Our Process: Listen, Apply, and Create

Listen to our clients. We can only succeed with complete understanding of your needs.

Apply our knowledge, experience, and relationships drawn from local government, private business, and utilities. This is not so much, “thinking outside the box”, but applying lessons learned from all of our industry experience.

Create strategies tailored specifically to our client's needs. Each situation, and therefore each strategy is unique.

Our Expertise

Carbon Accounting and Climate Resilience Planning

A changing climate poses risks and opportunities for businesses, governments, organizations, and institutions. Rising energy costs, physical and social effects of a changing climate, and evolving regulations on greenhouse gas emissions have made climate change a primary concern for our clients. In response, we help our clients navigate the complex, interconnected issues of regulations, energy efficiency, and the costs of implementation. The Krout & Associates’ Team brings a unique skill set and approach to all of our projects allowing us to assess not only the environmental impacts, but also the social and economic. As a result, we are the first and last stop for clients demanding a clear, holistic approach to climate change analyses.

We utilize the GRI Framework in our Sustainability Reporting work, which is supported by knowledge obtained from the GRI Certified Sustainability Reporting Course and practical experience.

Our services include:
  • Greenhouse gas inventories
  • Climate action plans
  • Climate adaptation planning
  • Benchmarking and energy efficiency planning
  • Visions, goals, and strategies
  • Facilitation and community involvement
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CEQA Compliance

Krout & Associates has been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of CEQA analyses in regard to a changing climate. We have been involved in the development of a variety of thresholds (i.e. bright line, efficiency, etc.) that are connected to the legislative mandate established in The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). Utilizing our forwarding-thinking approach, Krout & Associates is the first choice for providing clear solutions in an uncertain regulatory environment.
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Economic, Socioeconomic, and Fiscal Analyses

We provide quantitative and qualitative analyses to study the economic, socioeconomic, and financial effects of the “shocks” to the local and regional systems caused by climatological, environmental, physical, and other changes. Our Economic Impact Analyses attempts to simulate these impacts with models that illustrate linkages among various industries, economic sectors, and external factors. With a Socioeconomic Impact Assessment, we examine how a proposed development or policy will change the lives of current and future residents of a community. Finally, through our Fiscal Impact Analyses (FIA), we compare costs against revenues associated with development policies and projects. The FIA helps developers and communities forecast the timing and size of revenues or deficits. All three analyses help inform local governments and private developers of the costs and benefits of land use projects and policy decisions, plans for capital investments, and long-term borrowing needs, all while illustrating the social impacts of these efforts.
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Third-Party Certification

We provide a variety of third-party certifications that involve an independent assessment declaring that specified requirements have been met. The essential value of a third-party certification is to provide a measure of conformity, limit client risk, and differentiate them in the market place. To ensure client confidence, we provide assistance in both data collection and process guidance for a number of certifications ranging from green building to agriculture.

Green Building: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for New Construction; LEED for Operations and Maintenance for existing buildings; and Build It Green’s GreenPoint Rater (GPR) certification program for new home construction.

Agriculture: Many farmers take additional steps beyond standard organic wine making to apply sustainable farming practices. Therefore, as a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), we can provide strategic advisement to both grape growers and wine producers in achieving cost-effective sustainable operational decisions.
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Program and Contract Management

We have in-house program and contract specialists who can assist our clients with planning and implementing complex, multi-million dollar contracts/grants that require strong project management, careful attention to budget and contractual conditions, and an acute understanding of a client’s needs.

Through our Program and Contract Management services, we provide our clients an array of technical assistance including on- and off-site training, research, planning, and program assessment. Examples of Program and Contract Management services:

  • Consult with client(s) to identify program needs;
  • Consult with boards, communities, and organizations to identify program obstacles and to obtain buy-in;
  • Develop long-range plans and strategies;
  • Monitor programs and services to ensure they meet stated goals;
  • Assist with program evaluations and updates to programs and services;
  • Act as a resource about program development and initiatives;
  • Prepare briefing notes, reports and presentations as required;
  • Provide advice to senior officials concerning relevant issues; and
  • Develop policies, guidelines, standards and reporting systems

Previous experience in program management include includes grant administration of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants for both the City of Irvine and Balboa Park Cultural Partnership totaling over $4 million. Recent Program Administration includes the $7 million PG&E “Whole House Rebate Program,” as part of Energy Upgrade California. In addition, our staff has managed large Federal programs including a Department of Defense Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) valued at $20 million.

Through strategic management of programs and contracts, our clients realize immediate results. Let us know how we can help you reduce your risk when implementing complex programs.
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Program Evaluation

In both the public and private sectors, stakeholders want to know if the programs they are funding, implementing, voting for, receiving or objecting to, are actually having the intended effect (and to what cost). However, equally important are questions such as how the program could be improved, whether the program is worthwhile, whether there are better alternatives, if there are unintended outcomes, and whether the program goals are appropriate and useful. Krout & Associates is uniquely qualified to perform program evaluation for any type of public or private program. Using theoretically sound, systematic methods for collecting, analyzing, and using information, we can inform our clients about the effectiveness and efficiency of specific projects, policies, and programs.
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