The Sustainability Institute (“SI”) was founded in 1999 to empower South Carolinians to conserve energy and reduce our environmental footprint where we live and work. SI creates market transformation for energy efficient and sustainable buildings through a well-tested and successful combination of community education and outreach, innovative direct services, and workforce training.

SI’s programs and services aim to alter market behavior and systematically drive consumer demand for energy efficient homes and commercial buildings by removing identified barriers for customers and by developing a robust infrastructure of trained and certified workforce professionals to meet consumer demand and to perform quality energy improvements.

SI’s results have been strong, including:

Thousands of homeowners trained through education and outreach efforts, resulting in more than $4 million in documented savings since 2003.

Over 650 homes energy assessed and over 300 homes fully retrofitted with energy improvements by SI programs since 2011.

National awards and recognition including a National Award of Excellence from the Home Depot Foundation in 2009.

The Sustainability Institute brings a unique nonprofit mission, mindset and community-oriented focus to South Carolina’s sustainability movement. While most environmental groups focus on land or water conservation, SI focuses on empowering individuals at the community level to transform where and how we work and live. The Sustainability Institute’s philosophy is about teaching and transferring skills, building expertise and being a cutting-edge resource that builds the capacity of people to lead this movement.

The Institute is guided by an active Board of Directors as well as active Advisory and Working Groups.

Our daily work is currently led by a staff of professionally-certified sustainability and energy experts—LEED Accredited Professionals (APs), Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified and Home Energy Rater (HERS). All staff have extensive education in environmental policy and practical experience in implementing initiatives in South Carolina communities.