For more than three decades, the Environmental Finance Center has helped hundreds of local, state, and federal partners throughout the Mid-Atlantic region advance policies, programs, and financing strategies that achieve outcomes for people, places, and the environment. See EFC’s featured work below.
EFC's Featured Work
2024 Annual Report
The Environmental Finance Center worked with communities big and small, rural and urban, red and blue throughout the Mid-Atlantic to advance locally identified environmental priorities.
Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Breweries
UMD EFC’s Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Breweries Program offers free sustainability consultations to help craft brewers assess operations and implement practices related to energy, water, wastewater, air emissions, and cleaning and sanitizing – all while saving costs and improving brand recognition.
Designing a Resilience Action Plan for Maryland’s Coastal Communities
As Maryland’s coastal communities face increasing climate threats, including rising sea levels and severe storms, this initiative aims to strengthen the resilience of eight vulnerable coastal jurisdictions.
Building Climate Resilience in Prince George's County, MD
The Climate Wise Academy aims to strengthen climate resilience in Prince George’s County, Maryland. This program supports local climate preparedness through training and capacity building for Green Teams and community members. The project will enhance local climate resilience by developing a comprehensive climate-specific training curriculum and toolkit.
EFC Projects and Publications
See EFC’s work in action by browsing our current and archived (completed) projects below.
-
2016 (November)A Different Approach to Investing in the Restoration and Protection of the Delaware River Watershed
Institutions like the William Penn Foundation play a critical role in natural resource restoration and protection efforts through their support of new and successful programs, projects, and conservation initiatives. However, ensuring the Delaware River watershed is a safe and reliable water resource in the long-term requires the philanthropic investments to be catalytic in nature, spurring further investments from the public and private sectors. With funding from the William Penn Foundation, the EFC led an 18-month project called the Innovative Financing Panel.View Project Details for A Different Approach to Investing in the Restoration and Protection of the Delaware River Watershed -
2014 (April)Asset Management for Stormwater
Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.View Project Details for Asset Management for Stormwater -
2014Local Government Stormwater Financing Manual
EFC’s Local Government Stormwater Financing Manual was inspired by and written for local government leaders.View Project Details for Local Government Stormwater Financing Manual -
2011 (September)Alternative Switchgrass Markets on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
The Environmental Finance Center investigated market opportunities for switchgrass as an alternative energy source on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This investigation included an extensive series of interviews hosted by the EFC with resource experts who had first-hand experience with the science behind switchgrass production and the economics of agricultural operations, as well as expertise in biofuels production.View Project Details for Alternative Switchgrass Markets on Maryland’s Eastern Shore -
2005A White Paper From The Financing Authority Committee, Chesapeake Bay Program
In January 2005, the Chesapeake Executive Council issued Directive 04-1 in response to the recommendations set forth by the Blue Ribbon Finance Panel. That directive instructed the Principals’ Staff Committee "to convene a Committee of federal, state, and regional finance and legal experts to provide a specific proposal" for a regional financing authority that would help finance and implement programs to restore and protect water quality throughout the Chesapeake watershed.View Project Details for A White Paper From The Financing Authority Committee, Chesapeake Bay Program -
Advancing Local-Level Water Quality and Resiliency Financing in the New York Kettle Lakes
The University of Maryland EFC and the Syracuse EFC partnered to deliver technical assistance in the Kettle Lake region in the New York portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This effort built on the Syracuse EFC’s initial work to develop watershed implementation plans (WIPs) for each of the four lakes and created a financing strategy designed to connect lake stakeholders to resources that will support the implementation of identified water quality improvement projects.PartnersView Project Details for Advancing Local-Level Water Quality and Resiliency Financing in the New York Kettle Lakes