs over the years. A recent study conducted by Uppsala University found that the results of TGP’s programs underlines the transformative impact of experiential learning, putting educational experiences into purposeful actions. Half of the employed survey participants and TGP alumni are already working in the field of sustainability, and of those who changed their studies, 74% switched to a degree track related to sustainability. The PIE: The GREEN Program goes to places all over the world. If you were a student again, which one would you pick? ML: Every program is so unique it is nearly impossible to select just one. Since our programs are short-term, participants can attend several so this is the order that I would personally do:  I would go to Peru, Japan, Iceland and Nepal because they each tell their own unique story. In Peru, we’re uncovering the history and the culture of what ancient Incas did for sustainable management for their water resources. Then in Fukushima, Japan, it’s fascinating to see since how the government and local communities are transitioning to a 100% renewables or nuclear economy by 2040, and they’re on track for it. In Iceland, they’re running on nearly 100% renewable energy. But what are the challenges that they’re facing now? Many environmentalists are actually protesting the development of more renewable energy at this point as 80% of the power generated is going to supply high polluting industries. Here, we must ask, is renewable energy necessarily sustainable? In Nepal, we analyse and learn about the role that solar microgrid systems play in rural development. During the program, we will have a local homestay experience and install a solar microgrid system to provide electricity or running water. All of these programs exemplify how different sustainability and development is across the planet. What’s important is how we draw parallels from our travel experiences to home, and realise that no one is exempt from the effects of climate change. The same study from Uppsala University found that our model of education for sustainable development works. The establishment of a connection between the students, their exchange with locals and professionals, but mainly the immersion into a foreign setting were found to cause long-lasting impacts. The PIE: Last year you launched your first master’s degree program. Can you talk a bit about it? ML: We’ve been working on a new one-year master’s of science degree in international sustainable development and climate change in partnership with Antioch University New England for the past few years and currently have our first cohort that started in 2020. The program offers a blend of interactive, online curriculum, and also integrates three global experiences with The GREEN Program. So not only are students learning from the amazing faculty from Antioch University, they are also getting three TGP experiences. The PIE: You also introduced smart certificates last year. What are they? “TGP’s smart certificate is a blockchain verified digital certificate”
ML: TGP’s smart certificate is a blockchain verified digital certificate. Participants who complete their course will be issued a Certificate of Completion, with access to job insights and jobs that are available right now to connect their new skill sets to sustainability careers. The PIE: And are you also using tech to continue your programs during Covid-19? ML: Since Covid-19, our team had to adapt and evolve quickly, like many others. We’ve introduced a fully online model, and our hybrid program – “Learn Now, Travel Later”. With this mode, students take the online courses from the program and then travel when it’s safe to do so again. The PIE: How could the international education sector as a whole become more sustainable? ML: I believe it is our responsibility to see how we can shift our practises and operations internally, but also explore how we as educators can play a larger role creating the sustainable workforce that our planet needs. As an industry, we need to push past carbon offsetting. It’s a band-aid solution for the carbon emissions and only a piece of what we are capable of improving. “As an industry, we need to push past carbon offsetting”
I am interested in exploring strategic partnerships with like-minded partners and am a strong believer in intentional design. When creating programs, providers need to consider things like how far students need to travel and how program destinations are sourcing their power. Are ESGs (environmental and social governance) measured in our organisations’ success metrics? Where are our teams sourcing office supplies, and where do the meals come from on your programs? We can achieve more sustainable programs by intentional design. There is a lot of potential to improve our industry . The most important part is that we all must pick one action element right now and begin.

Melissa Lee, The GREEN Program

Garver Secures Record C-PACE Loan in Baltimore County for Redevelopment of Pikesville Printing Plant
Developer Obtains $3 Million Loan Through Green Program for Conversion of Former Port City Press Building
Garver Development will use the C-PACE financing to convert the former Port City Press plant in Pikesville into self-storage space and light industrial and warehouse.

Garver Secures Record C-PACE Loan in Baltimore County for Redevelopment of Pikesville Printing Plant

Freddie Mac Green Program Cuts Multifamily Energy And Water Consumption
MCLEAN, Va., Dec.
Dec 23, 2020 12:26 PM EST
MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Properties participating in Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) Multifamily's Green Advantage ® program save an average of more than 2.7 million gallons of water and 1.3 million kBtu of energy per year, according to a new white paper . Created in 2016, the program, which includes the Green Up ® and Green Up Plus ® offerings, provides financing incentives for multifamily borrowers that agree to reduce energy and water consumption. "Green improvements to multifamily housing can simultaneously help reduce the environmental impact of aging properties and help address housing affordability," said Steve Guggenmos, vice president of Multifamily Research and Modeling at Freddie Mac. "Our analysis shows that many cost-effective energy and water efficiency improvements result in savings for renters that are increasingly important in light of financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic." The white paper, titled "2020 Analysis of Green Improvements in Workforce Housing," is part of Freddie Mac's Duty to Serve plan to increase rental and homeownership opportunities in historically underserved markets throughout the nation. This is the last of three papers the Multifamily line of business will release this year. Since program inception through the third quarter of 2020, Freddie Mac Multifamily Green Up and Green Up Plus provided over $60 billion in financing through loans purchased on nearly 600,000 units. The financed properties are typically garden-style apartments that are, on average, 35 years old with 85% of units being affordable to households making 100% of area median income (AMI) or less. Key Findings:
Tenants are saving, on average, $114 per year based on reported property data. Properties have reported over 827 million gallons in actual cumulative water consumption savings, which is the equivalent of 1,250 Olympic-sized swimming pools and over 152 million kBtu in actual cumulative energy consumption savings or roughly enough energy to power 4,100 homes. The reported actual annual overall cost savings totals over $11 million, which averages roughly $40,500 per loan per year and $133 per unit per year. The projected average cost for improvements is $471 per unit with a total of $280 million of projected improvements as of the end of the third quarter of 2020. The most commonly selected water-saving improvements continue to be the low-cost showerheads, kitchen aerators and bathroom aerators. The most commonly selected energy-saving improvements were exterior and common area LED lighting, closely followed by unit interior LED lighting and then HVAC thermostats. Freddie Mac Multifamily is the nation's multifamily housing finance leader. Historically, more than 90% of the eligible rental units we fund are affordable to families with low-to-moderate incomes earning up to 120% of area median income. Freddie Mac securitizes about 90% of the multifamily loans it purchases, thus transferring the majority of the expected credit risk from taxpayers to private investors. Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we've made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com , Twitter @ FreddieMac and Freddie Mac's blog FreddieMac.com/blog . MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Morosi (703) 918-5851 Michael_Morosi@FreddieMac.com Erin Mancini (703) 903-1530 Erin_Mancini@FreddieMac.com
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Freddie Mac Green Program Cuts Multifamily Energy And Water Consumption

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