Feature image: The LEED Gold Lake Street Parking Garage in Fort Collins, Colorado. Image credit: H+L Architects.

Climate change disproportionately affects currently and historically underserved communities, making diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives crucial components in climate action plans. On Feb. 28, the Better Buildings Initiative hosted a webinar, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Climate Planning, that highlighted examples of how this can be achieved.

Better Buildings is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative. USGBC has joined the Initiative’s Better Climate Challenge, a program providing technical assistance to reduce portfoliowide GHG emissions. Over 900 organizations from various sectors have shared strategies for increasing energy efficiency through the initiative. These organizations have also encouraged others to join the cause.

DEI in climate planning

The DOE webinar included several speakers.

Shanda Demorest, climate engagement and education associate director at Health Care Without Harm, and Tonie Miyamoto, director of division communications and sustainability at Colorado State University (CSU), shared valuable insight on how key community institutions like medical centers and universities are spearheading DEI initiatives as part of their climate action plans.

In addition, two Better Buildings partners shared how they have responded to the needs of those most impacted by climate change.

Health care initiatives

Health Care Without Harm is an organization that aims to decrease the environmental footprint of the health care industry globally. The organization also seeks to increase the sustainability of health care facilities and to help make these facilities leaders in the environmental health and justice movement.

During the webinar, Demorest highlighted that health care facilities are key anchor institutions within communities and can be powerful partners in developing climate action plans with community members. Because the health care sector currently contributes close to 10% of CO₂ emissions in the United States, there is a lot of room to improve its impact on the environment.

To date, over 800 health care facilities have signed the Biden-Harris administration’s Health Sector Climate Pledge, which asks organizations in the health care industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

A specific tool that health systems are using to build these plans is Health Care Without Harm’s guide for community-based resilience planning for health care, which helps identify and address vulnerabilities and enable communities to better withstand negative climate impacts. The guide prioritizes resilience efforts to address systemic inequity through practical approaches. This includes inviting the different stakeholders affected by climate change into planning exercises that are typically reserved for emergency response agencies and large institutions.

Education initiatives

The Better Buildings webinar also included a focus on how some stakeholders in the education industry are incorporating DEI initiatives as they take steps to reduce their impact on the climate.

As one example, CSU has sought and received LEED certification for eight buildings as part of its sustainability efforts and commitment to increase water efficiency, conserve energy and reuse materials. According to Miyamoto, CSU’s climate action plan has integrated DEI by creating inclusive campus spaces, such as gender-neutral restrooms, and by establishing a free student bike repair shop and converting unused storage space into a permanent food pantry that has benefited over 400 students, among others.

In addition, the new CSU Spur campus—a collaborative innovation space open to the public—has helped facilitate interactions between students, professionals and families, and has provided opportunities for Latino and low-income populations to learn and participate in interdisciplinary programs for food, water and health.

View the webinar recording

Better Buildings webinar highlights DEI in climate action planning