Action

Collaborative Climate Action Planning

Applications Now Open

Claim your seat for year 5 of the Collaborative Climate Action Planning Cohort. Led by Dallase Scott, founder of Trust and an expert facilitator, this nine-month program provides structured support to help institutions develop a practical, actionable Climate Action Plan while fostering a peer-learning community focused on mitigation, resilience, and climate justice. See links below to enroll today, learn more, and to watch an informational webinar.

• Enroll now
• Learn more
• Watch Recording of Informational Webinar

Advancing Climate Justice Initiative

In support of the City’s strategy of promoting equity through climate action, the GRC incorporated climate justice into our strategic goals. First, in collaboration with Embrace Boston, we published the “Our Shared History” report to open a dialog among a wide variety of stakeholders in Boston’s future who hope to use the shift to a resilient post-carbon economy as an opportunity to eradicate the harms of racism embedded in our built environment. Second, we have convened member organizations to build a “Climate Justice Network.” This network is exploring opportunities for large Boston institutions (aka “anchor institutions”) to use their organizational climate strategies and assets to support broader community resilience. In this GRC-convened network, institutions are learning from each other’s work and collaborate on climate justice initiatives. If you are interested in learning more, or getting involved, please contact Azanta Thakur at azanta@greenribboncommission.org for additional details.

• Read the full report

Boston Climate Progress Report

The second Boston Climate Report by the Boston Foundation outlines the challenges, opportunities, and progress made around pledges by the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It calls on systems-focused philanthropists seeking long-term climate and equity impact in Boston to help develop a new effort to transform the way Boston pursues its small building retrofit goals.

• Read the full report

Massachusetts Community Climate Bank

The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank is an innovative financing initiative that will support local efforts to drive the retrofitting and decarbonizing of Massachusetts buildings, with a focus on those in environmental justice communities. Over two years ago, with funding from the Bank of America Foundation, the City of Boston and the GRC began working to create a business plan for a specialty finance entity whose mission would be to stimulate investments in buildings that need energy efficiency retrofits and assistance transitioning to sources of clean energy. As the business plan progressed, the GRC and City were joined by MassCEC, which brought additional funding and a connection to the Commonwealth. The Climate Bank, which will be under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities in collaboration with MassCEC and MassDevelopment, is designed to address multiple building segments, with an initial prioritization of multi-family affordable housing.

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Carbon Mitigation Policy Advocacy

Creating a standard set of rules for reducing carbon over time creates a fair and predictable framework for managing large assets toward the net zero target. The GRC supports specific city and state policy initiatives that align with the recommendations and goals outlined in the Climate Ready Boston and Carbon Free Boston reports. Policies recently enacted and currently in progress include:

• BERDO
• Specialized Stretch Energy Code
• Zero Net Carbon Zoning