1976 – CET was founded in Pittsfield, Massachusetts:

CET is one of the few environmental organizations of its kind across the country that was founded in the 1970s and still exists today in a similar form

Pioneer in energy conservation including designing
and offering the first energy audits in homes:

This early work helped pave the way for today’s
award-winning statewide Mass Save program

Leader in renewable energy including first passive solar
greenhouse – at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.

Launched project SUEDE, a solar demonstration program that trained unemployed people in solar and energy conservation theory and carpentry, and installed 31 solar space heating systems in low-income households.

Conducted informational workshops on energy efficient design for new construction, solar hot water, wind energy, solar greenhouses,
solar retrofitting your home:

The technologies and programs change over time, but we are still
teaching people about them today

Developed Energy Detective curriculum for elementary schools.

Small business energy program provided some of the first energy assessments for businesses to identify opportunities to increase their energy efficiency.

Energy Circuit Rider provided grant writing services to municipalities to apply for funding to install energy conservation measures.

BTEP – Berkshire Training and Employment Program – conducted
weatherization training for unemployed youth.

Energy financing programs for efficiency and renewable energy:

Solar Bank – administered 0% loan program that wrote down the principal and provide zero interest financing for residents to install solar hot water systems

Heat Loan program – helped administer one of the first financing programs to help residents install solar and energy efficiency improvements

Over the decades, the HEAT Loan and Solar Loan programs and others like them have helped millions of people across the country

Expanded services to include waste management and recycling, including working with towns to pass mandatory recycling bylaws so they could join the local Springfield Materials Recycling Facility (MRF):

The Springfield MRF remains the only public-private
partnership like it in Massachusetts

Conducted public education about do’s and don’ts of recycling at community meetings on public access television.

Joined with the Conservation Law Foundation and other energy and environmental groups to file suit against utility companies to deliver
conservation and efficiency programs.

Participated in network of Regional Program Operators to provide energy programs to communities of western Massachusetts:

These initial efforts and others like them helped pave the way for today’s statewide Green Communities Program and the development of sustainability volunteer committees and staff in many towns

Opened office in Northampton to better serve
four western Massachusetts counties.

Launched the CET Heating Oil Cooperative to provide fair pricing and quality service along with information about energy efficiency and
renewable energy programs and services:

CET eventually discontinued this program in favor of other
renewable energy products and services

Launched the Pittsfield Business Recycling Cooperative in 1997
to collect office paper from small businesses:

Our efforts and others like it helped encourage private recycling haulers
and on-site shredding companies to enter the market.

Conducted Non-profit energy efficiency program which provided energy assessments and helped non-profits apply for funding to install measures.

Expanded environmental education programming including interactive videoconferences, first Berkshire Junior Solar Sprint, REAPS school recycling program, and Earth Stewards after school program.

Established the Materials Exchange – one of the first web-based
materials swap sites for businesses:

This was before E-Bay, Freecycle, Craig’s list and all the other
great online materials reuse platforms we have today

Conducted workshops on energy efficient lighting, do-it-yourself
window insulation and backyard composting.

Created the first home compost bin distribution pilot program, which sold compost bins made of recycled plastic collected in Massachusetts:

This pilot was the catalyst for a future statewide equipment program for municipalities which still continues today

Conducted informational sessions about climate change and renewable energy.

Organized Household Hazardous Waste collection days.

Created first pilot programs for composting of food waste
from supermarkets and restaurants on farms.

Offered radon education and mitigation program.

Produced Sustainable Development blueprint for Town of
Adams and proposed Greylock Glen development.

CET became a Massachusetts leader in building consumer awareness, acceptance and demand for energy efficiency and renewable energy:

Helped address early barriers to adoption of PV in nonprofits and municipalities with multiple installations and collaborated on some of the first third-party ownership models

Convened the Berkshire Renewable Energy Collaborative

Provide informational workshops and public forums, recruited and promoted participants for annual Green Building Open House tour

Coordinated and conducted wind energy tours

In partnership with Green Energy Consumers Alliance, enrolled 1,500 households in New England GreenStart renewable electricity

Helped towns earn over $500,000 in matching funds and grants to implement local clean energy projects. This effort also helped fund some of the first sustainability staff positons in local government

Established Climate Action Circuit Rider services: Held “Greening Your Community” workshops for communities throughout western Massachusetts

Help municipal and citizen energy and climate action committees establish goals and strategies and conduct outreach. Today many communities have staff and/or volunteers that work with others in regional and state government
to perform this critical work

