BPA Announces Affiliate Agreement with Energize Delaware

Agreement includes Industry Needs Assessment Focused on Underserved Communities

We’re pleased to announce that the Building Performance Association (BPA) has formalized an Affiliate agreement with the state of Delaware. Additionally, BPA has been awarded a contract through the Energize Delaware’s Empowerment Grant. Through this contract, BPA will complete a needs assessment that gathers existing industry information and identifies where resources need to be incorporated to meet specific capacity growth.

More specifically, this project will involve outreach to previously disadvantaged people and organizations in areas affected by adverse historical and societal conditions. This work will highlight the benefits of home performance as well as the careers available in home performance, energy efficiency, and the clean energy jobs marketplace.

Energize Delaware is a statewide non-profit organization and resource that helps residents and businesses save money through clean energy and efficiency. The organization’s Empowerment Grant is focused on expanding the inclusion and participation of low- and moderate-income communities in the clean energy movement.

Additionally, as part of the BPA-produced needs assessment, specific participants will be tracked across different programs for the Justice 40 initiative—the Federal government’s goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.

By design, the needs assessment will focus efforts on existing advocates, contractors, and weatherization agencies to create tools and processes they can implement in the communities. By identifying active contractors and collecting a detailed baseline, this project will increase public awareness by directly engaging those individuals. Proper benchmarking of these individual organizations will enable workforce development and program design strategies to succeed. An inventory and needs list can foster sustainable market penetration and create long-term organizational change.

The Delaware Affiliate of BPA was formalized by a group of contractors and stakeholders in the state. Allen Luzak of Home Performance consulting, as well as Harold Stafford and Charles Kistler of the Help Initiative were instrumental in assembling and speaking on behalf of a larger group.

This project officially kicked off on May 8, 2023, with an in-person meeting.

Visit Delaware-BPA.org to learn more.