(D01) Equity Through Green Buildings: What’s Justice40 Got to Do with It?

Since the groundbreaking Executive Orders on clean energy, climate, and Justice40 were issued, federal agencies and policy-makers have been hard at work at planning with some implementation. Even prior to that, some local government policy leaders, such as at King County, Washington, have experimented with addressing the intersecting issues of socio-economic, educational, housing, mobility, and health outcome inequities impacting those residents most vulnerable to both climate-related and more recently, Covid-19 impacts. Over the past year, members of the NAACP Centering Equity in the Sustainable Buildings Sector (NAACP CESBS) collectively made over 2 dozen key policy and operational Recommendations addressing environmental justice and equity with regards to federal policy, portfolio and asset management to the Green Building Advisory Committee of the federal General Services Administration (GSA). Come hear the lessons learned from these Recommendations on what and what not to do, applicable to government policies, advocacy, and implementation implications for Justice40 from a frontline communities of color justice and equity lens. We will present and examine some innovative new frameworks, tools, strategies, and exemplary models for local governments to address social equity and the shifting of power to community-led decision-making in a Just Transition to climate justice. As practitioners in the business of healthy, green (LEED certified) buildings, we may understand the design and construction of zero carbon buildings/building decarbonization from a technical standpoint; however, in order to achieve climate action at the pace and scale required, we may need a new praxis, that transforms our built environment through policies and programs that prioritize the spectrum of social equity needs of our most cumulatively impacted populations, to transition to the equitable, zero carbon future we all want. But what does "environmental justice and equity" mean? Come find out what Justice40's got to do with it!