The Greater Houston Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) in conjunction with HARC and Sallie Greenberg Consulting have launched the Climate Equity Framework and Toolkit for an Equitable Energy Transition in Greater Houston, providing comprehensive insights and best practices for engagement between energy companies and the communities they impact.
John Hall, HARC’s President and CEO, presented at the virtual launch held on April 2nd, providing insights on Justice40 and Community Benefits Plans, and how federal trends can be differentiated and adopted across the Greater Houston area.
The toolkit was developed to help foster mutually valuable relationships between leading energy companies with a presence in Houston and the communities they impact, and aims to help corporations and communities build regional capacity for climate equity through community engagement. The toolkit is based on research and helps to bridge an understanding between corporate climate action, community engagement, and the federal government’s approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The toolkit can be used to support open, transparent, and meaningful dialogue, and to develop equitable solutions for the highest priority challenges as identified by communities while aligning corporate impact objectives.
HETI’s project team interviewed a set of leading energy companies and community leaders in Houston to understand companies’ current best practices and communities’ goals for improved engagement and investment. The toolkit is the output of these interviews and includes learnings from the interviews, a literature review, and recommended best practices for engagement and climate equity.
By documenting the insights and best practices from companies and community leaders, the toolkit aims to benefit the broader energy industry, providing better understanding and improving current practices in the climate equity and community engagement space.
To read the full report, click here.
To watch the virtual launch of the report, click here.
