DOER outlines Climate Leaders designation, funding and specialized building code

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources laid out the Climate Leaders designation and what towns must do to qualify during a webinar presentation. Joanne Becerra, director of DOER’s Green Communities Division, said the program builds on the Green Communities Act framework and aims to move municipalities from energy efficiency to greenhouse-gas reductions. "We have, as of last week, 298 green communities," Becerra said, adding that 35 communities had become Climate Leaders since the program started the prior year.

DOER’s Climate Leaders requirements include a municipal decarbonization roadmap, a climate team recognized by local government and a formal decarbonization commitment via a climate action plan or resolution. Becerra said documentation that a local climate team is active — membership lists, meeting minutes or similar records — must be submitted with an application. The roadmap is intended as a living planning tool that sequences measures around "trigger events" — such as HVAC end-of-life, roof replacement or major renovations — and links those events to emissions reductions over time. DOER currently uses a fiscal‑year‑2022 baseline for municipal emissions and said it may shift to 2027 in the future.

The department encouraged communities to prioritize highest-emitting municipal buildings (schools, public safety, libraries, town halls) and to phase municipal fleets toward zero-emission vehicles using a hierarchical procurement policy. Becerra described the 0‑emission‑vehicle‑first approach as a procurement order: if the required vehicle is available in electric form, procure it; if not, consider hybrids or the most efficient combustion option. Heavy-duty and certain emergency vehicles remain exempt, she said.

DOER also described the specialized building code Climate Leaders communities must adopt. The code is based on the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) with Massachusetts amendments, applies to new construction only, includes prewiring requirements for eventual electrification and a solar requirement, and for multifamily buildings above 12,000 square feet requires passive-house construction standards. Becerra said communities must submit town meeting minutes and the warrant article when applying and advised communities to include a clear effective date (for example, January 1 or July 1 following adoption) to avoid immediate or unclear timing.

On funding, DOER said Climate Leaders communities are eligible for a $150,000 technical‑assistance grant and a $1,000,000 Climate Leaders Accelerator grant. "The tech support grant is there if you need additional engineering," Becerra said, and the accelerator money is intended to implement decarbonization projects such as electrification, on-site solar and geothermal. DOER reported it has awarded four accelerator grants so far and was reviewing three additional applications. The department pointed attendees to planning‑assistance resources and tools such as Mass Energy Insight for scenario modeling and reminded communities of an upcoming planning assistance application deadline (July 31).

DOER closed its presentation by emphasizing outreach, public education and the political dimension of local code adoption: organizers should recruit local builders, architects and elected leaders to support adoption and prepare clear, accessible materials for town meetings or council votes. The webinar host said slides and the recording would be shared after the session.