Past Trainings

Check out recordings of some of our past training sessions, and register for upcoming ones! Do you have a topic you’d like to see covered? Connect with us!

Building Decarbonization 101

How is decarbonization different from efficiency? Why are buildings so important? What’s all this about electrification? Join our Co-Director Jacob Serfling, Manager of Building Policy and Technology, for this overview of Building Decarbonization, and why it’s so critical to do well and to do equitably.

Recorded on September 7, 2023.

Climate Justice 101

We talk a lot about Climate Justice – but how do we really put it into practice? This training will dive into the nuts and bolts of understanding the movement, policy efforts, and practical steps to achieve justice. Join us to learn and reflect on some of the core principles of our movement. Facilitated by Marnese Jackson, Co-Director of the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition.

Recorded on May 18, 2023
This training will analyze how white supremacy culture characteristics can show up in the building sector, and how we can challenge and work against them. We will come away with tangible steps we can take to manage and undo these characteristics that harm us and our communities.

Recorded on August 31, 2023.

This training will discuss the basics of implicit bias and how it’s related to our work in the building sector. We dive into assumptions, pre-assumptions, and microaggressions.

Facilitated by Stephanie Bowman, Manager of Movements and Campaigns with Mothers Out Front. Before joining Mothers Out Front, Stephanie was a battleground state grasshopper for various gubernatorial, congressional, issue-based, NGO, and presidential campaigns. From age 14, she knew life in Environmental Justice was inevitable from growing/delivering freshly picked vegetables to neighbors’ doors, canvassing with AFSCME, and protesting a predatory utility company. So she received a BA in Political Science from Hampton University, and she began organizing from Virginia, Wisconsin, to Kansas. Six states later she felt disgusted about the transactional treatment by party politics. Her first passion for national work and research led her to Cornell in Marketing Strategy to learn how to test ways to engage folks nationally using digital tactics. Her second passion is facilitating tough conversations around race and class and moving towards measurable change with equity and justice at the core.

Recorded on August 24, 2023.

Women in energy matter! This webinar will discuss the difference between EcoFeminism and EcoWomanism and how both theories can be applied to our current fight for access to clean energy options. We will also look at the intersectionality framework, and expand on how it is useful in working towards equitable building decarbonization.

Recorded on August 10, 2023.

A Stanford-led analysis finds that a single gas cooktop burner on high or a gas oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit can raise indoor levels of the carcinogen benzene above those in secondhand tobacco smoke. Benzene also drifts throughout a home and lingers for hours in home air, according to the paper, published in Environmental Science & Technology.

Lead researcher on this study, Yannai Kashtan, joined the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition’s Health Working Group to discuss the study, their findings, and answer some questions. Thank you very much to Yannai for joining us!

Read the study: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c09289

Energy Justice 101

Kamau Jawara of We the People of Detroit joins MWBDC’s Co-Director, Marnese Jackson, for this Energy Justice 101 Training! Learn where your energy comes from and how you can stay informed and involved in the work your utility company is doing.

Learn more about We the People of Detroit: https://www.wethepeopleofdetroit.com/

Recorded on June 22, 2023.

Join the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition’s Communications Manager, Maggie Heiser, for this Communications and Marketing 101 training. In this webinar, she will lay out the basics of creating an effective brand kit, social media toolkit, and tools you can use to take your work to the next level. Whether you’re a Communications professional or taking on this work to bring more people to the work you’re passionate about, this webinar will be of use!

Recorded on April 13, 2023.

RAP Webinar Series: Fundamentals of Utility Planning

Engaging in utility resource planning is one of the most important opportunities in the power sector to advocate for decarbonization, consumer protections, and social equity. In this webinar,  Elaine Prause and Jessica Shipley from the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) will explore the fundamentals of robust utility system planning to support public participation and decision-making in the public interest. 

