One Year into COVID-19: What We’ve Learned and How We’re Planning for the Future

One year ago, our daily lives were upended. In some ways it seems like a lot longer ago than that. But at the same time, it feels like the last 12 months have whizzed past.

On Thursday, March 12, 2020, EESI transitioned to remote work in response to the alarming developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. I wrote in an all-staff memo on that fateful day:

I understand that it will take some preparation and planning to work from home for an extended time, which is why I am making this announcement today and not tomorrow or over the weekend…. And keep in mind when you leave on any given day that the office might be closed or the evolving situation could prevent you from returning for a while.

If only we knew then what we know now. I think Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart sang songs about that…

In the weeks leading up to our decision to go remote, we reviewed our teleworking guidance, cancelled travel, and started converting our in-person briefings to online-only. Now, nothing in this reminiscence should suggest that we were in any way prepared for everything we have endured in the past year. But in the moment, we tried to do our best because we recognized that climate change was not going to take a break just because of a novel coronavirus outbreak. We considered then—and consider today—our work to be essential over the long run.

The next day, on March 13, we held our very first online-only briefing, Coastal Resilience in the Southeast. Since then, we have thought a lot about how our signature offerings—timely, topical, educational briefings for staff on Capitol Hill and the broader policy-making community—should evolve while in-person convenings remained off-limits. We experimented with shorter durations, fewer panelists, mini-series held in quick succession (like Climate Adaptation Week in April and Workforce Wednesdays in September), scheduling, and platforms. And then there was the Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO, held for the first time without the “exposition” part.

We have learned a lot along the way. And where we found lemons we tried to make lemonade. For one thing, online briefings mean that we can enlist the participation of panelists who might not otherwise be able to travel to Washington. We put renewed emphasis on written summaries to accompany archived webcasts for harried staff to skim. And now we have a podcast, The Climate Conversation, that features condensed versions of content-heavy briefings like our Congressional Climate Camp series, which was designed as a substitute for the introductory meetings with Senate and House staff at the start of a new session of Congress.

Some elements of in-person events have proven elusive to replicate online. Like the strong appeal of the networking opportunities after a briefing ends, as panelists and our audience mill about and mingle. Or the ability to help panelists traveling from outside the Beltway arrange meetings with their senators and representatives. And, of course, let us not forget my favorite part of briefings: the group lunch with panelists and my EESI colleagues in Longworth or Dirksen.

With the prospect of widespread vaccination, our ability to return to in-person briefings and engagement on Capitol Hill sits tantalizingly on the horizon... even if it takes a few more months to get there. We can be patient for a little while longer. It is far too early to start making pronouncements on when EESI will “reopen” for pre-pandemic business. But we are ready to get back out there and up to Capitol Hill to help educate policymakers about climate change solutions and realize our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.

Author: Daniel Bresette