What is the Zero Carbon Renovation Fund?

The ZCRF is a bold proposal to allocate $300 million from the Massachusetts State Legislature for a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund to jumpstart the market for zero carbon renovations in existing buildings in Massachusetts, with the goal of having this fund administered by MassCEC.

Renovations supported by the ZCRF will include improvements  and renovations that are aligned with a zero carbon future and incorporates one or more of the following: (1) maximizing energy efficiency through building envelope upgrades; (2) electrification of building systems; (3) maximizing usage of on-site renewable energy, wherever possible; and (4) consideration of building retrofit materials that are low embodied carbon.

The ZCRF will prioritize affordable housing, public housing, low- and moderate-income homes, schools, BIPOC and women businesses, and buildings located in Environmental Justice communities.

The Impact

Deep decarbonization enabled by the ZCRF will prioritize the most vulnerable populations to reduce emissions, improve climate resiliency, and improve the overall health for communities most in need.

The ZCRF would be a catalyst for advancing climate justice and improving resiliency in communities that have had to bear the brunt of the state’s environmental burdens by prioritizing zero carbon renovations in environmental justice communities and other communities disproportionately impacted by climate change, environmental hazards, and rising energy prices. 

It will transform the marketplace, to jumpstart zero carbon renovation projects across the Commonwealth and lay the foundation to drive down costs and provide relief for consumers over the long term as we transition away from our reliance on fossil fuels, making zero carbon renovations affordable.

The Need

With nearly 1/3 of the State's carbon emissions coming from its 2 million existing buildings, deep energy retrofits are a necessity.

The ZCRF will be a critical resource in achieving the goals laid out in both the Massachusetts Climate and Clean Energy Plan, and most recently in the Massachusetts Clean Heat Commission Final Report of retrofitting an additional 500,000 residential homes and roughly 300 million square feet of commercial buildings by 2030 (including schools, affordable housing, etc.)

This down payment on decarbonization will not only help us to meet our climate goals, but it will also drastically improve the health and affordability of safe buildings located in Environmental Justice communities.

Who is the ZCRF Coalition?

The Zero Carbon Renovation Fund Coalition is a coalition made up of over 200 organizations and coalitions, representing 80,000 units of affordable housing, and working at the intersection of housing justice, education, climate, and environmental justice. See the full list below.

The Zero Carbon Renovation Fund Coalition Members: 

