The Baker-Polito administration is giving out $3.6 million in grants to Massachusetts organizations expanding access to career and business opportunities in the climate economy.
Massachusetts has committed to a series of climate goals, including reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The state is looking to develop a diverse clean energy workforce and startup community needed to achieve and sustain these goals.
The grants will be provided through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and go to 25 organizations that are working to build a diverse group of highly trained climate workers and support minority and women-owned business enterprises in the climate industry.
The grantees include Greater Boston-based organizations like Greentown Labs, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and Roxbury Community College.
“Equitable growth of the clean energy industry not only ensures the sector’s sustainability but also provides important benefits of generating a strong workforce within the sector, providing economic benefits within our communities and regions throughout the state,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito in a statement. “Our administration is proud to partner with these incredible organizations to expand access within clean energy as we work together to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”
The administration is awarding $2.8 million of the funding to nine organizations that support minority and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) contributing to the climate economy. The grantees range from organizations providing clean energy business mentoring to accessing capital or facilitating access to opportunities in electric vehicle infrastructure expansion.
The following are the awardees, their grant amount and proposed project. The company descriptions were provided by the Baker-Polito administration.
- Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC): $1,000,000 to support 45 MWBEs. ECC will recruit MWBE contractors in the Pioneer Valley, train on decarbonization work, connect to pipelines of work, provide networking opportunities, and facilitate connections to working and equity capital.
- Browning the Green Space (BGS): $508,500 to support 50 MWBEs. BGS will create more MWBEs by expanding the Accelerating Contractors of Color in Energy for Sustainable Success (ACCESS) program. ACCESS is an 8-week contractor boot camp for aspiring energy efficiency and renewable energy business owners that provides curated consulting, coaching, connections, mentorship, and access to capital.
- Greentown Labs: Up to $500,000 to support 18 MWBEs. Greentown Labs will operate the accelerator program, Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders (ACCEL) to accelerate high-growth, tech innovation–based MWBE startups towards investment, partnerships, and customers.
- Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC): Up to $500,000 to support 75 MWBEs. GNEMSDC will help MWBEs become aware of opportunities to obtain contracts in climate critical areas, build their financial and intellectual capital and provide MWBE certifications, leveraging grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
- Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA): $50,000 to support 20 MWBEs. BECMA will expand its electric vehicle (EV) kickstarter program to areas outside of Boston. This effort helps MWBEs identify business opportunities in EV space as resellers, owner-operators, installers, and maintenance providers. Businesses interested in the expansion are awarded $5k grants from BECMA and access to MassDevelopment for loan financing.
- Center for Women and Enterprise: $50,000 to determine the educational, professional development, and back-office services necessary for early MWBEs to thrive in the climate-critical building sector.
- The Compost Collaborative: $50,000 to explore expanding Compost Collaborative employee ownership to spin-off business model targeting BIPOC/female returning citizens as a template for other women returning from prison. The Compost Collaborative will also explore connecting with other state programs to allow more women ex-offenders to use and participate in this business model.
- Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA): $50,000 to explore how to provide MWBEs with access to the NESEA Green Building community and its resources and connections. In particular, NESEA will define how MWBE participation in NESEA's peer business groups might become part of other implementation grants to other grantees or other models for NESEA to support MWBEs.
- SRGE, the Construction Incubator: $50,000 to support the expansion of larger BIPOC construction, electrical, and mechanical contractors through the Construction Incubator program for EV charging station installation, high-performing mechanical systems, and energy retrofit building projects.
The equity workforce grantees are organizations providing programs that give technical training, placement opportunities and support services to create new members of the climate workforce. The following are the awardees, their grant amount and proposed project. The company descriptions were provided by the Baker-Polito administration.
- All In Energy: $50,000 to develop career pathways for multilingual individuals from EJ Neighborhoods to become energy auditors. The pathways will involve placement in customer-facing roles at Mass Save programs to give participants the resources and time needed to train to become energy auditors.
- Automotive Careers Development Center (ACDC): $50,000 to expand existing hybrid and EV training programs to recruit and train individuals working in the fossil fuel industry from EJ Neighborhoods across the state to work in and service those communities.
- Browning the Green Space (BGS): $50,000 to explore pathways for formerly incarcerated citizens in Boston to receive training and support needed to enter the high-performance building retrofits sector. BGS will explore partnerships and solutions that reduce the barriers faced by those with CORI issues.
- Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC): $50,000 to develop career pathways with employer partners for formerly incarcerated citizens to enter the high-performance building retrofits sector. CSNDC will adapt prior experience working with those with CORI issues to this plan.
- Greenfield Community College: $50,000 to develop a co-op model with employer partners throughout Franklin and Hampshire Counties to train workers in fossil fuel industries and individuals in EJ Neighborhoods to transition to clean energy job alternatives in the high-performance retrofits sector.
- GreenRoots Chelsea: $50,000 to explore training a wide range of people of color, workers in the fossil fuel industry, and youth from Chelsea and East Boston to enter the clean energy sector locally in careers related to solar energy and microgrids.
- Groundwork Lawrence: $50,000 to develop a customized multi-year training program to train residents of Lawrence and other Merrimack Valley EJ Neighborhoods to enter careers in the high-performance retrofits sector.
- Industry Training Inc.: $50,000 to develop and deploy a Massachusetts Green Buildings Accelerator Plan that can be deployed across EJ Neighborhoods statewide, providing residents with career navigation to better understand career pathways, access foundational training, and enter curated workforce and educational pathways.
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): $50,000 to explore upskilling LISC’s existing weatherization training program to provide participants from EJ Neighborhoods with the skills needed to become home energy specialists, heat pump technicians, or electricians. LISC will also examine replication strategies to bring the program to Lawrence, New Bedford/Fall River, and Worcester.
- Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN): $50,000 to research solidifying the components of long-term pipelines that enable black and indigenous people of color (BIPOC) to gain initial skills and then continue to grow to attain high-quality jobs related to HVAC and electrification.
- MassHire North Shore Workforce Board: $50,000 to develop a regional equitable workforce training plan and training programs leading to jobs in the offshore wind industry supply chain and other parts of the blue economy.
- Nordee Enterprise: $50,000 to explore providing early exposure to clean energy jobs at Hyde Park and Mattapan-based high schools; delivering specialization workshops at local technical schools, colleges, and neighborhood associations; and establishing placement pathways.
- People Acting in Community Endeavors Inc. (PACE): $50,000 to connect the most underserved individuals in New Bedford and neighboring EJ communities that may be missed by traditional workforce approaches to growing workforce development and economic opportunities created by offshore wind.
- Roxbury Community College: $50,000 to develop a world-class heat pump training and certification program parallel to the existing Building Automation System training and certification program.
- Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts (SBN): $50,000 to develop the SBN Solar Business Accelerator that will support the creation of new workforce programs to grow the solar industry. SBN will focus on jobs beyond electrical engineers and electricians, such as sales and marketing, information technology, drone operation, community engagement ambassadors, and vegetation management.
- Tremco CPG Inc.: $50,000 to explore expansion and upskilling of the Rising Stars trades program hosted at Madison Park Vocational Technical School to include high-performance retrofit training and placement pathways.
