The Platform seeks to reduce nutrient inputs to sensitive watersheds by 20%, increase energy efficiency by 10% and reduce emissions by 10-15%. It contains a listing of the region’s green investments (for example green bonds, green lending, and real assets, etc) and tracks the environmental-social-governance (ESG) metrics of the projects built using these investments. As such, the Platform helps investors and individuals, as well as governments and organizations be creative in the ways they can develop, finance, and pay for environmentally sustainable projects.

Since its launch in 2020, the Platform has attracted nearly $5 billion to fund over 47 sustainability projects in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region of the U.S. and Canada. The Platform is working to showcase even more environmental, energy efficient and social impact projects going forward.

Sample Platform projects include:

• Buffalo, New York – The Buffalo Sewer Authority issued a $54 million Environmental Impact Bond (EIB) to capture stormwater, reduce sewer overflows and add 700 jobs.
• Chicago, Illinois – Amped Kitchens will pay for $4.6 million in energy-efficiency upgrades to its “apartment building for kitchens” over time on its property tax bill using innovative Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing.
• Detroit, Michigan –DTE Electric Company completed its third green bond bringing its total in green-bond issues to $2 billion.
• Madison, Wisconsin – The nonprofit Savanna Institute is using financing tools including green lending to work with farmers to show how the addition of perennial crop trees can reduce carbon emissions and promote biodiversity while improving environmental and economic outcomes.
• Indianapolis, Indiana – Citizens Energy Group, the City of Indianapolis, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are engaged in a $2 billion project to nearly eliminate combined sewer overflows into area waterways.

Reporting to the GSGP, ECT is working in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, and the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) and Center for Smart Infrastructure Finance (SIF) at the University of Michigan.