An equity lens
CalMTA’s work with environmental and social justice (ESJ) communities
CalMTA recognizes the historical inequities of efficiency investment and is using an equity lens in our approach to developing a market transformation portfolio for California that delivers benefits to environmental and social justice communities. The California Public Utilities Commission defines ESJ communities as “predominantly communities of color or low-income communities that are underrepresented in the policy setting or decision-making process, subject to a disproportionate impact from one or more environmental hazards, and are likely to experience disparate implementation of environmental regulations and socioeconomic investments in their communities.”
In addition to California’s energy and climate goals, CalMTA seeks to support statewide priorities on environmental and social justice and ensure market transformation initiative (MTI) outcomes reflect the needs and desires of the communities they benefit. To this end, we are working with experts in the California market on equity program development and implementation to:
- Include equity in scoring criteria for submitted MTI concepts, identifying and prioritizing initiatives that demonstrate positive benefits to ESJ communities.
- Develop, maintain, and implement a series of equity guides that provide tools and best practices for integrating equity considerations into MTI development.
- Align relevant MTIs with existing energy efficiency programs serving ESJ community members.
- Engage with ESJ communities on field studies, pilots, and other research through trusted channels such as community-based organizations (CBOs).
- Conduct targeted outreach and listening sessions to better understand the unique barriers that ESJ communities face to inform development of market interventions and identify and mitigate unintended impacts of MTI implementation in ESJ communities.
- Emphasize and promote the economic opportunities unlocked by MTIs to increase wealth-building opportunities through better access to high road career paths and workforce development options.
- Apply best practices for supplier diversity for solicitation protocols for our request for proposal process.
- Track and report on MTI development progress and equity impacts to enable continuous improvement of ESJ community interventions, providing transparency and accountability to communities.
- Share learnings and successes of CalMTA’s equity approach at industry events, and in publications. Additionally, coordinate and collaborate with other market transformation and California-based organizations that are committed to equity.
CalMTA has established an Equity Sounding Board to support our efforts, comprised of eight professionals who advocate for, or work within, ESJ communities who provide professional insight and feedback on MTI development. Building on the series of listening sessions conducted in 2023 and 2024 with CBOs, workforce education and training (WE&T) entities, and independent consultants focused on energy equity, this group guides CalMTA’s equity engagement, assists in identifying actions that would cause unforeseen harm, and acts as a ready resource for feedback on our work.
In addition to these initiative-level efforts, the company administering the CalMTA contract, Resource Innovations, has established firm commitments and actionable strategies to achieve “majority-diverse representation in our leadership, hiring, partners, and spend. This includes women, minorities, and additional diverse categories.” See Resource Innovations’ diversity in hiring and supplier inclusion policies to learn more.
Equity Lens Resources and Reports
Blog: An equity lens for market transformation: CalMTA’s integrated program design approach
June 2024 ESJ Community Listening Sessions Key Findings and Follow-Up Action
Listening Sessions with ESJ Communities: Key Findings and Market Transformation Recommendations
Are you a community-based organization or ESJ organization who would like to connect with CalMTA or learn more about our work? Contact us at info@calmta.org, or sign up for our email list.
