The Network is holding 4 virtual sessions to discover the key insights and strategies for creating and promoting apprenticeship programs.
11/28/2023
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Virtual
In partnership with Columbia Threadneedle Investments, City Awake is bringing an exclusive learning and development experience on authentic networking.
4:30pm - 6:30pm
Columbia Threadneedle Investments
Join us for this free event to hear from leading experts on the financial year ahead and what you and your business can expect.
11/30/2023
9:30am - 11:00am
WBUR CitySpace
Designed for mid-level managers and supervisors, this new certificate program addresses workplace well-being through unique, innovative, and actionable methods.
Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
09/12/2023 -
09/16/2023
Greater Boston
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For nearly 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
February 11, 2021
The Chamber submitted testimony in support of several amendments made by the Baker-Polito Administration to the recently enacted bill S.9, An Act creating a next-generation roadmap for Massachusetts climate policy. To ensure a cost effective and balanced transition to a net-zero economy by 2050, we urge the Legislature to approve these amendments when reconsidering this legislation.
Municipal Opt-In Stretch Energy Code
The Chamber supports Governor Baker’s amendment to Section 31. The amendment differs from the enacted language because it omits the requirement to develop a “net-zero” definition for buildings within the state’s updated stretch energy code. While well-intended, this requirement was vague and would result in higher building costs and discourage the development of certain residential and commercial buildings as well as energy grid infrastructure.
Instead, the amendment requires the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to develop a specialized stretch energy code that includes a higher performing municipal opt-in standard designed to comply with the state’s statutorily required greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limits. By omitting the requirement to incorporate a net-zero building definition, this change makes clear that the target is building structures and not energy procurement. The change further strengthens the bill because it aligns with the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap’s technical analysis and the stretch energy code proposal within the Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2030.
While we support the changes proposed by the Governor, several challenges will need to be addressed during the regulatory process to ensure the state develops and implements a financially feasible stretch code in a predictable manner with broad input from stakeholders. These challenges include:
Sector Sublimits
The Chamber supports the amendment to Section 9, which makes the bill’s sector-based GHG emission sublimits non-binding in years when the Commonwealth complies with the statewide GHG limit. While measuring these metrics is important, sector-based sublimits diminish the state’s flexibility to decarbonize and may unintentionally hinder progress toward the overarching statewide GHG reduction goal. For example, reducing building sector emissions will require substantial electrification, but doing so may result in a short-term increase in emissions from the generation sector. Sector sub-limits do not provide for this type of flexibility.
Environmental Justice
The Chamber supports the proposed amendments to Section 58 and Section 60. As enacted, these sections set forth new requirements to the state’s review process for proposals in proximity to environmental justice communities based on the “significance” of likely environmental damage caused by the proposal. The amendments strike the undefined standards of “significance” and the Legislature can further strengthen these sections by defining the standard of environmental damage that triggers the new review process requirements.
James Sutherland, PhD
Director of Policy & Research
[email protected]617-557-7312
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