Rudy Sturk,
Associate Director, Marketing & Communication Strategy
About
Learn about Connecticut Green Bank, including Green Bond Framework, Featured News, The Team, Green Liberty Bond Inspiration, and Green Liberty Notes.
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- Total Green Bank Clean Energy Investment (Public & Private)
- $2.26 billion
- Total Public & Private Investment in FY 2022
- $322,400,000
- Total Green Liberty Bonds Issued
- $41 million +
About Connecticut Green Bank
The Connecticut Green Bank is the nation’s first green bank.* Established by the Connecticut General Assembly on July 1, 2011 as a part of Public Act 11-80, Connecticut Green Bank supports the Governor’s and Legislature’s energy strategy to achieve cleaner, affordable, and reliable sources of energy while creating jobs and supporting local economic development. The Connecticut Green Bank evolved from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) and the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA), which was given a broader mandate in 2011 to become the Connecticut Green Bank.
The Green Bank’s vision is a planet protected by the love of humanity and its mission is to confront climate change by increasing and accelerating investment into Connecticut’s green economy to create more resilient, healthier, and equitable communities.
Our green bank model upended the government subsidy-driven approach to clean energy by working with private-sector investors to create low-cost, long-term sustainable financing to maximize the use of public funds. We continue to innovate, educate and activate to accelerate the growth of green energy measures in the residential (single and multifamily), commercial, industrial, institutional and infrastructure sectors.
The model works. We are deploying more clean energy more quickly and efficiently than ever. Since its inception, the Connecticut Green Bank and its private investment partners have deployed over $2.26 billion in capital for clean energy projects across the state. Projects recorded through FY 2022 show that for every $1 of public funds committed by the Green Bank that an additional $7.00 in private investment occurred in the economy.
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Green Bank employees are not investment professionals and are strictly prohibited under Federal law and rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission from engaging in or advising on any purchases of securities, including Green Liberty Bonds. Any calls to the Green Bank for assistance with purchasing Green Liberty Bonds will be directed to our lead underwriters.
Green Bond Framework
Learn about our environmental, social, and governance program, and how we bring those values to life with green bonds, sustainable projects, and more.
View Program DetailsFeatured News
November 3, 2023
News
Connecticut Green Bank Subsidiary’s Eighth Investment Offering for Citizens Surpasses Its Maximum Raise
This content is related to our ESG program. Learn more
This content is related to our ESG program. Learn more
Featuring an increased maximum raise limit, investment opportunity exceeds 100% of target for sixth consecutive time
Hartford, CT (Nov. 3**, 2023)** – CGB Green Liberty Notes LLC, a subsidiary of the Connecticut Green Bank, successfully closed their eighth Green Liberty offering, surpassing its maximum raise amount. To allow for more investors to participate in this innovative and certified green investment opportunity, this was the second offering that featured an increased maximum raise limit of $350,000. This is the sixth consecutive offering to exceed the maximum. In total, more than $1.8 million has been raised from Connecticut citizens and nationwide investors in support of small businesses improving their energy efficiency and reducing their energy costs. The campaign is made possible in partnership with Raise Green, an award-winning online marketplace for impact investing.
Green Liberty Notes, which are offered quarterly, can be purchased through an online platform without a broker, with a $100 minimum. To date, more than 60% of original investments have been $1,000 or less, with buyers from 35 states around the nation and more than half of the investors have been Connecticut residents.
Investments in the Green Liberty offering support Eversource’s Small Business Energy Advantage (SBEA) program, which enables small businesses in Connecticut to reduce their energy costs through efficiency upgrades and zero-interest loans.
As a result of the climate benefits associated with the SBEA program, this Green Liberty offering has been reviewed and verified for its environmental attributes by Kestrel.
Sign up for notifications on this site to receive email updates when the next offering is open.
