2028 Code Cycle Environmental Social Justice
Building on the Momentum
Building on the momentum from the 2025 Energy Code Cycle, the Statewide Codes and Standards Enhancement (CASE) Team continued to incorporate methodologies into the 2028 Energy Code cycle to minimize risk of perpetuating inequalities in the building energy code update process.
At the beginning of the code cycle. approximately 200 code change proposals were analyzed for various criteria (see 2028 Measure Identification), including Environmental and Social Justice Benefits. We worked with our partner Common Spark Consulting to review proposals for additional societal benefits to Environmental Social Justice (ESJ) communities that go beyond energy and GHG savings historically considered. Unlike the 2025 code cycle, the 2028 code cycle is only considering proposals for nonresidential buildings in accordance with AB130.
The Statewide CASE Team identified four criteria that were used to evaluate the potential equity impacts of proposed code changes on ESJ communities:
These criteria represent the most significant areas of impact where code change proposals can affect the lives of ESJ communities. When applying the criteria to analyzing impacts for nonresidential buildings, the Statewide CASE Team reviewed each nonresidential building type through the lens of the four criteria. Some building types have unique environmental justice concerns due to their common uses, location, or other factors.
The Statewide CASE Team categorized measures into four categories: No perceived impact, some perceived benefits, some perceived concerns, and priority measure. Based on these characterizations, additional research was conducted into certain measures. Each CASE report will include the categorization and short explanation of the analysis.
The Statewide Case Team recognizes that the potential impacts identified may not be comprehensive and will seek to build relationships with Community based Organizations (CBOs) to improve the identification of potential impacts for future code cycles and is open to additional resources that can contribute to this effort. If you are a CBO interested in participating in future code cycles, please email us at [email protected].
Stay Informed
To learn more about building codes, codes, our work, and how community-based organizations can participate in this process, sign up to get email updates on our ESJ efforts:
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The Statewide Codes and Standards Enhancement (CASE) Team periodically distributes email notifications that promote upcoming meetings, provide materials from past meetings, and update stakeholders on the progression of the California Energy Commission (CEC)’s rulemaking process. You can choose to receive measure-specific and/or general updates on these topics depending on your needs.