• 2Life Communities
• 350 Mass Berkshires 
• 350 Central Mass
• 350MA
• Abacus Architects
• Abode Energy Management
• Acadia Center
• Acedone
• Action for Equity
• Acton Climate Coalition
• Alliance of Cambridge Tenants (ACT)
• Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation
• Allume Energy
• Andover Working to Educate Climate Action Now (WECAN)
• Anti-Racism & Earth Ministry Teams of First Church Amherst, UCC
• Asian American Civic Association
• Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC)
• AURORA Architects + Builders Co.
• B'nai B'rith Housing
• Beacon Climate Innovations
• Beacon Communities
• Berkshire Environmental Action Team
• Birchwood Sustainable Development
• BlocPower 
• BlueHub Capital
• Boston Catholic Climate Movement
• Boston Center for Independent Living
• Boston Climate Action Network (BCAN)
• Boston Housing Authority
• Boston Impact Initiative
• Breathe Clean North Shore
• Bright Power
• Brookhaven Residents Climate Change Committee
• Brookline Community Development Corporation
• Browning the Green Space (BGS)
• Building A Better Wellesley 
• Building Evolution Corporation
• Built Environment Plus (BE+)
• Byggmeister Design Build
• Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA)
• Capstone Communities LLC
• Cascap Inc.
• Castle Square Tenants Organization
• Center for EcoTechnology
• Chatham Climate Action Network
• Citizens' Climate Lobby Boston Metrowest
• Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)
• Clean Energy Group (CEG)
• Clean Water Action
• Climate Action Now, Western Mass (CAN)
• Climate Code Blue
• Coalition for a Better Acre
• Codman Square NDC
• Commonwealth Community Developers, LLC
• Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc. (CAAS)
• Community Action Works Campaigns
• Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts (CEDC)
• Community Square Associates
• Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)
• Construct
• Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation
• East Boston CDC (EBCDC)
• Eisenberg Consulting LLC
• Elders Climate Action Mass.
• Embue
• Emerald Cities Collaborative
• Energy Allies
• Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM) 
• Environmental Team of the First Parish of Concord
• Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative
• Fenway CDC
• foundation for business equity (fbe)
• Franklin County CDC
• Grand Banks building products
• Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity
• GreenerU
• Greening Greenfield
• Green Energy Consumers Alliance
• The Green Engineer, Inc.
• Green Newton
• GreenRoots
• Greenvest
• HallKeen Management
• Harborlight Homes
• Hargidon Architecture + Design
• Hebrew SeniorLife
• Health Resources in Action (HRiA)
• Hilltown CDC
• Home City Development, Inc.
• Housing Corporation of Arlington
• Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC)
• Housing Greenfield 
• Housing Nantucket
• Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc. (HRI)
• ICON Architecture
• Indivisible Acton Area
• Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA Boston)
• Island Housing Trust
• Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation
• Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
• Jewish Climate Action Network
• Jonathan Rose Companies
• Jones Whitsett Architects (JWA)
• Just A Start
• Kim Lundgren Associates, Inc.
• Latino Support Network (LSN)
• Lawrence CommunityWorks
• League of Conservation Voters
• LEAN Green Building, Inc.
• Lexington Climate Action Network
• LivableStreets Alliance (LSA)
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
• Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group
• Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC)
• Main South CDC
• Maloney Properties, Inc.
• Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA)
• Massachusetts Chapter of American Institute of Architects (AIA)
• Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC)
• Massachusetts Association of Housing Cooperative
• Massachusetts Building Electrification Accelerator (BEA)
• Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN)
• Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light
• Mass Power Forward Coalition (MPF)
• Mass Renews Alliance
• Massachusetts Sierra Club
• Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)
• Metro West Collaborative Development
• Mill Cities Community Investments (MCCI) 
• Montague Housing Authority
• Mothers Out Front Massachusetts
• Munkenbeck Consulting
• Mystic River Watershed Association
• Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH)
• Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts (N2N)
• NeighborWorks Housing Solutions
• New Ecology, Inc.
• NewVue Communities
• No Fracked Gas in Mass
• No Pipeline Westborough
• North Shore CDC (NSCDC)
• Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC)
• Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
• Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation
• Onion Flats Architecture
• Our Climate
• Passive House Massachusetts
• The Property & Casualty Initiative (PCI)
• Peabody Properties
• Petersen Engineering, Inc.
• Pine Street Inn 
• Placetailor Co-op LLC
• Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA)
• PowerOptions
• Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH)
• Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts
• Progressive Mass
• Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts
• Quincy Geneva New Vision CDC (QGNV)
• R.W. Kern Center at Hampshire College
• RCC Center for Smart Building Technology
• Rethinking Power Management (RPM)
• Resonant Energy
• Revitalize Community Development Corporation
• RMI
• Slipstream
• Somerville Community Corporation
• South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation (SBNDC)
• Southwest Boston CDC
• Sparhawk Group 
• St. Francis House
• Stanton Home
• Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA)
• Steveworks LLC
• Sustainable Comfort, Inc
• Sustainable Wellesley
• The Caleb Group
• The Community Builders (TCB)
• The Neighborhood Developers (TND)
• The Passive House Network
• The Schochet Companies
• Town of Hudson Conservation Commission
• TSK Energy Solutions LLC
• UHM Properties 
• UU Mass Action
• U.S. Green Building Council
• UndauntedK12
• Urban Edge
• Valley CDC
• Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC)
• Veterans Benefits Clearinghouse Development Corporation
• Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (VietAID)
• Vote Solar
• Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE)
• Way Finders
• Western Massachusetts Dayenu Circle
• WinnCompanies
• Worcester Common Ground (WCG)
• Worcester Congregations for Climate and Environmental Justice
• Worcester HEART Partnership
• Worcester Housing Authority
• ZeroCarbonMA

ACTION ALERT: WRITE TO YOUR LEGISLATOR AND STATEWIDE CANDIDATES

Take action today by asking your legislators to prioritize equitable building decarbonization by cosponsoring S.2365 and H.3232 An Act Establishing A Zero Carbon Renovation Fund. 

Find the bills here: S.2365 by Senator Gomez  & H.3232 by Representative Vargas

Simple Actions You Can Take:

1. Join the Zero Carbon Renovation Fund Coalition using this Sign-On Form
2. Use our #ZeroCarbon4All Toolkits to advocate for the Zero Carbon Renovation Fund on social media! 
   1. ZCRF Key Messages Document
   2. ZCRF Legislative Announcement Press Release & Social Media Toolkit   
   3. ZCRF Social Toolkit: Boston Globe Article
   4. ZCRF Social Toolkit: Worcester T&G Story
   5. ZCRF Social Toolkit: WBUR Story  
   6. ZCRF GBH Story
3. View our Zero Carbon Renovation Fund One-Pager (January 2023)
   1. ZCRF One-Pager Translated: Spanish 
4. View how the Zero Carbon Renovation Fund Aligns with the Clean Heat Commission Report (April 2023)
5. View our Zero Carbon Renovation Fund Presentation (December 2022)
6. Read our original Sign-On Letter Supporting the ARPA Proposal to the Joint Ways and Means Committee (May 2022)
7. Read our original ARPA Proposal for a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund in MA (February 2022)
8. Share with your networks!

Thank you!