Helped communities achieve Green Community designation including
passing the stretch energy code

Expanded role in delivering residential and commercial energy efficiency:

Conducted energy assessments in thousands of households for
local gas and electric utility companies

Provided contractor arranging and air sealing and quality assurance to help homeowners implement energy saving measures. Eventually we and others were able to help develop the industry enough that air sealing could be
provided by local insulation contractors

Conducted energy assessments for hundreds of businesses and municipalities through utility and state funded programs

Launched and expanded High Performance Building services and offered ENERGY STAR for Homes and U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes programs

Created and launched some of the first energy efficiency
programs for multi-family buildings

Was a founding member of EarthShare New England, a federation of environmental and conservation organizations

Expanded waste management and recycling services, including
composting and toxic use reduction:

Expanded paper recycling services to north Berkshire County;
began to offer document destruction/shredding

Helped residents reduce the use of toxic materials in and around their homes and educated residents and businesses about the toxic effects of
mercury on both human health and the environment

Developed and implemented a pilot effort to help western Massachusetts businesses recycle mercury-bearing fluorescent lamps

Started and expanded mercury reduction programs for waste-to-energy facilities including collection from medical facilities

Helped schools and businesses set up organics
collection and composting programs

Created and organized the first several annual Organic Waste Summits in Massachusetts for industry and government. This work helped pave the way for an eventual food waste disposal ban in Massachusetts and other states, and a national food waste reduction goal

Published some of the first wasted food diversion studies and toolkits, including “Building a Market-Based System for On-Farm Composting of Off-farm Food Waste,” and “Restaurant and School Food Waste Composting Toolkit”

Developed Greening Your Business services and workshops

Opened ReStore Home Improvement Center
(now EcoBuilding Bargains) in Springfield in 2001:

This was one of the first stores of its kind in the country and helped change attitudes and styles regarding building materials reuse

Launched pilot building deconstruction services:

A growing number of contractors now offer deconstruction services

Helped launch the AmeriCorps*VISTA Recycle for Gold program and
host a total of 25 members over many years.

Provided information and technical services for farms to reduce costs through energy efficiency and increase their use of renewable energy:

Conducted Energy and Small Farm Sustainability Project with funding from Sustainable Agriculture Research Education (SARE) grant

Conducted on-farm tours to highlight examples of energy efficient lighting, refrigeration, and milking equipment and renewable energy for water pumping, irrigation, and other electrical needs

Conducted methane digestion information session and facilitated feasibility study for anaerobic digestion to produce electricity at two area farms

Installed solar PV to power refrigeration and irrigation at farms with funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and U.S. Department of Energy

EcoBuilding Bargains expanded to a much larger facility to become the largest store of its type in New England.

A deep energy retrofit of the new location transformed the 100-year old structure into a high performance green building with a public classroom.

Expanded role in building science training and curriculum development:

Educated building inspectors and professionals about the State’s energy code and residential green building programs in order to increase energy
efficiency in new construction

Developed and taught Pathways out of Poverty job training classes

Produced MassGreen Curriculum for statewide community college use

Expansion of residential energy efficiency programs
offerings and production levels.

Co-operate statewide Weatherization Boot Camp to expand the number and experience of home weatherization contractors.

Award-winning statewide RecyclingWorks MA program launched and expanded.

Statewide Mass Farm Energy Program expanded to help farms with energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Green Team statewide school waste reduction educational program expanded.

CET EcoFellowship launched to help develop tomorrow’s environmental leaders:

Our EcoFellows have gone on to positions of increasing responsibility at CET, The Union of Concerned Scientists, CERES, NESEA, Smith College,
Boeing, Schneider Electric and more

Commercial and small business energy efficiency programs expanded statewide.

Started and expanded mercury reduction programs for the thermostat industry throughout the Northeast and beyond.

Developed plans for a community solar pilot project.

Began mission impact goal setting and tracking including carbon reduction impact to address climate change.

Launched Wasted Food Solutions service and regional/national expansion of wasted food efforts.

Co-created Boston Zero Waste Plan and Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic Food Waste Ban Toolkit.

Launched Solar Access pilot program for middle income homes.

Launched Healthy Homes pilot program for asthma and COPD patients.

Created and implemented commercial Solar Hot Water statewide pilot program.

Added Passive House and Zero Energy approaches to
High Performance Building services.

Served a growing number of high performance affordable multifamily new construction projects.