Caltech was the first institution to commit to using a self-managed green revolving fund for sustainability improvements and is a founding member of the multicampus Billion Dollar Green Challenge.
Caltech Energy Conservation Investment Program
In 2008, Caltech established a green revolving loan fund, the Caltech Energy Conservation Investment Program (CECIP), in response to a call to action issued by a committee of students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and staff focused on climate action. CECIP is the mechanism by which capital to implement energy conservation measures is borrowed from the endowment and, through a rigorous system of measurement and verification, savings are moved from the utility budget back to the endowment.
Then, in 2011, Caltech helped launch the Billion Dollar Green Challenge, a collaborative effort with 32 other leading U.S. institutions to invest a cumulative total of 1 billion dollars to fund energy-efficiency upgrades on campuses across the country. Caltech made the inaugural commitment to the challenge.
To learn more about CECIP's structure and guidelines, please review the CECIP process guidelines and the standard operating procedures.
Initiate a Project
If you would like to suggest or sponsor a CECIP-funded project, please use the CECIP project application. Email it to sustainability@caltech.edu.
Ongoing CECIP Projects
- Connected Building Commissioning–Campus Deployment
- Central Plant Optimization
- Smart Metering
- Data Center Upgrades
- Conversion of Pneumatic Controls Systems to Direct Digital Controls
- Chilled Water Pipeline Extension and Optimization
- Exterior Campus Lighting Upgrades
- LED Lighting Installations
- Ultra-Low-Temperature Freezer Rebate Program