As of the writing of this letter, the endless snow of January and February was beginning to melt and there was precious little green to be seen on the ground – but there’s more than one way to go green.

In the commercial real estate industry it’s all solar all the time, as a report from Steve Adams sheds light on the resounding success of the C-PACE program, now in its second year and proving very popular. The first round of funding went to energy retrofits and solar installations; this year owners are ripping into the guts of their buildings for comprehensive energy upgrades. The Connecticut Green Bank, the public financing authority that administers the program, approved $45 million in loans in 2014 for more than 60 projects, up from $20 million at 20 properties in 2013.

In Connecticut’s beleaguered residential real estate market, there’s a new way to be carbon-neutral as 3D home tours gain in popularity. Perhaps particularly appealing for Fairfield County’s luxury market, the technology allows a full view of a home from anywhere in the world.

And on the regulatory front, the Fed, somewhat ironically, recently released a paper aimed at reducing the number of checks written in the United States annually. Americans wrote nearly 18.3 billion checks in 2012, the most recent year for which data was available, totaling $26 trillion. Moving towards that goal, the agency will create two taskforces early this year, one tasked with looking at payment processing and one at payment security.

Also in this issue, the results of the New England Financial Management Association’s Best in Marketing Awards. Produced in partnership with The Warren Group, this year’s sold-out event featured an evening of entertainment, Hollywood treatment and a celebration of the hard work of community banks and their advertising agency partners. We congratulate all of the winners and commend them on their success.

Welcome to The Green Issue of The Commercial Record. With news from our editorial staff and advice from experts in the field, there’s something for everyone in the March CR – and hopefully by the time you read this, there’s some green to be seen in your neighborhoods.