UNC Environmental Finance Center

What UNC Environmental Finance Center does

The School of Government Environmental Finance Center (SOG EFC) is a unit within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Government, founded in 1998 to support the financial sustainability of North Carolina water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities. It serves North Carolina state and local government entities, with a particular focus on small water systems (drinking water for up to 10,000 people and wastewater services for up to 1 million gallons per day) through free one-on-one technical assistance, applied training, and in-depth research.

The center's core products are web-based interactive dashboards and tools hosted on its website and Tableau Public, including the Financial Sustainability and Rates Dashboards (multi-state benchmarking), the Affordability Assessment Tool, the Plan to Pay Tool (capital improvement planning), the Subsidized Loan Calculator, the Cumulative Burden Dashboard, and the Weather Risk and Resilience Dashboard. The technology stack combines Tableau-based visualizations with Excel/web-based planning tools, supported by an in-house data team using R and Python for custom analysis. Data is sourced from statewide utility rate surveys, the U.S. Census, and national/state environmental datasets, with longitudinal coverage that constitutes a meaningful proprietary data asset.

The business model is grant- and institutionally-funded rather than commercial. The center does not charge for technical assistance or dashboard access; instead, it receives ongoing support from UNC School of Government, the North Carolina Division of Water Infrastructure, the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the EPA, and the NC State Water Infrastructure Authority. Go-to-market is community-led: content marketing via a blog and resource library, email listservs, webinars, and direct technical assistance requests, amplified through partnerships with state agencies and the multi-university Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN). Customer concentration is entirely within North Carolina municipal and government utility segments, and pricing is effectively freemium for qualifying small systems.

Name

UNC Environmental Finance Center

Legal name

Environmental Finance Center, School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Website

https://efc.sog.unc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The UNC School of Government Environmental Finance Center (SOG EFC) supports North Carolina water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities through free technical assistance, applied research, and interactive web-based dashboards and planning tools. It is a grant-funded university center founded in 1998.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Finance and Utility Management Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hydropower Plant EPC (Dam, Run-of-River, Pumped Hydro Civil Works) (EUAEAAAD)

Keywords

• Utility financial management
• Water rate benchmarking
• Environmental finance services
• Utility technical assistance
• Stormwater capital planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Technical Assistance Services: Free one-on-one technical assistance for small water systems (drinking water for up to 10,000 people and wastewater services for up to 1 million gallons per day), funded through grants and institutional support from UNC School of Government.
2. Partnership Funding: Partnership with North Carolina League of Municipalities and ongoing funding support from North Carolina Division of Water Infrastructure for rate surveys and dashboard maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The SOG EFC delivers free technical assistance, applied research, and interactive web-based dashboards and tools that help North Carolina water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities achieve financial sustainability. Its core offerings include rate benchmarking dashboards, capital planning tools, affordability and loan calculators, and one-on-one consulting for small water systems with up to 10,000 customers.

