Constructing a Just Transition: MBEs and the Future of Building Decarbonization
Buildings account for 35% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Large-scale decarbonization of the nation’s building stock is a generationally transformative opportunity for economic development and racial justice.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) allocate billions in funding for building decarbonization that will upgrade the nation’s building stock, and consequently, create significant demand within associated building industries. Business ownership is a critical component of ensuring that funding for climate mitigation also supports racial justice and wealth building in low-income communities of color. In response to this opportunity, MIT Community Innovators Lab and Kyanite Partners have drafted a report intended to provide finance, business development/technical assistance providers and government with innovative strategies and case studies, in order to support minority contractor success to meet the current moment in federal funding for building decarbonization services. In doing so - this report offers strategies for stakeholders across the ecosystem to support MBEs to participate in the the larger national push for decarbonization within the construction trades.
