Equity & Community Benefits

Xavier,

Can you share some more project details so the answer is more relevant? If you are following Option 2 Path 1, the simple answer is yes, you need to engage the community and make a plan. Each community has specific needs, so the plan will need to address these and have an action plan to be execute as part of the project. I would recommend finding community groups that are already organized as they will be more engaged in the process and will have the community communication infrastructure required in place. This also makes for good neighbors. :) 

Here are a couple of resources to help you in this process:

https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen

http://resilience-hub.org/

Hope this helps and please do share your experience. :)

Hi Xavier, we are pursuing this credit and are also struggling with the implementation. Namely in a homogenous european commmunity. We have found this source with some useful tips on how to prepare the plan. This is taken from LEED v4 BD+C transit stations system.

SOCIAL EQUITY 

Intent 

Encourage the project to promote and further social equity by integrating strategies that address identified social and community needs and disparities among those affected. 

Requirements 

Demonstrate how social equity is taken into consideration by developing a Social Equity action plan that addresses at least one sub-component in each of the 3 areas below: 

Ensuring equity for the workers constructing the project: 

• Wages, benefits, training and education 

• Corporate responsibility reporting on such things as: 

o Fair and just access 

o Equal opportunity and treatment 

o Full participation 

• No child / forced / bonded labor 

• Health and safety procedures and training 

Encouraging evaluation of community needs: 

• Partner with established community-based organizations. 

• Strategies selected with the community, implemented in the community, such as: 

o Jobs (local employment, living wages and benefits, job training) 

o Housing (affordable housing, homeownership, housing quality 

o Education and youth (mentoring, tutoring, etc.) 

o Support to local business, business incubation (mentoring, etc.) 

o Health care (access to clinics, etc.) 

o Public health 

§ Safety (traffic safety, gang prevention, access to open space and 

recreation areas, etc.) 

§ Mental health (access to public spaces, etc.) 

§ Food (Fresh food access, etc.) 

Ensuring equity in initial operations planning. 

• Pricing policies that support sustainable locational decisions 

• Policies Supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable populations 

o Education and youth (locations that support access to libraries in schools and public, daycare, student pricing, etc.) 

o Elderly 

o Disabled 

• Non-discrimination 

Here are a couple examples in the US: 

Case study of a Nashville CBA with a stadium developer: https://www.daretoreimagine.org/case-studies/nashville-community-benefit...

CBA proposed by a Chicago neighborhood group for the redevelopment of an abandoned industrial site: https://asechicago.org/2017/08/01/cba/

You normally see these plans for big developments like arenas, power plants, ports, university campus expansions, or multi-parcel commercial office/residential developments. Something where the developer has control over a lot of land, money, and jobs, and the local government might be contributing funding or closely managing the development. So while a lot of these CBAs and equity plans have great ideas in them, they don't necessarily fit the scale of your LEED project.

A couple projects I've worked on have been required by the local government to put in something like a free-to-use community center room, or a retail storefront to be used by a local arts organization. We've also encountered city requirements to include open space with landscaping at ground level for the public to use, or build walking paths through the project site to a park or natural feature. And many US cities have a requirement for residential developers to reserve a certain percentage of units for low-income residents and charge a lower rent or sales price. I hope those examples help as some ways a smaller project can identify a community need! 

Hi,

My project is located in an area where  people were involved in farming and other works.After setting up,the project team has hired local only as factory workers and provided them the required training for machine handling.Now the economy of that particualr area has been developed greatly for this factory only.

Do you think this will be an acceptable startegy for this equitable development option-Path 1.

Hi Sudipta, I think that fits the intent of the credit well. I would suggest reaching out to LEED Coach to ask what documentation they would want to see in your application. Maybe a letter from the project owner describing the training program and committing to some percentage of new hires being local, or hiring locals for X number of years? You may also need to provide some documentation of the need for employment, perhaps a report from the regional government or an economic development agency already exists that would cover that. Let us know what you hear from LEED Coach, it would be great to get some more examples of non-US projects and how they earned the credit in this forum. 

I would be interested to hear specifics about what was submitted from anyone who has successfully documented the Option 2. Path 1. Equity & Community Benefits.

My specific question is: my project has a CBA (Community Benefits Agreement - as referenced by Emily above), is submitting the CBA by itself good enough to satisfy the credit or does there need to be additional work or documentation provided?