October 19, 2023
News
Bert Hunter Joins Justice Climate Fund Board of Directors
Communities-First Coalition Expands Its Capacity to Deliver on EPA Goal of Addressing Climate Crisis Among Those Most Impacted
(Washington, D.C./October 19, 2023)—The Justice Climate Fund (JCF) has added five new members to its Board of Directors, representing three organizations: Connecticut (CT) Green Bank, ImpactAssets, and the Housing Partnership Network (HPN). The additions strengthen the nonprofit’s ability to ensure those who have been left behind and are most impacted by climate change benefit as the United States works to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) competitive grant program.
JCF submitted its application to the program last week.
“Our expanding Board embodies our commitment to bringing transformative environmental and socioeconomic change to low-income and disadvantaged communities,” said Lenwood V. Long Sr., President and CEO of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs and JCF Board Chair. "The wisdom and dedication of our board members are more than just invaluable; they are critical. We’re not just tackling climate issues; we are fervently fighting for our shared vision of a greener, just future where every individual’s worth is recognized, regardless of their zip code.”
New board members Bert Hunter, Margret Trilli, Ivy Duke, Dan Skaff, and Robin Hughes bring decades of expertise ranging from green financing and lending, impact investing, and making housing affordable. The combined leadership of the Board will steer JCF to effectively deploy capital and resources for improved health, security, and quality of life in communities across the country, particularly those historically underserved.
“Our green bank model changed the government subsidy-driven approach to clean energy by working with community-based lenders and private-sector investors to create accessible, low-cost, and long-term sustainable financing to maximize the use of public funds,” said Bert Hunter, Chief Investment Officer of Connecticut Green Bank and new JCF Board member.
He added that “our partnership with JCF and its vast network of community lenders will be transformative for our efforts to further reduce energy burdens and increase energy security for families and businesses here in Connecticut and across the country, while creating jobs and making all of our communities healthier as we reduce emissions of GHGs that are contributing to global climate change. This is an exceptional opportunity for all of us to reach every community and accelerate investment at scale.”
Since its formation in 2011, CT Green Bank has successfully mobilized nearly $2.5 billion in investments into the state’s green economy using $360 million in public funds.
“It is an incredible honor to join the JCF Board as we work to ensure a just and livable future for all our nation’s communities,” said Margret Trilli, ImpactAssets CEO and Chief Investment Officer and new JCF Board member. “The ImpactAssets team is pleased to partner with JCF to direct capital to the projects and communities where it is most urgently needed, and we look forward to bringing our unwavering focus on climate and equity solutions to this most important work of our time.”
A leading impact investment firm recognized for its innovative approach to philanthropy and investing, ImpactAssets has the robust investment and operational infrastructure to support JCF’s strategy of leveraging private capital and investments to address GHG reduction and transform communities. Now in its second decade, ImpactAssets manages more than $3 billion in assets invested in impactful projects, companies and funds advancing climate and equity solutions.
Joining Trilli on the JCF Board from ImpactAssets are General Counsel Ivy Wafford Duke and Board Member Dan Skaff. Wafford Duke brings over 30 years of risk, compliance and legal experience, including expertise in general corporate law, risk, corporate governance and regulatory compliance functions. Skaff, who is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Radicle Impact as well as former CEO of Beneficial State Bank, brings deep experience in financial services and business building.
“Our practitioner-led network of developers, owners, and lenders and national community lending and investment partners will shape and share the best and most successful practices and green financing tools,” said Robin Hughes, President and CEO of HPN and new JCF Board member. “As with my colleagues on the JCF Board, we are committed to effectively connecting capital resources with shovel-ready projects to produce and preserve affordable housing in qualified communities across the country.”
HPN’s Housing Sustainability Collaborative, comprised of the nation’s leading Community Development Financial Institutions, nonprofit syndicators and affordable housing developers, will merge financing products and programs with cutting-edge climate solutions.
In addition to the NCIF program, JCF has applied to the EPA’s Clean Communities Investment Accelerator program.
October 6, 2023
News
Coalition for Green Capital Board Elects Bryan Garcia as Board Chairman
Washington, DC (October 6, 2023)- The Board of Directors of the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) today elected Bryan Garcia as the new Board Chairman. Mr. Garcia joined the board in 2021 and has served as President and CEO of Connecticut Green Bank for over a decade. Garcia was program director for the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and developed a global program responsible for preparing environmental leaders for business and society.
