BEI’s 2025 Impact Report
Cities continue to be laboratories of creative problem-solving, despite this era of federal hostility to climate action. Even in red and purple states, cities are motivated, advancing innovative policies and programs that deliver climate progress and resilience alongside tangible benefits like safe and affordable housing, good quality jobs, and lower energy bills. Read our 2025 Impact Report to learn how BEI is keeping this momentum going in cities across the country.
Local governments are closest to the people – responsive and accountable to community needs and priorities. Democracy grows stronger from the ground up when cities invite more stakeholders into the policymaking process. When city staff collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including those historically left out of the policymaking process, the solutions they co-create meet real community priorities.
BEI Impact at a Glance
Since our launch in 2018, BEI has navigated through both the headwinds and tailwinds of political cycles, helping cities develop innovative building policies and programs that deliver energy affordability, housing stability, and climate resilience.
Learn details of BEI’s work in cities and states in our Impact Tracker
Our 2025 Partner Cities
In light of the 2024 election, progress at the local level will be critical. Cities remain committed to equitable climate action and will play an essential role protecting and sustaining gains made over the last four years.
Cities are catalysts for change because they are:
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Cities can innovate quickly, pilot new solutions, take risks, and identify successful models that can be replicated elsewhere.
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Cities are the level of government closest to the people, uniquely positioned to ensure policies and programs benefit the communities that need the most support.
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Leading cities can advocate for the successful, proof-of-concept models they pilot, bringing them to the state and federal levels and calling for a more democratic and progressive vision across the country.
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Democracy is participatory, inclusive, and under threat. When cities co-create solutions with communities, democratic capacity and trust in government is strengthened and preserved.
Looking Forward
Our work has prepared us for this moment. Cities have always been where innovative solutions originate, then spread geographically and through learning networks. Billions in already-disbursed federal funding remain in play, alongside continued funding from state, local, and utility sources. Local governments are refusing to cede ground to fossil fuel interests and unfounded attacks on their authority to protect residents from climate harm. They are continuing to plan for an equitable transition away from fossil fuels. For our part, BEI remains steadfast in our commitment to advancing progress at the local, regional, and state levels, where transformative change continues.
2024 showed us the power of durable coalitions. By bringing together diverse stakeholders around policies that deliver multiple community benefits – from healthier homes and cleaner air to new economic opportunities and high-road jobs – we're building support that transcends political shifts. With equity as our North Star, we'll continue to advance ambitious climate action where it matters most: in communities across America.