Small Business Sustainability Pilot

This pilot program was conducted in 2012 with an objective of helping small local businesses identify areas in which they could reduce their energy usage by taking measures to retrofit their buildings or decrease their heating / electricity usage.

Twenty-five small businesses in Worcester participated in the pilot and obtained a HERS rating. Collected information was then used to assess the ways in which their buildings were experiencing energy loss. Analysts were then able to suggest measures that would allow small business owners to achieve greater energy efficiency and sustainability and save money.

A primary goal of this project was to understand the factors that motivate small business owners to install cost effective energy efficiency and sustainability measures, or conversely, to understand the barriers that prevent them from moving ahead with such projects. The City of Worcester will utilize information gained from this project to evaluate the feasibility of continued programs targeting small business in the future.

Click here for the final report.

An excerpt from an Energy/Sustainability Report developed for one of the small business participants