Sustainable Affordable Housing: Saving Energy, Saving Lives

Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 2:30 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing about energy efficient, “green” affordable housing and how it is improving health and safety in distressed communities while providing economic and environmental benefits to states. This is the second in a series of EESI briefings examining environmental justice as it relates to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Clean Power Plan (CPP), the nation's first-ever regulation limiting carbon pollution from power plants. This briefing will show how sustainable affordable housing can save money for low-income families and strengthen community resilience while serving as a CPP compliance strategy. Speakers will showcase sustainable affordable housing developments in Pittsburgh, PA, as well as a retrofit in Washington, DC, and will discuss the national movement to “green” affordable housing. Pittsburgh-based affordable housing developer ACTION-Housing has partnered with Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) to introduce “passive building” standards into its projects and reduce energy usage by 80-90 percent over conventional construction. The briefing will also feature the passive building retrofit of Weinberg Commons, a multifamily housing complex for low-income families in Southeast DC. The nation's capital uses Enterprise Community Partners’ Green Communities Criteria as the baseline green building standard for its public and publicly-financed projects.