ADVANCING EQUITABLE BUILDING DECARBONIZATION

The Institute of Sustainable Communities (ISC) has collaborated with
organizations nationwide to implement sustainable decarbonization
pilots in Oakland, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, in order to address the
exclusion of low-income communities of color from climate change
mitigation initiatives. The Capstone team produced a case study with
St. Louis’ Tower Grove Community Development Corporation to
examine its energy-saving interventions and share its best practices
with ISC-affiliated organizations. The team identified factors
influencing Tower Grove's green building initiatives, notably 1) the
significant hurdle of access to capital, limiting the scope of its efforts
due to upfront retrofit costs and 2) tenant behavior, revealed through
the analysis of energy usage in decarbonized buildings. In response,
the team proposed establishing a database outlining public and private
funding and grant opportunities to facilitate capital acquisition for ISC
partners, as well as community education initiatives to promote energy-
saving practices among tenants. The team’s case study highlights the
necessity for green legislation to address the split-incentives problem
between capital investment and tenant savings.