Relay Network Positively Impacts Housing Nationally in Disinvested Communities
Everyone should be able to enjoy the economic and environmental benefits of sustainable, high-quality housing. That’s why the Relay Network, comprised of mission-based energy efficiency implementation organizations across the U.S., is taking action to advance healthy, high-performance buildings in communities usually left behind.
The Relay Network promotes knowledge sharing, facilitates collaborative partnerships, and encourages joint innovation between its member organizations. By leveraging each other’s expertise and serving as a resource for each other, each organization can better deliver on their mission.
“Each partner organization has its own areas of experience and expertise, but when you look at us as a whole, we have a very comprehensive skillset to create an impact at scale,” said Henry Love, Director of Midwest Market Development and Strategy at Elevate.
Disinvested communities are often more burdened with challenges when it comes to accessing affordable, safe, and healthy housing, including housing disparities and the impacts of climate change. The Relay Network believes everyone should have access to healthy, energy-efficient, sustainable housing and prioritizes residents’ health and enhances the efficiency of buildings to provide substantial cost savings through high-performance buildings.
High-performance buildings are energy-efficient buildings that are safe, cost-efficient, and environmentally friendly. High performance buildings are becoming increasingly popular and with good reason – as we continue to fight climate change, high-performance buildings can help us tackle environmental issues and ultimately define the building industry’s future.
“We have a shared mission to use high-performance housing as a platform for fixing problems of affordability while also impacting the climate,” said Henry Love, Director of Midwest Market Development and Strategy at Elevate.
Part of the Relay Network’s agenda is the Community of Practice (COP). This group is comprised of the broader community of technical staff from mission-based implementation organizations, and serves as a learning network to improve implementation of energy efficiency programs. The Relay Network holds monthly Community of Practice webinars to share and learn latest industry trends and topics.
“The coalition of mission-driven organizations working on energy issues in affordable housing has been a really impactful way for us all to grow our work and create partnerships across the country,” said Rebecca Olson, Director of Residential Programs at the Center for Energy and Environment.
Learn More
Learn more about the Relay Network and join the Relay Network Community of Practice (COP) calls to learn about industry trends and topics. Sign up at relaynetwork.org/community-of-practice/
Relay Network Members
- ACTION-Housing Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
- Center for Energy and Environment, Minneapolis, MN
- Elevate, Chicago, IL
- Green Coast Enterprises, New Orleans, LA
- Michigan Energy Options, East Lansing, MI
- New Ecology Inc., Boston, MA
- Slipstream, Inc., Madison, WI
- Southface, Atlanta, GA
