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          This event is part of the Chamber’s new series, The Racial Wealth Gap.

          07/13/2022

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          07/19/2022

          8:00am - 9:00am

          Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

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          MITX: Networking Event

          Join us for the fist in-person MITX event of the year! Come and network with people in the tech and innovation industry.

          07/26/2022

          5:00pm - 8:00pm

          Sam Adams Taproom

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  • Events
        • Events

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        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          The Racial Wealth Gap Series: Investing in the Workforce: Building Work, Building Wealth

          This event is part of the Chamber’s new series, The Racial Wealth Gap.

          07/13/2022

          2:00pm - 3:00pm

          Virtual

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Networking
          Chamber Networking Group

          This free, members-only event is designed specifically for our small to medium-size member companies who want to expand their network of contacts, generate new business leads, and learn the most effective strategies for networking.

          07/19/2022

          8:00am - 9:00am

          Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Networking
          MITX: Networking Event

          Join us for the fist in-person MITX event of the year! Come and network with people in the tech and innovation industry.

          07/26/2022

          5:00pm - 8:00pm

          Sam Adams Taproom

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Learning & Development
        • Learning & Development

          • Overview
          • Call for Nominations
          • Resources
        • Boston’s Future Leaders

          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.

          Read More
          Transformational DEI Certificate

          We are now recruiting for our 2022 fall DEI cohort! We hope you’ll join us in our mission to increase DEI fluency and change in the Boston business community – starting with you.

          Read More
          Women’s Leadership Program

          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.

          Read More
  • Economic Inclusion
        • Economic Inclusion

          • Overview
          • Economic Inclusion Committee
          • Fierce Urgency of Now Festival
          • Pacesetters
          • Resources
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Economic Inclusion

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Pacesetters
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • Sorry. No post found with this slug!
  • Policy & Impact
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          • Overview
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        • GET INVOLVED IN OUR POLICY FOCUS AREAS

          Business Climate
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          Read More
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          Read More
          Talent
          Read More
          Transportation
          Read More
  • Our Networks
        • GBCC’s Networks

          • Overview
        • OUR NETWORKS

          City Awake

          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          Read More
          BIMA

          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.

          Read More
          Women’s Network

          For more than 25 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.

          Read More
          MITX

          Through MITX (the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange), we’re building valuable connections between the people and ideas behind technology and its impact on the future of customer experiences, all to create a community that’s finding tomorrow’s solutions together.

          Read More
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          Read More
          Small Business

          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.

          Read More
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Chamber Letter on Governor Baker’s Amendments to the Roadmap Climate Bill

February 11, 2021

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:

  • Scope and Implementation: Governor Baker’s proposal strikes the Legislature’s provision within Section 101 directing DOER to consider a tiered implementation plan based on building uses and types. However, it must be technologically and financially feasible to implement the stretch code. This particularly is true for complex buildings, such as hospitals or laboratories. A tiered implementation plan based on building uses and typologies balances decarbonization with the reality that buildings serve different purposes and some will require more flexibility in achieving emissions reductions.
  • Timing: The timing for the state to develop and municipalities to adopt the stretch energy code is not clear. Sections 98A and 101, as amended, only set deadlines for the state to adopt the municipal opt-in and statewide specialized stretch energy codes. While the extended timeframes are necessary, without milestones or specific start dates there is a wide window for when implementation could begin. To relieve some of these concerns, the new code should include a twelve-month concurrency period to provide greater predictability for developers and builders.
  • Stakeholder Process: Governor Baker’s amendment letter references a DOER-led regulatory process with significant stakeholder involvement prior to developing an updated stretch code. It is imperative that DOER proactively includes real estate developers, public utilities, and the business community in its extensive development and review process to ensure measures in the stretch code are financially and technologically feasible.

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

policy@bostonchamber.com
617-557-7312

Download the full letter

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