Each year, TEP recognizes businesses and organizations that are doing meaningful work that protects our environment, preserves natural resources and advances sustainability. In our inaugural Net Zero Hero Awards, we celebrate efforts that are working in alignment with our own aspirational goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Transitioning to a lower carbon future takes investment.
The green loan program at Tucson Old Pueblo Credit Union is helping to finance the path to reduced energy and water usage.
The local financial institution, which has been serving Tucson since 1935, helps provide loans to help residents and businesses invest in clean energy upgrades, including energy efficient appliances, electric vehicles, solar arrays, rainwater collection systems, or grass to xeriscape projects.
Low- and moderate-income communities, communities of color, underbanked populations, and energy burdened households are a particular focus for the not-for-profit cooperative, which carries the designation of a Community Development Financial Institution and a Low-Income Designated credit union. Loans to low-income applicants comprise nearly 40 percent of the company’s green loan portfolio.
Sustainable Lending Manager Joanna Jackson noted that the green loan program launched in 2015 in response to a request from Technicians for Sustainability, a local cooperative solar installer for affordable loan options that could support green investments. “We started by seeking a solution to a community need and the program expanded from there,” she explained.
Not only do the investments often help provide operational savings, she said, but they’re also an important part of improving the environment, which is important to their team. Both company locations feature rooftop solar and xeriscape landscaping for reduced water usage. The locations are committed to recycling and the sustainable lending program is more than 99 percent electronic, reducing paper waste.
“Tucson Old Pueblo Credit Union is not only doing their part at their own facilities to support a more sustainable future, but importantly, are removing financial barriers to participation for all of our customers, including those with limited financial resources,” said Walter Yosin, Manager of Energy Programs. “We applaud their work in support of energy and water conservation.”
