Date
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Time
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Name
Philanthropy's Role in Equitable Decarbonization in the Affordable Housing Sector
Session ID
A4 - Lightning: Equity
Track
Equity & Empowerment
Emily Baumbach
Description

The JPB Foundation contracted Kinetic Communities Consulting (KC3) to identify the existing and emerging programs, policies, and funding opportunities at the intersection of affordable housing and decarbonization and determine under-resourced areas. This project included: 1) a market analysis of existing funders and Community-Based Organizations (CBO) working in affordable housing and/or decarbonization efforts; and 2) input gathered from market players on resources, gaps, future needs, and priorities through a stakeholder survey and virtual convening on equitable decarbonization in affordable housing. Recognizing that numerous ongoing efforts in the decarbonization space are heavily focused on policy and research, convening discussion was focused on two areas: 1) Deployment (Capital Financing and Implementation) and 2) Mobilization (Technical Assistance and Workforce). During the convening, participants reviewed a shared understanding of what equitable decarbonization of affordable housing means in practice, identified needs already being addressed, identified gaps in decarbonization, and discussed obstacles and barriers to decarbonization efforts. Findings indicate several key roles for each of the three stakeholder groups that participated in this effort: Funders, Implementers and CBOs. Based on common themes from the survey results and the convening, KC3 identified eight high-level reoccurring core components to equitably decarbonize affordable housing related to prioritizing preservation investments, opportunities for accessible decarbonization workforce training and support, prioritizing health, safety, and wellness of residents, expansion of case studies on successful decarbonization projects, programs dedicated to train and expand contractor engagement and experience in decarbonization, increase access to and simplify decarbonization programs, increase participation from community members, and establish funding streams dedicated to finance high upfront costs of electrification and electrification-readiness. This analysis also identified 12 unique concerns emerging from the convening for further exploration (e.g., disconnection between decarbonization incentive opportunities and program users, concerns from buildings over increasing electricity costs) as well as recommended next steps for philanthropy.

Supporting Document 1