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March 2021
This article explores the utility perspective of President Biden's 2035 goal of net-zero carbon emissions in the power sector. Many utilities are already working towards emissions reduction by using renewable energy and technology, but natural gas will still be an important energy source in the near-term. The article highlights utilities that have expressed enthusiasm or apprehension about the emissions goal, which underscores the challenge of nationwide electrification.
March 2021
This article provides an overview of a Massachusetts act that would allow cities and towns to adopt building codes that require electrification and higher energy efficiency in new construction. The perspectives of key stakeholders, including utilities, architect and developer groups, and state leadership are also included in the article.
December 2020
This climate action plan evaluates the effects of climate on Maine and sets goals for the Climate Action Plan. The plan includes strategies that embracing the future of technology in Maine, modernizing Maine's buildings, reducing carbon emissions in the energy and industrial sectors, growing Maine's clean energy economy while protecting natural resource industries, protect Maine's environment, build healthy and resilient communities, invest in climate-ready infrastructure, and engage with Maine people and communities. The action plan was created through extensive community engagement efforts geared at producing equitable community driven results.
September 2020
The CMO Voucher Pilot program is administered and implemented through a partnership between CARB and a selected Program Administrator. The program includes funding for a wide variety of clean transportation projects including carsharing, bike/scooter sharing, carpooling/vanpooling, transit services, ride on demand, and more. Parts of the applications include equity considerations such as the applying teams organization understandings of equity and equity impacts of proposed programs.
May 2022
This video offers insight into who LMI customers are and how to better understand their needs to help utilities engage and market to them. Larry Glover reflects in this six-minute video on what his team found in a recent assignment for the State of Connecticut, studying utilities’ challenges and best practices addressing the needs of low and moderate income customers. “LMI customers are, in fact, customers. There is a need ... they feel as capable as any of your other customers.”
October 2020
MPO has launched an initiative to help improve transportation equity outcomes. The goals are to understand the impact of program funding by setting a baseline uncertainty level, evaluating practical impact, and looking at disproportionality of various transportation programs. Through the innovative MPO will begin to prioritize equity during project selection which they hope will lead to more equitable outcomes.
June 2021
This report presents metrics that can be used in evaluating an equitable and just energy system. The proposed metrics can be used to measure equity impacts across target population identification, investment decision-making, and program impact assessment. Metrics in this report are pulled from a variety of other resources.
April 2022
The CPUC's Environmental and Social Justice Action Plan serves as both a commitment to furthering principles of environmental and social justice as well as an operative framework with which to integrate ESJ considerations throughout the agency's work. The action plan serves as an example of how overarching ESJ goals can improve equity outcomes.
April 2021
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization believes in an equitable transportation system and has put forth a transportation equity program to make that a reality. Their approach to equity includes including equity in all policies put forth by the metropolitan planning organization. Considerations include equity analysis, outreach efforts, and key focus areas.
February 2021
The Leading with Equity Initiative aims to achieve the following goals: Ensure frontline communities, including climate vulnerable communities, communities of color, low-income communities, and other historically under-resourced communities, are represented and are helping to drive the development of improved equity-related metrics Better understand current utility, state, and city capacity to report data on desired equity-related metrics Implement proposed changes in ACEEE’s city, state, and utility scorecards, setting the bar in a way that represents real performance on the metrics that matter most to communities
May 2022
The task of tracking and potentially standardizing aspects of justice opens debate over the importance of social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors that may vary by community, class, race, gender, or geography. Policies and programs intended to increase energy equity necessitate accountability mechanisms to verify their success. This report provides an overview of scholarship pertaining to energy justice measurement as well as the small but growing number of efforts by state governments to develop and implement energy justice metrics.
February 2022
This newsletter recognized that more work is needed to explicitly measure the distributional impacts of DER programs i.e., will program benefits be distributed equitably across all customers, including target populations? The newsletter then proposes initial framework for evaluating energy equity as it relates to distributional equity, benefit-cost analysis, and procedural & structural equity. The newsletter then references key work that influences their thinking.
April 2022
The present report provides an overview of EJ tools and metrics, focusing on the updates to and developments in state-level mapping tools. The tools were identified and reviewed by searching the existing literature and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resources. Tools that are newer or currently under development might not have been captured in this report.
March 2021
This report addresses the persistent inequities within transit. We examine how current practices in the field of transit can marginalize groups of people—including Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, people with low incomes, people with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ people.
January 2021
The Office of Economic Impact and Diversity (ED) developed the Equity in Energy initiative to expand the inclusion and participation of minorities, women, veterans, and formerly incarcerated persons, in all the programs of the Department of Energy and in the private energy sector. In underserved communities, there is often a disconnect when it comes to generating interest in entering the energy sector, and then, in the awareness and the ability to access available opportunities. Equity in Energy aims to establish critical linkages to bridge the gap to ensure everyone can participate in the energy economy.
February 2022
This article investigates the regulators role in helping the power sector solve the cost of equity conundrum. The article recognizes that inequities are baked into the system and if they are not addressed, they will likely become worse. The article investigates the higher additional costs of solving these issues and how we can grapple with paying for these extra expenses.
June 2021
This framework document is advised by and evolved from the longstanding efforts of BIPOCled organizations and leaders. This document highlights existing work by BIPOC-led organizations and provides guidance for local government staff who are shaping building policies and programs. The intended audience for this framework is all local government staff whose work engages with building practices.
