You might think that with significant advances in clean energy happening every year, these technologies would be easily accessible regardless of class or background. Unfortunately, like so many other things, such access has historically been concentrated in Boston’s more affluent neighborhoods. Now, ABCD’s Climate Equity and Impact (CE&I) department is working to reverse this decades-long trend and bring innovative energy efficiency to low-income communities across the city.
ABCD has been at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change in Boston for decades, working closely with other community action agencies and government offices on a variety of projects. As a founding member of the Low Income Energy Affordability Network (LEAN), ABCD has helped thousands of residents statewide get access to clean and affordable energy and has done extensive work in the weatherization sector.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to making affordable clean energy more widely accessible – but there is a process. CE&I teams conduct assessments of individual households – single family homes, multi-families, and apartment complexes – and implement short and long-term measures. Along with core services such as weatherization and heating system replacement, a decarbonization pilot program replaces gas stoves with induction stoves and installs ventilation systems.
ABCD has taken on this pilot project as part of Mayor Michelle Wu’s Carbon Free Boston initiative, and CE&I Director James Collins has high hopes for what this partnership could mean for disadvantaged neighborhoods. “This decarbonization pilot project is an important component of ABCD’s commitment to new and emerging technologies for energy efficiency and electrification and ensuring that our neighbors with limited resources are part of the City’s and Commonwealth’s clean energy transition,” he says.
The team is also enrolling clients in innovative energy management programs that reduce the risk of rolling blackouts and keep the power grid stable. All of these measures are taken with the goal of reducing residents’ reliance on fossil fuels while keeping costs low.
In 2024 alone, ABCD invested over $18 million in Boston’s low-income households, 50% of which went to environmental justice communities. That work encompassed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), weatherization, and decarbonization upgrades to 3,000 units in more than 150 buildings ranging in size from 1 to 396 units.
ABCD is also making inroads in the green jobs space, recently partnering with the conservation organization Rare on Solar Helping Ignite Neighborhood Economies (SHINE), an initiative aimed at providing solar access and green jobs to underserved residents.
Learn more about ABCD’s energy efficiency programs at bostonabcd.org/cei.