Reed Hundt, former Chair and CGC’s current CEO said, “Bryan Garcia’s leadership and experience throughout the green bank movement will contribute to our success as a national green bank and result in significant clean energy benefits for everyone. I speak for the whole board and I am sure all our sub-awardees and partners in expressing gratitude to Bryan for taking on this role.”
Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank, and newly elected Chair of CGC said, “I am grateful to Reed, and honored by the Board of Directors of CGC, for electing me to serve in this capacity as we look ahead to advancing the green bank model to every community across our country. At this important moment in our country, our collective efforts to confront climate change can only be met with our actions to mobilize investment into our low-income and disadvantaged communities.”
Lonnie Reed, Chair of the Connecticut Green Bank and former Co-Chair of the Energy and Technology Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly. “When we created the Connecticut Green Bank, we needed an entity focused on attracting private investment into the ambitious bipartisan public policies we were advancing. Bryan built an amazing team of people committed to that mission. I have every confidence that in his new role as Chair of CGC, Bryan will bring that same successful sense of purpose to the whole country.”
Roger Dower, CGC Board Member, Lead Independent Director, and Former President of the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread said "Bryan is the right person for the job. Throughout the summer, Bryan worked tirelessly alongside the CGC team, board of directors, partners, and members of the American Green Bank Consortium to improve the governance structure and prepare the organization to become the national green bank.”
The Connecticut Green Bank is a member of the American Green Bank Consortium and a partner alongside hundreds of community organizations and lenders in support of CGC’s applications to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund which will be filed on Thursday, October 12, 2023.
The Team
Bryan Garcia
President and CEO
Bert Hunter
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
Jane Murphy
Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration
Eric Shrago
Vice President, Operations
Brian Farnen
General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer
Sergio Carrillo
Director, Incentive Programs
Desiree Miller
Senior Manager, Clean Energy Finance
Green Liberty Bond Inspiration
World War II and the War Bonds
The history of War Bonds in the United States and Connecticut is incredible! From May 1, 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt purchased the first one through 1945, over $185 billion was raised through the sale of War Bonds – the equivalent of $2.7 trillion today. More than 85 million Americans, over half of the country’s population, purchased $20 billion of Series-E War Bonds at denominations as low as $25 and high as $1,000 – or between $435 to $17,500 today, respectively. Even more, Americans promoted the purchase of War Bonds to defend our country and support Democracy around the world. This was an inclusive, all-hands-on-deck effort across every race, every sex, and every age.
Connecticut was among the leading states with the greatest amount of War Bond sales during this period, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt made a special visit on March 22, 1943, to promote sales alongside the Girl Scouts in Hartford, Connecticut at the Bushnell Theater.
Funding Another Noble Cause
On April 17, 2009, in New Haven, Connecticut, James Cameron addressed a crowded auditorium of students and faculty at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. There, the former Chairman of Climate Change Capital introduced the concept of an environment bond inspired by the War Bonds of the 1940s. As War Bonds provided Americans with a means of defending liberty, patriotism, and democracy in World War II, Cameron felt environment bonds had the potential for capitalism to unlock idealism to confront climate change. “There is something powerful in the idea that, ‘My money built that and it works and I use it.’ Building things for a purpose that binds investors, worker, user – and society – is a noble cause.” [1]
Connecticut’s Leadership in Democracy and Innovation
Connecticut has a rich history when it comes to Democracy, clean energy, and climate change. Known as the “Constitution State,” it was the Fundamental Orders of 1639 from Windsor, Wethersfield and Hartford that was the world’s first written constitution for a self-governing people and seen as the prototype of our U.S. Constitution which was adopted over 150 years later. Entrepreneurs were active with innovative technologies. Daniel Halladay created and manufactured wind turbines in the 1850s and Colonel Albert Pope was working on electric vehicle technologies in the 1900s. The first Presidential motorcade and certainly the first (and quite possibly the only) in an electric vehicle, happened with Theodore Roosevelt in downtown Hartford on August 22, 1902. It was in Westbrook, Connecticut on August 27, 2001, where Resolution 26-4 “Resolution Concerning Energy and Environment” was signed by the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers establishing the first regional climate change action plan in the United States, in collaboration with Canada. Alexis de Tocqueville recognized the importance of civic engagement in American democracy and the role of states like Connecticut.
