Justice40 Initiative
DOE INSTRUCTIONS
Justice40 Initiative: States or applicants must provide an overview of benefits to disadvantaged communities that codes can deliver, supported by measurable milestones. The Justice40 Initiative section of the Community Benefits Plan must include:
- Tracking Benefits to disadvantaged communities
Under this funding opportunity, code changes and updates or other positive outcomes (see below for examples) that may impact residential and commercial buildings in communities identified by the Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) may qualify as benefits that flow to disadvantaged communities. Disadvantaged communities are not limited to specific geographies, but also include underrepresented stakeholder groups such as minority businesses, migrant workers, and others. - A description of how States or applicants will assure that applicable benefits flow to disadvantaged communities
States or applicants should specifically identify how their programs will deliver benefits in CEJST-identified areas (or their DOE-approved alternative definition of a disadvantaged community), such as how a modernized code will reduce energy bills and improve indoor air quality. Where applicable, states or applicants should outline how state or applicant-Tribal partnerships will ensure building code adoption, implementation and compliance within Tribal jurisdictions. DOE encourages the states or applicants to consider how funding resources will be equitably shared with Tribes. States or applicants should also discuss how their programs will create high-quality jobs for members of disadvantaged communities and increase workforce training opportunities for underrepresented populations and businesses. Benefits might also include opportunities that increase participation within code development and adoption processes of stakeholder groups identified in the earlier sections of the Community Benefits Plan described above. Specific examples of energy code-related activities in support of the Justice40 Initiative can be in the following resource: Opportunities for Equity-Focused Building Energy Code Activities. Any proposed benefits should conform to DOE’s eight Justice40 policy priorities identified below.
Benefits are measurable direct or indirect investments or positive project outcomes that achieve or contribute to the following in disadvantaged communities:
- a decrease in energy burden;
- an increase in housing quality and durability;
- an increase in energy resilience;
- a decrease in environmental exposure and burdens;
- an increase in access to low-cost capital;
- an increase in job creation, the clean energy job pipeline, and job training for individuals;
- increases in clean energy enterprise creation and contracting (e.g., minority-owned or disadvantaged business enterprises);
- increases in energy democracy; and
- increased parity in clean energy technology access and adoption.
4: Justice40 Initiative
Architecture 2030 Template Language & Guidance
Topics to consider addressing when describing your jurisdiction’s plan to deliver on the Justice40 Initiative:
- What data exists about the disproportionate energy, air quality and related health burdens facing lower-income communities and communities of color in your jurisdiction as a result of the building and energy sectors, and how can updating to the latest code + Appendix CC / Renewable Energy Standard reduce energy burdens and climate pollution impacting these communities?
- How will your jurisdiction work to ensure that new and existing code-compliant buildings that house or provide places of work, education, recreation and other services for overburdened communities are prioritized for energy-savings and fossil-fuel use-reduction through improved building energy codes and/or renewable energy standards?
- How will your jurisdiction work to ensure that new code-compliant building improvements & new construction benefit local residents and business owners and don’t contribute to gentrification and displacement?
- How will your jurisdiction work to ensure that community-based organizations representing underserved and Disadvantaged Communities have a seat at the table in the code-update process (see community engagement section above)?
How will your jurisdiction work to ensure that Disadvantaged and underrepresented communities are both prepared and prioritized for new energy efficiency and local clean energy employment opportunities as a result of adopting the new code + Appendix CC / Renewable Energy Standard (see job quality and workforce continuity section above)?