Green Loans: an Energy Efficiency Programme for community buildings

Community organisations rarely get to choose their buildings. Halls, hostels, studios and care homes are inherited, donated or bought years ago, and the running costs that come with them are the ones nobody budgeted for. The Energy Efficiency Programme inside our Green Loans exists for exactly that situation.

The programme funds work on a building an organisation already occupies: insulation and draught sealing, LED relighting, replacing gas heating and hot water with electric heat pumps, rooftop solar and batteries, better glazing, smarter controls and metering. It also funds the assessment work that comes first, because an energy audit is usually the cheapest part of the project and always the most useful.

We ask borrowers to tell us what the work is expected to do — the change in energy use, the change in running costs, and how it will be measured afterwards. A NABERS rating or a building assessment helps, but it is not a hurdle for smaller organisations; a competent assessor's report is enough to start a conversation.

Green Loans are assessed the way all our lending is assessed. We look at what the organisation does, whether the repayments fit its income, and what the work will change for the people who use the building. We can lend against the building itself, and security is discussed openly during the application rather than sprung at the end.

The programme is open to charities, not-for-profits, community housing providers, social enterprises and faith organisations across Australia. It can fund a single measure or a staged programme of work over several years.

As with every loan, all lending is subject to eligibility, assessment and approval, and security may be required. We will set out the terms that apply to your organisation in writing during the application.