“The civilization of New England has been like a beacon lit upon a hill, which, after it has diffused its warmth around, tinges the distant horizon with its glow.”
As the nation’s first “Green Bank,” the Connecticut Green Bank was created by a bipartisan act of legislation in July of 2011. With the mission to “confront climate change and provide all of society a healthier and more prosperous future by increasing and accelerating the flow of private capital into markets that energize the green economy,” the Connecticut Green Bank was awarded the prestigious Innovations in American Government Awards from the Ash Center at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2017 for “Sparking the Green Bank Movement”. There are green banks now at the city, county, and state levels across the country, national policy proposals for a U.S. Green Bank [2] and U.S. Climate Bank, [3] and green banks being created in developed and developing countries around the world.
Vision to Confront an Another Existential Crisis
James Cameron had a vision of environment bonds over a decade ago – whereby “Governments would collect money from investors who would benefit from guaranteed – but modest – rates of return…the bonds could tap a vein of renewed idealism among investors who are seeking to use the financial system for good causes.” In 2018, the “Green Bond” market saw $170 billion issued with 40% of the proceeds being invested in clean energy projects, and as noted by Forbes, are seen as an important mechanism to solve climate change. [4] What if, like Series-E War Bonds, governments across this country – municipal, state, and federal governments – were to issue third-party climate-certified [5] Green Bonds that individuals and families could invest in to confront climate change?
It is only befitting, that as we approach the 50th anniversary of Earth Day – April 22, 2020 – that having been inspired by history, recognizing that environmentalism and humanitarianism are better together, that the Connecticut Green Bank gives rise to the first Green Liberty Bonds available to families in Connecticut and Americans across our great nation.
[1] “From War Bonds to Environment Bonds” by James Kanter in the Green: Energy, the Environment and the Bottom Line of the New York Times (April 20, 2009).
[2] S. 1528 and H.R. 3423 proposed by Senators Murphy and Blumenthal and Representative Himes of Connecticut
[3] S. 2057 and H.R. 5416 proposed by Senator Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Dingell of Michigan
[4] “Green Bonds Can Solve Our Climate Crisis” by Miriam Tuerk in Forbes (August 28, 2019)
[5] For example, Climate Bond Initiative, Green Bond Principles, etc.
Green Liberty Notes
Connecticut Green Bank Subsidiary’s Eighth Investment Offering for Citizens Surpasses Its Maximum Raise
Featuring an increased maximum raise limit, investment opportunity exceeds 100% of target for sixth consecutive time
Hartford, CT (Nov. 3, 2023) – CGB Green Liberty Notes LLC, a subsidiary of the Connecticut Green Bank, successfully closed their eighth Green Liberty offering, surpassing its maximum raise amount. To allow for more investors to participate in this innovative and certified green investment opportunity, this was the second offering that featured an increased maximum raise limit of $350,000. This is the sixth consecutive offering to exceed the maximum. In total, more than $1.8 million has been raised from Connecticut citizens and nationwide investors in support of small businesses improving their energy efficiency and reducing their energy costs. The campaign is made possible in partnership with Raise Green, an award-winning online marketplace for impact investing.
Green Liberty Notes, which are offered quarterly, can be purchased through an online platform without a broker, with a $100 minimum. To date, more than 60% of original investments have been $1,000 or less, with buyers from 35 states around the nation and more than half of the investors have been Connecticut residents.
Investments in the Green Liberty offering support Eversource’s Small Business Energy Advantage (SBEA) program, which enables small businesses in Connecticut to reduce their energy costs through efficiency upgrades and zero-interest loans.
As a result of the climate benefits associated with the SBEA program, this Green Liberty offering has been reviewed and verified for its environmental attributes by Kestrel.
Please sign up for notifications on this site to receive email updates when then next offering opens.