Grant solicitation issue date: Tuesday, January 03, 2023
- Join on your computer or mobile app, Click here to join the meeting
- Or call in (audio only): 415-906-4659 Conference ID: #765 431 295#
Final day for questions: March 28, 2023 at 5 PM (PST). (Email questions to [email protected], no phone calls)
Proposals due: April 19, 2023 by 5 PM (PST).
RFP and attachments located at the bottom of the page
This Request for Proposals is being issued by San Francisco Department of the Environment (SF Environment). SF Environment is seeking a qualified community-based organization (Proposers) to develop and operate the San Francisco Climate Equity Hub (Proposals).
The San Francisco Department of the Environment (SF Environment)
The mission of SF Environment is to advance climate protection and enhance the quality of life for all San Franciscans. Our environmental vision is expressed simply as “0-80-100 Roots”— San Francisco must achieve zero waste and zero toxics, take at least 80% of our trips sustainably, and use 100% renewable energy, while reducing consumption. While those goals are about being less harmful to the planet, our Roots goal is about healing the planet by protecting nature’s diversity, planting trees, and promoting soil health to absorb carbon and restore natural systems.
SF Environment was created by voter mandate in 1996 and since then has advised local policy makers and provided a range of programs in Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Toxics Reduction, Healthy Ecosystems, Climate Action, and Zero Waste. The pillars of all SF Environment policies and programs are Environmental Justice and Equity. We strive to meet the needs of all San Franciscans and provide in-depth programs to neighborhoods throughout the city. Our overarching goals are to:
- Advance Racial Equity
- Promote Healthy Communities and Ecosystems
- Lead on Climate Action
- Strengthen Community Resilience
- Achieve Zero Waste and Zero Toxics
- Amplify Community Action
Building Decarbonization and the San Francisco Climate Action Plan
In late 2021, San Francisco released its most aggressive Climate Action Plan, which charts a pathway to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and works toward addressing racial and social equity, public health, just transition, resilience, and providing safe and affordable housing to all. Buildings are responsible for almost half of San Francisco’s emissions. Of that total, the overwhelming majority is from natural gas burned to operate heating systems, boilers, water heaters, clothes dryers, and cooking appliances. While emissions from buildings have successfully been cut in half since 1990, achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 will require a strategic shift from natural gas by electrifying buildings. Building electrification correlates with cleaner air, healthier homes, good jobs, and empower workers.
San Francisco has a decades-long commitment to environmental justice, which is the equitable distribution of environmental benefits and the elimination of environmental burdens to achieve healthy communities where all residents can thrive. SF Environment fosters environmental justice through processes that amend past injustices while enabling proactive, community-led solutions for the future and achieving a healthy, safe environment in San Francisco's most marginalized communities. Climate justice is a vital component of environmental justice, and acknowledges that the climate crisis disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income communities that are least responsible for the problem. And while they are generally rich in human capital, these communities often have the fewest resources to cope and adapt to climate change. Climate justice seeks climate solutions that simultaneously address racial, social, and environmental injustices.
Climate Equity Hub Background
The idea for the Climate Equity Hub arose from discussions among Mayor London Breed’s Zero Emission Building Taskforce in 2019 and 2020. The concept is to advance climate justice through development of a clearinghouse that will provide support to homeowners, renters, and workers through the transition to all-electric buildings. Expanding on the work of the Zero Emission Buildings Task Force, a commitment to develop the Hub was included in the Building Operations section of the Climate Action Plan (Item BO.3-2, page 70).
From May through August 2022, SF Environment, supported by Dalberg Consulting, led a stakeholder process to develop a plan for the Hub. Through one-on-one interviews and online workshops, stakeholders discussed the priority functions of the Hub and how it should be organized and governed to be most effective. The outcome of these stakeholder discussions was the “San Francisco Climate Equity Hub: Concept and Design”, which identified critical gaps within the decarbonization ecosystem for the Hub to address, such as:
- Channeling resources and support to owners and renters to increase the demand for electrification retrofits,
- Supporting the equitable growth of the industry and workforce to ensure the workforce can satisfy demand, and
- Informing and streamlining permitting requirements/processes to decrease barriers to electrification. The organizational structure for the Hub will be a public/private partnership in which certain functions will be led by SF Environment in partnership with other city departments, and other functions will be led by a community-based organization. The Hub will be governed by an Oversight Board, which will advise on strategic priorities and initiatives and evaluate the Hub’s results against its intended outcomes. The complete report from this phase of work documenting details of the Hub’s purpose and administration is available online at SF Climate Equity Hub Concept and Design.
Opportunity
SF Environment intends to award one grant of $300,000 in Fiscal Year 22/23 for a term of 12 months to develop and operate the Climate Equity Hub, in partnership with SF Environment. Refer to Attachment B for additional details. At the City’s sole and absolute discretion, the project may be extended up to two (2) additional years with additional funding of up to $900,000.
