Greening our Buildings

From commercial offices to single-family homes, schools to triple-deckers, the majority of our building stock is old and inefficient. Roughly 30% of Massachusetts’ emissions come from the built environment. The necessary scale of deep retrofits and new construction is staggering – by 2050, more than two million buildings across our state must be made energy efficient and electrified. ELM sees this as an opportunity to simultaneously address the climate and housing crises by taking advantage of proven technology and investing in a green workforce. 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: 

• Improved energy efficiency standards in existing buildings and widespread adoption of building codes that incentivize fossil fuel free construction. 

• Creation of a state-wide Building Decarbonization Clearinghouse, a resource designed to help individuals and businesses navigate available programs, incentives, and technologies aimed at reducing emissions. 

• Reforms to facilitate our energy transformation, ensuring that decision-makers are equipped with the data and incentives necessary to plan comprehensively and strategically retire legacy infrastructure. 

• Providing the MA Department of Public Utilities the power to make decisions that prioritize decarbonization over natural gas. 

• A Clean Heat Standard, requiring energy suppliers to continually increase the percentage of clean thermal energy provided to residents and institutions.