Buildings Upgrade Prize

Informational Prize Overview Webinars*

Following the main informational webinar, we will be joined by our partners at Elevate to learn more about the Application Support Bonus Prize. 

• 2/2/23 - See recording and slides from webinar here
• 4/7/23, 2 p.m. ET - Register Here
• 5/4/23, 11 a.m. ET - Register Here
• 6/13/23, 2 p.m. ET - Register Here

Application Support Webinars*

Application support overview and Q&A with our partners at Elevate

• 2/8/23 - View recording here 
• 2/13/23 - En Español (in Spanish), Ver vídeo aquí (view recording here)
• 2/21/23 - View recording here 
• 3/22/23, 8 p.m. ET - Register Here
• 4/4/23, 4 p.m. ET - Register Here
• 4/8/23, 12 p.m. ET - Register Here 

Training Webinars*

• 3/13/23, 1:30-3pm ET - Engaging Stakeholders in Building Decarbonization Planning: Introduction to Community, Affordable Housing, Health, Economic Inclusion, and Other Stakeholders: Recording coming soon.
  • Building retrofits and decarbonization require collaboration across a wide range of stakeholders. In this webinar, our speakers will delve into cross-sectoral collaboration and how it can be leveraged to achieve multiple-benefit retrofit initiatives, while keeping racial and economic equity principles at the center. We will introduce community, affordable housing, health, economic inclusion, and other relevant stakeholders, highlight useful case studies of successful cross-sectoral collaborations, and discuss potential next steps in assembling your building decarbonization team.
• 3/14/23, 12-1pm ET - Introduction to Comprehensive Retrofits and Decarbonization: Recording coming soon.
  • Comprehensive retrofits of existing buildings include equipment replacement and envelope improvements and can reduce building energy use by 20-30%, playing a critical role in addressing climate change and improving the quality of our building stock. This webinar will provide an overview of the many benefits delivered by comprehensive retrofits—ranging from GHG reductions to lower energy bills and improved health, comfort, and safety. Speakers will also cover emerging retrofit technologies, approaches to achieving comprehensive savings, and strategies to scale up retrofits in your community. 
• 3/21/23, 1pm -2pm ET - Buildings Up Tools Webinar: Recording coming soon. 
  • This webinar highlights three useful tools for buildings upgrades. There will be demonstrations and explanations of the Retrofit Decision Tool, Selected Federal Funding and Technical Assistance Sources for Building Upgrades Airtable, and the Equity-eligible Buildings Mapping Tool (link coming soon). 
• 4/10/23, 1-2:30 pm ET - Introduction to Community-Driven Planning: Register Here
  • This webinar focuses on how to develop authentic community partnerships and best engage frontline communities in the context of planning for building upgrades. Our speakers will identify ways to build stronger connections between agencies, local governments, community-based organizations, and community members; provide an overview of Community-Driven Climate Resilience Planning's planning principles and frameworks; and familiarize attendees with resources on effective strategies for community engagement. 
• 4/12/23, 12:30-2pm ET - Accessing Funding Sources for Affordable Housing and Equity-Eligible Commercial Building Retrofits: Register Here
  • A common barrier to scaling building retrofits is lack of sufficient funding. This is true of all building types, but most pronounced in affordable housing and underserved commercial buildings. In this webinar, we will discuss funding in detail: where it comes from (federal, state, philanthropic, utility, private lending), how it flows down to communities, and how different funding sources can work together to finance affordable housing and underserved commercial building retrofits. Presenters will speak to common challenges and barriers, exemplary programs, and specific, timely funding mechanisms to look out for, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and Environmental Justice Community Block Grants.
• 4/14/23, 1-2:30pm ET - Energy Efficiency Programs 101: Register Here
  • This webinar will cover the fundamentals of energy efficiency programs. Attendees will learn about the various factors and organizational practices that influence the success of pursuing energy efficiency upgrades in affordable housing and underserved commercial buildings. Speakers will present the landscape of programs that teams might consider to advance energy efficiency and clean heating and cooling technologies in their communities, including their benefits and potential negative impacts. Lastly, we will take a deep dive into one or two select program models (e.g., one-stop-shops) to understand what it takes to stand up and implement these initiatives. 
• 4/26/23, 1:30-2:30pm ET - Considerations for Underserved Commercial Buildings: Register Here
  • This webinar will introduce the concept of underserved, or equity-eligible, commercial buildings. Speakers will discuss reasons why certain commercial buildings are underserved, common barriers to pursuing upgrades in underserved commercial buildings, and potential strategies for overcoming or addressing those barriers. A focus of this webinar will be helping you understand how to craft a locally appropriate definition of “underserved commercial” and choosing which segments of your building stock and/or community (e.g., by location, ownership type, business/entity type, building size, etc.) to target to maximize the benefits of energy efficiency in your community. 
• 4/28/23, 1-2:30pm ET - Drivers of Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing: Register Here
  • Energy efficiency is particularly important in affordable housing; because one of the benefits of energy efficiency interventions is lower utility bills, these upgrades can go a long way in ensuring rents and costs of living remain affordable to households. This webinar will explore energy costs in the context of total operating expenses in different types of affordable housing, introduce the drivers (or lack thereof) of energy efficiency upgrades, and offer suggestions for overcoming challenges. Attendees will learn how to make the business case for energy efficiency upgrades to affordable housing owners and developers. 
• 5/10/23, 1:30-3pm ET- Choosing your Building Upgrade Zone: Structural Equity Considerations: Register Here
  • This webinar introduces the concept of energy equity and gives an overview of how disinvestment in communities has contributed to the problem of inefficient, unhealthy, and expensive-to-operate residential and commercial building stock. Our speakers will offer guiding strategies for choosing your building upgrade zone by prioritizing procedural equity, lived experience considerations, and data availability to decide which buildings or segments of communities to focus on when planning for upgrades. Attendees will also be introduced to several data tools that can assist you in choosing residential and commercial buildings to include in your building upgrade zone. 
• 5/11/23, 12-1:30pm ET - Building Upgrades: An Opportunity for Workforce and Economic Inclusion: Register Here
  • This webinar introduces strategies that will leverage residential and commercial retrofit projects towards realizing workforce diversity and economic inclusion. It will cover why leveraging retrofits for community benefits is important and identify challenges towards employing a diverse workforce and implementing economic inclusion strategies. Speakers will offer guidance on how to develop project requirements that track to workforce diversity and economic inclusion and how to identify partners who can help project teams realize their workforce goals. 

*Attendance is not required at Buildings UP webinars or related events and will not influence the scoring of your submission.