Evaluating Equity and Justice Impacts of Energy Efficiency Projects
Energy equity is defined in the industry as the fair and impartial distribution of clean energy services and technologies. Equity is also supported by the work to create more just processes, outcomes, and systems. Equity metrics can help identify and address disparities in how the benefits of energy efficiency programs are distributed, the financial burdens customers face related to energy, and help improve program design, participation, and stakeholder trust. Efficiency Vermont has investigated these metrics and derived a framework of insights and intersections of equity and environmental justice. Using 2022 research evaluating equity and justice impacts from Efficiency Vermont programs (and the subsequent identification, quantification, and application of equity metrics), this research project determined which equity metrics could provide the greatest insight into equitable program design by pairing available program data with external datasets to carry out an equity analysis. The team also incorporated equity questions into Efficiency Vermont’s brand survey work of approximately 250 small, medium-sized, and large businesses (SMBs). The research team concluded that a multi-pronged strategy to address equity in the commercial and industrial market should include support for SMBs, identifying businesses with equity missions and mindsets, communication of Efficiency Vermont’s own work to advance equity, and conducting deeper research for C&I customers. To overcome gaps in residential equity, the team recommends collecting additional structural equity metric data for at least a year, conducting a new distributional equity analysis with direct data, and additional or expanded pilot projects designed to address barriers faced by low-income, moderate-income, and renter populations.