According to the Ecology Building Society (EBS), eco-mortgages have been available for British consumers since 1981, despite this week's call for green mortgages by British Gas and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). 

IPPR and British Gas announced the need for "the creation of new green mortgage packages by banks and energy companies to pay for the installation of energy saving technology." There are, however, several financial options available in the U.K. for covering the costs of energy saving technologies, such as the EBS' C-Change Home Improvements mortgage (a refinancing package which helps home owners make their homes energy-efficient). The EBS notes that when the whole cost of a house is considered — including the energy costs — a C-Change mortgage makes financial sense.

EBS's chief executive, Paul Ellis, told AboutProperty.co.uk, "Our C-Change mortgage borrowers are already greening their streets and making a direct contribution to reducing carbon emissions, while benefiting from long-term discounts which don’t rely on switching every couple of years."

U.K. lenders are not alone in offering eco-mortgages. Several U.S. lenders have started offering green loans, such as Location Efficiency and MortgageGreen. Location Efficiency offers mortgages to individuals who live in location-efficient communities — they can walk to stores, works, etc. MortgageGreen focuses on providing mortgages that cover the cost of creating a carbon-neutral home. Furthermore, many more traditional lenders have begun offering additional funds or rebates for home buyers improving their houses' energy efficiency. These loans make it far easier to handle the expenses associated with improving a home's energy efficiency: sure, such improvements pay for themselves in the long run, but that doesn't really help home owners during the renovation process. 

It is still relatively difficult to find loans for building a green home from the ground up, but there are several possibilities. The same holds true for business owners looking to improve or build sustainable buildings for their company. There are also other incentives (government rebates, tax incentives) that can help handle the costs of going for greener real estate.

But green lending is still a new concept. Some lenders have been known to describe themselves as 'green lenders' because they have reduced their own carbon footprints. If you are interested in finding an eco-mortgage, it is crucial to read the fine print — even more so than with traditional lending products. There is very little consistency between the various companies offering green mortgages.

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Photo by Flickr user Brian Kusler