The Magical Multiplier Effect: In Russia, Saving Energy Adds up to Community Gains

Sasha Barnes, ISC’s senior program officer for Russia, readily admits that energy efficiency seems like a dry concept—even as it is a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. Just back from visiting ISC projects in the Russian Far East, she is quick to point out the far-reaching effect that energy-efficiency measures can have on the well-being of a community.

Barnes calls it “the magical multiplier effect,” and it works on many levels. Installing a more efficient boiler in a kindergarten increases the temperature of the water and air, resulting in fewer illnesses for the kids. The savings creates new funds that can be spent on improving other kindergartens or on a job training program for young people.

In Gorbatovka, a town several hours north of Moscow, the energy efficiency savings begin to multiply: “Excited by its suddenly flush budget,” says Barnes, “the local administration chipped in $5,000 to repair pipes that supply water to the school, and the efficient streetlights they’ve installed will save them about $12,000 per year, which they’ll use to replicate the program through­out the municipality.”

Since 2001, ISC has helped 39 towns and cities across Russia become more energy efficient, and, with community input, funnel those savings into positive community change. They have restored more than 75 acres of land, eliminated 406 tons of waste through recycling, and annually save some 4.6 million kilowatts of electricity.

They are also demonstrating that what is good for the community can be good for the globe. So far, the communities have decreased emissions from coal and natural gas by more than 56,000 tons.

Another example of the magical multiplier effect of energy efficiency, says Barnes, is the unusual story of the community of Razdolnoye. Nestled in the gently sloping hills some 30 miles from Vladivostok, is the Family Hearth Village. There, on what used to be a military base, live five families determined to give orphaned children a better life, a loving environment, and more opportunities than the state system of care would ever offer. Between them, they have brought 27 orphans into their community and family-centered life.

At the Family Hearth, the orphans have the rare chance to be regular kids: they go to the lo­cal school, swim in summer and sled in winter; they attend karate and art classes and help care for their foster siblings. When Barnes visited, she saw a football field where local children come to play with Village children, a small library, horses to ride, rabbits to feed and a new sports hall. And when the kids grow up, the Family Hearth sends them to nearby universities and colleges to become metal workers, bakers, agricultural specialists, and teachers.

Despite this cozy atmosphere, the residence halls are drafty and expensive to heat. We funded the insulation for one and replaced their large and inefficient boiler with two smaller ones in time for winter. Vladivostok businesses donated another $20,000 to replace the windows. The windows and insulation are expected to save at least $2,000 a year. Yearly savings from the new boilers are expected to reach $4,200 per year—or 36 tons of firewood and about 4,500 kilowatts of electricity. This month, the Family Hearth community is gathering to decide on how they will reinvest the savings.

“Often when people talk about global warming, we think of inconvenience—less available oil, more expensive gasoline, more recycling,” says Barnes. “This shows how energy-efficient tech­nology at the grassroots level can actually bring people together and galvanize people toward making their communities better places to live.”

ISC is proud to do this work in partnership with the Moscow-based Fund for Sustainable Development, which will celebrate its first birthday as an independent Russian nonprofit this January. Founded by the staff of ISC’s Moscow office, they have implemented more than 100 community-level projects in the past year.