ACEEE launches Leading with Equity Initiative to better measure progress on energy equity

(ACEEE blog, 27 Jan 2021) For nearly 15 years, ACEEE has released numerous scorecards and progress reports to benchmark and drive clean energy action among states, localities, and utilities.

hrough these efforts, we have captured best practices and set a high bar for identifying clean energy leaders. Moving forward, we want to ensure energy efficiency leadership clearly includes efforts to advance equity, and that everyone has equitable access to and benefits from clean energy investments. To that end, with support from the Barr Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and The JPB Foundation, and in partnership with AEClinic and Kinetic Communities Consulting, ACEEE is today launching the Leading with Equity Initiative.

Too many Americans struggle every month to afford high energy bills—a problem that the COVID-19 pandemic and recession have exacerbated. Our 20162018, and 2020 research on energy burdens—the percent of income spent on energy—shows that high burdens fall disproportionately on marginalized communities, particularly in areas that have been subjected to other systemic racial and environmental injustices. Within the energy industry itself, Black, Latino, Native American, and other historically marginalized groups represent a small fraction of workers and decision makers. This perpetuates the cycle of exclusion, underinvestment, and inequitable clean energy policies and program outcomes. 

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ACEEE blog, 27 Jan 2021: ACEEE launches Leading with Equity Initiative to better measure progress on energy equity