In a collaborative effort, Elemental Excelerator, a nonprofit investor scaling climate technologies with deep community impact, and Finance New Orleans (FNO), a housing and development finance agency on a mission to improve the quality of life in New Orleans, launched a housing fund and innovation challenge with the goal of using community-centred financing to deploy climate technologies in new and retrofitted single-family homes.
The initial US$2 million fund, alongside the existing FNO Green Mortgages Programme, will finance the development of well-built, resilient homes in New Orleans that are responsive to local climate and context while incorporating sustainable technology in home design, construction and operation.
The solutions demonstrated in New Orleans will be replicable by housing development organisations for cities across the US. The innovation challenge is a tool that Elemental created to unlock a deep pool of entrepreneurs, dedicated funds and key decision makers to drive concrete results.
With the increasing intensity and frequency of climate-related events, it is vital to not only innovate the processes, materials and technologies in home construction to mitigate the impact of climate change, but it is also critical to develop new ways to finance the development, retrofit and pathways to affordable home ownership in communities across the country.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said: “The NOLA Affordable and Resilient Homes Challenge demonstrates how we are leveraging green financial strategies and technologies for key climate projects that will lead to a more resilient and sustainable city. We are excited to see our local businesses, entrepreneurs and developers collaborate to bring more climate-friendly, affordable housing to our community. These types of innovative partnerships are helping build a better, cleaner, greener and brighter future for our people.”
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