Greening our Buildings

From commercial offices to single-family homes, schools to triple-deckers, the majority of our building stock is old and inefficient. The necessary scale of deep retrofits and new construction is staggering – Massachusetts has over two million individual buildings that will each need to be upgraded to be energy efficient and resilient. By taking advantage of proven technology and investing in a green workforce, we have the opportunity to simultaneously address the climate and housing crises. Decarbonizing our buildings will not only reduce emissions but also lower costs, provide good-paying jobs, and improve public health. 

We at ELM advocate for: 

• A Clean Heat Standard, requiring energy suppliers to continually increase the percentage of clean energy provided to residents and institutions.  
• The establishment of a Massachusetts Green Bank to make funding available for decarbonization and clean energy projects, including those in underserved communities. 
• Enabling Massachusetts cities and towns to pursue carbon-free building solutions through the implementation of a pilot to ban new fossil fuel hookups in ten municipalities.
• Increasing access to state energy efficiency programs for historically underserved communities. 
• The growth of a diverse green workforce to meet demand for building retrofits and decarbonization, fostering more equitable access to job training and skill development in the burgeoning clean economy.