SGC Catalyst Model Multi-benefit projects Model: Identify Potential Benefits and Beneficiaries

Developing multi-benefit projects first requires identifying benefits from a broad range of project types. To do so, funders should consider the full range of potential project outcomes – both positive and negative. Secondly, it is essential to identify the communities and individuals where any potential benefits may accrue. Doing so allows for an assessment of the potential equity impacts of proposed projects – positive and negative – while ensuring alignment between projects and broader program objectives.

Outcomes

• Clear connections between program objectives and program design
• Leverages limited resources to meet multiple community needs
• Applicants have a clear understanding of eligible projects and project types
• Embeds equity is as a central element of program design

How to Do This

Clearly define intended beneficiaries

• Senate Bill 535 (De León, Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012): Directs State and local agencies to invest in California's “disadvantaged communities,” – as defined by the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and CalEnviroScreen1 – by spending a minimum of 25 percent (25%) of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds (GGRF) to benefit these communities.
• SB535 Coalition, led by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Coalition for Clean Air, Greenlining Institute & Public Advocates Inc., quickly began the work of engaging grassroots, community-based organizations, and individual supporters across the state to better understand the needs of disadvantaged communities in response to causes and effects of climate change. They organized priority programs for near-term investments and developed recommendations to maximize job creation and workforce co-benefits. This coalition was integral in the creation of the TCC Program. And the overall expansion/enhancement of SB 535 with the proposal of AB 1550.
• Assembly Bill 1550 (Gomez, Chapter 369, Statutes of 2016): Expands requirements for GGRF to include other Priority Populations based on income. In addition to the 25 percent (25%) of the proceeds required by SB 535, AB 1550 requires an additional minimum of five percent (5%) of funds to be invested in projects that benefit low-income households or communities statewide and an additional five percent (5%) be invested in projects that benefit low-income households or communities that are within a half-mile of a disadvantaged community.
• Senate Bill 351 (Hurtado, 2019): Requires SGC to make unincorporated areas eligible for the TCC Program.

Embed direction to focus on multiple project benefits in the program, guiding legislation, legislative intent, or guidelines.

• Assembly Bill (AB) 2722 (Burke, Chapter 371, Statutes of 2016) established the TCC Program to “fund the development and implementation of neighborhood-level transformative climate community plans that include multiple, coordinated greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects that provide local economic, environmental, and health benefits to disadvantaged communities as described in Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code” (Pub. Resources Code § 75240).
• TCC Round 5 guidelines require applicants to include six (6) Transformative Elements as part of a TCC Proposal. The six (6) required Transformative Elements are:
  • Data Collection and Indicator Tracking
  • Community Engagement
  • Displacement Avoidance
  • Workforce Development and Economic Opportunities
  • Climate Adaptation and Resilience
  • Leverage Funding.