Building Resilient Communities: Evolving Efficiency Programs with Community Action Planning

As climate-related challenges intensify, the need for holistic, community-centered resilience strategies has never been greater. This session explores how energy efficiency programs can evolve beyond traditional implementation models by integrating a new community action planning framework—designed to address both mitigation and adaptation needs at the local level.

Attendees will learn how decades of experience in energy efficiency program delivery now intersect with strategic planning services such as climate risk assessments, decarbonization roadmaps, stakeholder engagement, and wildfire mitigation planning. With wildfires posing increasing threats to residential communities, we’ll highlight how targeted planning—such as community wildfire protection plans, infrastructure vulnerability assessments, and home hardening strategies—can be layered with energy efficiency efforts to deliver direct benefits to households.

From reducing energy costs and improving indoor air quality to enhancing safety and resilience during extreme climate events, this integrated approach offers tangible value to residential customers, especially those in high-risk or underserved areas. Through real-world examples and funding opportunities, such as Colorado’s Wildfire Mitigation Plans, we’ll demonstrate how community action planning supports scalable, equity-driven solutions. Participants will leave with actionable insights into how to integrate community action planning to drive measurable outcomes in resilience, sustainability, and energy transformation for the communities they serve.