Driving equitable demand : early lessons from the BetterBuildings Program to access 'hard-to-reach' communities for energy efficiency building improvements

Abstract

Increasing the energy efficiency of low- to moderate-income and minority-occupied households could significantly reduce energy consumption in the United States. Strategies to access these 'hard to reach' households, however, are not well understood. The federal Department of Energy's $486 million BetterBuildings program funds 34 grantees to transform regional energy efficiency markets while accessing households occupied by people of many incomes and ethnicities. This thesis assesses how BetterBuildings programs may access hard-to-reach households by conducting a survey of programs nationally, follow-up interviews, and a case study of Greensboro, North Carolina's program. The survey and interviews indicate that incorporating hard-to-reach households into large-scale pilot projects may enhance efforts to transform energy efficiency markets. Grantees are using financing and grant programs, geographic targeting strategies, and innovative community outreach strategies to access hard-to-reach households. Through examining the case of Greensboro, North Carolina, this thesis argues that policymakers and program managers may increase access to hard-to-reach households by partnering, during program design, with stakeholders who have local knowledge of hard-to-reach households, technical proficiency, and capacity to implement a program targeting these households. Implementation challenges in Greensboro indicate that political support may be necessary to create and sustain access to hard-to-reach households, and grassroots organizations that partner with public agencies may need to develop alternative organizational structures to remain politically active. This thesis recommends that analysts and policymakers identify the conditions under which programs could access low- and moderate-income and minority-occupied households, rather than assume these households are inherently hard-to-reach. Finally, this thesis puts forth a Flexible "D.E.E.P." Equity Framework suggesting that programs could access hard-to-reach households by focusing on the democratic participation of stakeholders with local knowledge, market transformation, economic models, and the importance of place. Programs should evaluate accessibility outcomes, associated energy savings, and the conditions and processes that led to these outcomes.