Energy Efficiency Jobs Are Green Jobs

Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing about an upcoming EEFA report, Job Potential in Retrofitting Affordable Multifamily Housing, which was previewed at the briefing. The report shows a large untapped job creation potential in the residential retrofit market, particularly for efficiency upgrades to affordable housing. To unlock this potential, however, the disparities in access to those energy efficiency jobs must be addressed.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

John Marshall, Senior Policy Advisor, Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL)

• Representative Rush, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy, introduced the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act, which was recently approved by the full Energy and Commerce committee. The bill would create a jobs training program in energy-related careers that targets groups underrepresented in the energy field, such as minorities and women. Rep. Rush has also proposed additional funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP).
• Marshall referenced the Weatherization Enhancement and Local Energy Efficiency Investment and Accountability Act, which Congressman Rush has co-sponsored.
  • The bill would reauthorize and strengthen the Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides energy efficient home upgrades for low-income households.
  • The new legislation would offer job training for low-income people to make energy efficiency improvements in their communities.
  • The bill recently advanced out of committee, after the House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously approved it.

 

Khalil Shahyd, Energy Efficiency for All Program Manager and Senior Policy Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

• Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) is a national/state/local coalition of environmental, consumer, and housing organizations that connects climate, health, and equity goals by bringing energy efficiency to affordable housing. The Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Housing Trust, Elevate Energy, and the Energy Foundation founded EEFA.
• EEFA aims to expand utility-financed energy efficiency programs to benefit the affordable multifamily housing sector. Multifamily units account for 20 percent of the U.S. housing stock, and are often occupied by low-income families.
• An effort to retrofit every multifamily building in the 13 states where EEFA works would support 700,000 jobs.
• Public perception typically associates ‘green jobs’ with solar and wind energy, but 2.32 million Americans work in energy efficiency, more than in any other clean energy sector. In 2018, the energy efficiency sector created over 76,000 jobs.
• The housing sector has the largest potential for reducing carbon emissions. By 2050, improvements in housing energy efficiency could account for 550 million metric tons of annual emissions reductions.
• EEFA addresses employment disparities and aims to make high-quality energy efficiency jobs accessible to all.
  • Not all energy efficiency jobs are high-quality jobs that have livable wages, benefits, and steady work.
  • Currently, the energy efficiency workforce is overwhelmingly white and male. Shahyd asserted that we need deliberate action to address these disparities in the energy efficiency sector.
• Policies that support energy efficiency employment should support workers in multiple ways: the training aspect, the entrepreneurial aspect, and the workplace equity aspect.

 

Phil Miller, Director of Operations, Rising Sun Center for Opportunity

• The Rising Sun Center for Opportunity works in the San Francisco Bay Area and California Central Valley. Their mission is to “empower individuals to achieve environmental and economic sustainability for themselves and their communities.”
• Rising Sun focuses on three programs:
  • Climate Careers is an initiative to support youth development and job training in the energy efficiency sector.
  • Opportunity Build offers pre-apprenticeship job training to adults.
  • Rising Sun works on policy to advocate for workforce equity as part of climate action.
• Rising Sun has helped thousands of people make a positive impact on their community and the environment.
  • Their work has trained and helped employ more than 2,500 youth and adults in energy efficiency jobs.
  • Participants in their job training have gone on to perform more than 47,000 efficiency retrofits, which have offset more than 115,000 metric tons in CO2 emissions.
• Rising Sun sees a high demand for energy efficiency workers, but many people are struggling to secure these jobs.
  • There is a strong need for job training in energy efficiency and a high demand for semi-skilled, skilled, and highly-skilled workers.
  • Formerly incarcerated people have difficulty securing non-union energy efficiency jobs.
• Miller made four recommendations to improve employment opportunities in energy efficiency:
  • Policymakers should fund workplace development programs that focus on racial, gender, and economic equity—and that have strong outcomes to show for it.
  • Policymakers should establish demographic targets and incentives to train and hire people of color, women, and formerly incarcerated people in energy efficiency jobs.
  • Employment programs should track, monitor, and measure their outcomes.
  • Employment programs should help workers secure “high road” (high-quality) jobs. “High road” jobs include benefits, stability, good pay, and vacation.

 

Donele Wilkins, President/CEO, Green Door Initiative

• The Green Door Initiative (GDI) is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental justice in Michigan and Detroit. GDI wants to ensure that everyone is environmentally literate and can lead a sustainable life.
• Wilkins referenced how GDI addresses multiple problems that harm Detroit:
  • Environmental pollution and hazardous waste
  • High unemployment, especially among African Americans
  • Environmental injustices
• GDI’s environmental strategy is composed of two parts:
  • Step 1: Clean up waste and hazardous materials from the environment.
  • Step 2: “Green up” to promote climate resilience, renewables, and sustainability.
• GDI’s job training program targets young adults, people with chronic unemployment issues, and formerly incarcerated people. The program helps these people find their place in society and uplift their communities.