Recorded March 23, 2023

RAP Webinar Series: Gas Utility Reform

Gas utilities are facing an uncertain future. The possibility of a loss of customers is leading these entities to search for low/zero-GHG gas alternatives, despite their cost, limited availability, and air quality concerns. How should policymakers start to reform the regulation of gas utilities to limit risks to ratepayers and promote equitable and efficient decarbonization of the building sector? In this webinar, Mark LeBel and Megan Anderson from the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) will explore the topic of gas utility reform and conduct a discussion with participants.

Learn more about RAP at https://www.raponline.org/

Recorded March 9, 2023

Justice40 Advocacy at the State Level

The Justice40 Initiative states that “The Federal Government has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.”

This webinar, led by Ardie Griffin, Policy Analyst and Legislative Director at Emerald Cities Collaborative, will explore how we can advocate for the implementation of these Justice40 goals at the State level. Ardie will explore the two main funding mechanisms affected by the Justice40 Initiative: Formula Grants and Competitive Grants.

If you would like to learn more about how the Justice40 Initiative works at the Federal and State levels, prepare to apply for funding through one of these grant sources, or advocate for proper funding allocations, this webinar is for you!

Recorded March 2, 2023

RAP Webinar Series: Utility Commissions, Processes, and Structures

Today, nontraditional stakeholders are increasing their engagement with utility commissions. They can benefit from understanding how to improve their access and the effectiveness of their participation. In this webinar, Dave Farnsworth and Camille Kadoch from the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) will provide an introductory look at utility commissions, their responsibilities, limitations, and related processes with an eye toward increased public participation.

Check out RAP’s work at: https://www.raponline.org/

Recorded February 23, 2023

QAP (Qualified Allocation Plan) Commenting Toolkit Webinar

Here at MWBDC, we have been focused on encouraging state Housing Development Authorities to tighten standards (“QAP”) for more efficient new construction standards for projects built with federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. In this webinar, Quinn Biever (Elevate, MWBDC) introduces a QAP Commenting Toolkit he created to make it easier for us all to get involved and make our voices heard! View the full toolkit here.

Clean Heat Infrastructure Introduction

Join Jacob Serfling, Co-Director of the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition, and Connor Jansen, Technical Service Director at Slipstream, to learn about Clean Heat Infrastructure in the Midwest! Clean heat infrastructure is a service that provides a campus, community, or group of buildings with a combination of non-combustion heating, cooling, and/or domestic hot water.

Learn more about the Midwest Clean Heat Infrastructure Accelerator on Slipstream’s website: https://slipstreaminc.org/clean-energy-infrastructure

Recorded January 15, 2023

2022 Equity Summit Sessions Playlist

Check out this playlist of multiple workshops and sessions from the 2022 Equity Summit, including the Leading Black Women in Decarbonization Roundtable, Moving Communities Forward and Implementing Campaigns, Inflation Reduction Act, Justice40, and other Federal Policies, Community Engagement to Ownership, Connecting Reparations and Land Back, and more!

Recorded November 2 – 4, 2022

2022 Summit Schedule
2022 Summit Speaker Lineup

Heat Pump and Contractors Training

Homeowners are sometimes talked out of heat pumps by contractors or do not find support from local organizations and utilities that might provide information to help make decisions or provide incentives to choose a heat pump when available. To help grow our wealth of knowledge on heat pumps, Dan Wildenhaus is joining us from CEE (Center for Energy and Environment), where he provides Building Science and HVAC consultation, technical management, market channel development, and training and presentation services for a variety of programs across the country.

Folks who attend this training will end up: 1. Better informed about what types of heat pumps are available and the applications where they make sense. 2. Better suited to converse with contractors on what they want, why they want it, and exude the confidence necessary to ensure a proper installation happens.

Recorded October 27, 2022

False Solutions: A Deep Dive on Hydrogen and RNG in Buildings

Can we replace fossil gas with hydrogen? What’s the deal with “renewable natural gas”? Join us to get clear on some of the solutions that will work, might work, or simply will not work.

Recorded July 14, 2022.