Product overview

The UNC School of Government Environmental Finance Center (SOG EFC) provides a suite of web-based dashboards, interactive tools, and technical assistance services focused on supporting financially sustainable water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities in North Carolina. The core offerings include the Financial Sustainability and Rates Dashboards for benchmarking, the Affordability Assessment Tool (hosted on Tableau Public), the Plan to Pay Tool for capital improvement planning, the Subsidized Loan Calculator for SRF loan analysis, the Cumulative Burden Dashboard for demographic/environmental analysis, and the Weather Risk and Resilience Dashboard for climate preparedness. These tools work together to help local governments make data-driven decisions through applied research, tools, teaching, and technical assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Sustainability and Rates Dashboards Web-based interactive dashboards for water, wastewater, and stormwater utility managers and local officials to benchmark rates/fees and financial performance against utilities of similar characteristics, available for several states and regions.
• North Carolina Water and Wastewater Rates Dashboard Statewide dashboard providing an up-to-date view of rates and financial sustainability indicators for water and wastewater utilities across North Carolina.
• Cumulative Burden Dashboard Dashboard providing North Carolina's drinking water utilities, municipalities, and related organizations with insight into potential social or environmental burdens affecting populations served, tying together demographic and environmental data from national and state-level sources.
• Weather Risk and Resilience Dashboard Dashboard for stormwater management and disaster preparedness that helps utilities assess vulnerabilities, mitigate risks, and strengthen infrastructure against weather-related impacts by identifying threats proactively.
• Subsidized Loan Calculator Tool used to calculate the cost of a subsidized loan versus a traditional market-based loan, representing the grant equivalent of the subsidized loan given selected parameters.
• Plan to Pay Tool Web-based capital planning tool that connects to SOG EFC Dashboards, enabling utility managers to enter planned projects and view projected revenues, reserves, and project or debt service payments for the next 20 years.
• Affordability Assessment Tool Tableau-based tool that allows users to select any municipality and assess the affordability of its water and wastewater rates for residential customers, generating information based on census data and collected utility rates.
• Technical Assistance Program Free one-on-one technical assistance service for small water and wastewater systems, including short-term support and long-term in-depth engagement, available to systems providing drinking water for up to 10,000 people and wastewater services for up to 1 million gallons per day.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93.4% survey response rate from North Carolina utilities in 2021 rate survey
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA group of university and non-profit-based organizations that work with government agencies, public and private sector environmental groups, and water/wastewater utilities to provide innovative solutions to difficult how-to-pay questions. The EFCN publishes articles, develops interactive dashboards and tools, and hosts webinars and podcasts on current environmental finance topics.
• North Carolina League of MunicipalitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership for water and wastewater rate surveys, providing statewide data collection and analysis for North Carolina utilities.
• North Carolina Division of Water InfrastructurecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides ongoing funding support and collaborates on rate surveys and dashboard maintenance for North Carolina water and wastewater utilities.
• North Carolina Rural Water AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterviewed as part of the Viable Utilities Program research to understand challenges and solutions for small water systems viability.
• NC League of MunicipalitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterviewed alongside NC Rural Water Association as part of Viable Utilities Program support research.
• Resource Agency Partnership for Water UtilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA group of diverse organizations working toward solutions to challenges faced by North Carolina's water and wastewater service providers. The goal is to collaborate with each other and with utilities.
• NC State Water Infrastructure AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplements the Viable Utilities Program to provide funding for building a path toward viable utility systems using long-term solutions for distressed water and wastewater units in North Carolina.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided funding to SOG EFC to support the Viable Utilities Program with data management. Also funds the Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant Program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Raftelis: A specialized management consulting firm focused on water, wastewater, and stormwater utility rate setting, financial planning, and operational benchmarking. Direct peer in the niche of utility financial sustainability consulting, though UNC EFC serves a public-sector/free model while Raftelis operates commercially.
• Environmental Finance Center at University of New Mexico: An EFCN member providing technical assistance, training, and applied research to water and wastewater utilities in the Southwest. Direct peer in the same network serving a different regional geography.
• HF&H Consultants: A consulting firm that advises water, wastewater, and solid waste utilities on rate studies, cost-of-service analysis, and financial planning. Direct peer because its core service — utility rate and financial benchmarking — overlaps directly with UNC EFC's Rate Dashboards and Affordability Assessment Tool.
• Georgia Tech Environmental Finance Center: Another university-based EFCN member center offering water utility financial and managerial assistance in the Southeast. Direct peer given shared network, similar university-center structure, and parallel offerings.
• Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center: A university-based environmental finance center within the EFCN network that serves New York water and wastewater utilities with rate analysis, dashboards, and technical assistance. Direct peer given shared EFCN membership, identical academic center model, and parallel product/dashboard offerings.

Emerging players

• National Rural Water Association: A nonprofit membership association providing training, technical assistance, and advocacy to small rural water and wastewater systems across the U.S. Emerging player with overlapping small-system TA mission but broader geographic remit and advocacy focus rather than financial sustainability specialization.

Broad incumbents

• ICF International: A large consultancy with deep water infrastructure, climate resilience, and federal funding practice areas. Broad incumbent that competes for EPA-funded utility technical assistance work and federal grant programs.
• Cadmus Group: An environmental and infrastructure consultancy with a water utility practice covering rate setting, financial planning, and federal funding navigation. Broad incumbent operating across many environmental domains rather than specializing in utility finance.
• Brown and Caldwell: A large environmental engineering and consulting firm with a substantial water/wastewater utility practice that includes rate and financial planning services. Broad incumbent — overlapping capability set but operates as a diversified full-service engineering consultancy rather than a specialized finance/affordability center.

Others

• US Water Alliance: A national nonprofit policy and convening organization focused on sustainable water infrastructure, with emphasis on affordability, equity, and utility partnerships. Adjacent ecosystem player that influences the same policy and funding landscape as UNC EFC but does not deliver rate/financial dashboards or one-on-one technical assistance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unc-environmental-finance-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UNC Environmental Finance Center