This is a summary of our Strategic Plan. The full plan has been released as of May 21, 2024 and lays out our strategic priorities for the next five years as we continue our efforts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to address the climate crisis.
First and foremost, we have slightly restated our nonprofit mission:
Empowering consumers and communities to speed a just transition to a zero-carbon world.
The mission statement is our way of expressing a commitment to treating the climate crisis like a crisis and focusing on mitigation while also ensuring that in reducing emissions and building a clean energy economy, we must do so in a way that equitably allocates the benefits and costs of the transition. We have also added a vision statement which highlights the core principles guiding the work we do and how we relate to one another as colleagues.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
The Strategic Plan includes our statement on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), drawing upon the work that we have done together over the last few years, with a promise to continue incorporating DEI into all that we do.
As this plan explains, Green Energy Consumers organizes our activities into six parts. We address the three major energy sectors of the economy – transportation, buildings, and electricity. For each of those sectors, we influence those sectors in two ways, through programs and advocacy. Furthermore, for each sector we indicate what our priorities will be and how we will integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into the work.
Read our Organizational DEI Statement here.
Our priorities
There are many nonprofits working in the energy and climate space. We respect them and count them as allies. But we believe that we are unique and add great value to the cause. Our uniqueness comes through a combination of our longevity, approach, and expertise.
We have listed our priorities below in bullet form, which might make each one seem like a dot on the landscape, independent of the others. But make no mistake, we see ample opportunities to connect those dots.
- Continuing the growth and innovation of our Green Municipal Aggregation, Drive Green, and heat pump programs.
- Exploring opportunities for local ownership of wind and solar generation, particularly to the benefit of low- and moderate-income households.
- Educating consumers and promoting opportunities at the local level made available by state and federal incentives, especially from the federal Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Our advocacy efforts are directed at influencing energy and climate policy at the state level.
While the landscape will change over the next five years, our strategic policy priorities now are the following:
- Create standards, timelines for electrification, and fair incentives for the electrification of all vehicle classes: light-duty passenger; medium-, and heavy-duty (including public transit and school buses); and public and private fleets.
- Build out reliable charging infrastructure so that everyone has access to charging.
- Implement smart rate structures to protect the grid as electrification increases. This will include rewarding EV owners for charging during off-peak periods and participating in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs.
- Encourage mode shift through to active mobility and public transit (regional transit authorities in Massachusetts and RIPTA in Rhode Island should both be expanded).
- Fund the investments and new rate structures we need fairly, without placing undue burden on LMI residents.
- Realize the public health benefits of electrifying transportation.
- Establish Clean Heat Standards, Building Performance Standards for large buildings (>20,000 SF), and b
- Implement an orderly and equitable phase-out of fossil fuel heating and the decommissioning of gas infrastructure by 2050
- Increase clean energy standards and procuring offshore wind.
- Update and improving the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
- Grid Modernization
The list of our strategic priorities is long and none of them are easy. But we are well-positioned to be more impactful than ever thanks to new federal incentives, state programs, and the philanthropic generosity of foundations and individuals.
With each passing day, the public is seeing the climate crisis for what is and showing appreciation for what we do. For these reasons, we are confident that we can do our part to speed the transition to clean energy by collaborating with other nonprofits, progressive clean energy companies, partners in government, and citizens throughout the great states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.