 

Lauren Asplen, Director, Healthy Sustainability Program, BlueGreen Alliance

• The BlueGreen Alliance believes that economic and environmental goals go hand-in-hand.
• Energy efficiency jobs account for the majority of green jobs, and the energy efficiency sector is growing. The BlueGreen Alliance tries to make everyone aware of the job opportunities in energy efficiency.
• Asplen made several recommendations to promote worker protection and workplace standards in green jobs:
  • Employment programs should deliberately target high-quality jobs.
  • Worker protections and working standards should be attached to any energy efficiency hiring.
  • Employment programs should help workers gain certifications to make their skills transferable between jobs.
  • Employment programs should help workers achieve a pathway for advancement in their energy efficiency careers.
• The Building Clean Program helps communities take advantage of the economic and health benefits of green jobs.
  • The program encourages communities to buy local and buy healthy.
  • Asplen discussed the program’s ‘triple bottom line,’ which is a framework that incorporates financial, social, and environmental perspectives.
  • The program helps communities get the best economic and health benefits out of their energy efficiency spending.

 

Q&A

 

What steps do you take to ensure that people take full advantage of these programs? How do you make them accessible to underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color?

• The Green Door Initiative makes environmental issues relevant to people’s lives by stressing the health and economic impacts.
• GDI has a diverse team of trainers and staff, so participants can see people like themselves succeeding in the industry.
• GDI also offers counseling throughout the training program to support people in underrepresented groups.
• The Rising Sun Center for Opportunity hosts an annual event for women in the energy efficiency sector. This program empowers women to find opportunities in the trade.
• Rising Sun supports their participants in overcoming barriers to employment, such as helping them obtain a driver’s license.

 

How do you identify homes that could benefit from energy efficiency upgrades?

• Rising Sun spreads the word at community-based events, such as farmers' markets.
• GDI has a relationship with local utility companies to market their work. GDI also identifies households that receive federal or state support to pay their utility bills.
• Organizations can identify eligible households that are on the waitlist for federal energy efficiency programs, such as the Weatherization Assistance Program.

 

How do you support entrepreneurship in the energy efficiency sector, especially among women and people of color?

• GDI directs their participants to ProsperUs, a program to help entrepreneurs get started.
• Energy Efficiency for All supports local entrepreneurs overcome barriers to entry.
• There are numerous programs that support entrepreneurs in the energy sector, such as the Federal Energy Management Program. The problem is that many minority contractors are not aware of these programs.

 

What initially attracts people to your program? What are their motivations?

• Initially, most participants use GDI because they want a job. As they go through training and learn about a variety of issues, they are also motivated by climate change, environmental justice, and community reform.
• Rising Sun observes that people are motivated to improve their lives. They find that young people are especially invested in improving their communities through the lens of climate change and resilience.

 

The panel discussed how not all energy efficiency jobs are high-quality jobs. How do you help people secure high-quality jobs?

• GDI uses its relationships with employers and contractors to advocate for its participants.
  • GDI only partners with contractors who treat their workers fairly.
  • GDI trains participants about their rights and safety protections.
• Rising Sun uses the union model as a reference point for safeguards and protections. They work to integrate these rights at the policy level.

 

Energy efficiency improvements are the largest source of clean energy jobs in the United States and a major driver of the economy. Retrofit projects also reduce emissions that pollute our air and overheat our planet, while making homes more comfortable and more affordable through lower utility bills. Indeed, energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest and simplest way to address energy and environmental goals while providing additional benefits to society and the economy. EEFA’s multi-state analysis shows the distribution of existing energy efficiency jobs across 12 states and their 15 largest metro areas, as well as the employment potential of the sector.

As many as 2.25 million Americans work in energy efficiency, and more jobs are in the pipeline. Demand for home energy efficiency upgrades and more skilled workers is projected to increase, given the huge inventory of existing homes built to outdated energy codes, the rising cost of housing, and a greater understanding of the multiple benefits of energy efficiency. Importantly, new programs for financing energy upgrades and training workers can help meet this demand.

While the jobs potential of retrofitting residential buildings is great, more needs to be done to ensure equitable access to these jobs. EEFA’s research shows that disparities in access to the higher income jobs in the efficiency sector are common along racial/ethnic, gender, geographic and educational lines. This new report offers policy solutions and best practices for addressing these disparities and recommends more investment and job creation services in the sector overall. Developing a more diverse and well-trained workforce to deliver energy efficiency services at good wages will benefit the entire nation.