About Us

We are a national resource hub for local groups and government leaders.

BPRC provides critical, ongoing support to grassroots organizations and governments in creating replicable and just pathways to transform the built environment.

The Challenge

The cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis are getting worse: rising prices, low-wage jobs, air pollution, and extreme weather. For working peoples’ lives to improve in the short and long term, we must address these crises together.

The scope and scale of these problems require strong government leadership. Yet, working people are losing trust in the public sector to deliver real change.

BPRC and our partners are working to change this by winning clean energy projects that deliver near-term, tangible benefits for working people — and strengthen the muscles of democracy in the process.

Our Strategy

  1. Create community-labor coalitions to build community buy-In

    Ambitious campaigns require diverse coalitions and strong organizing efforts. This looks like meeting with elected and government officials, testifying at city council and school board meetings, submitting public comments, hosting media events, gathering petitions, organizing public rallies, and much more.

  2. Support successful short-term projects to build support for long-term, ambitious commitments

    To win climate action that lasts, policymaking must balance securing ambitious commitments for long-term, scaled decarbonization goals with building immediate signature projects that deliver tangible benefits for working people.

  3. Take an “inside-outside” approach to succeed in implementation

    Community-labor coalitions apply pressure to create favorable political conditions from the “outside” while also supporting government champions to design and execute policy and projects from the “inside.” This “inside-outside” approach is taken in storytelling the successes as well, so that the impacts are felt, recognized, and supported by the broader community.

  4. Change the narrative around climate policy to center affordability

    Amplifying the policies and projects that deliver tangibly for working people helps “win the win.” If done well, community groups will want to replicate campaigns in their communities, local government leaders will want to champion policies in their jurisdiction, and state leaders will want to help scale the model across the state. Nationally, we are shaping a narrative that local and state governments are making progress on climate and affordability—and setting the example for the federal government.

Our Work

We provide hands-on support to our partners to develop proof-of-concept projects at the municipal level. Then, we work with them to replicate the effort in multiple jurisdictions.

We also convene and disseminate knowledge to fellow practitioners and other community, labor, and government stakeholders nationwide.

Our technical assistance (TA) offerings include:

  • Strategic campaign planning, tracking, and coaching

  • Retreat design and facilitation

  • Policy research and analysis

  • Project development support

  • Feasibility studies

  • Connections to other relevant technical assistance providers

  • Strategic communications

  • Grant-writing and fundraising support

  • And more.

Our History

BPRC was founded in 2023 to help states and local governments increase their climate ambition, rebuild public sector capacity for industrial policy, and tell the story of the government working for the benefit of working people by taking advantage of the opportunities of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This landmark federal legislation came with big promises as well as significant challenges for on-the-ground implementers, particularly in historically disadvantaged communities. Despite great effort within and outside of government to move quickly, the absence of pre-existing capacity presented an acute challenge in taking timely advantage of the IRA’s opportunities. Local and state governments, community organizations, workforce development groups, and technical assistance providers had to sort through the IRA’s 100+ programs, and simultaneously scale or build new implementation infrastructure.

BPRC chose to work in the building sector because the public sector’s power could be used to accelerate the adoption of new technologies, and these upgrades would directly impact people’s lives. Done right, these upgrades would make a huge difference for cleaner air, lower energy bills, and increasing popular support for the transition. Done wrong, the public criticism could set us back.

Although the federal policy landscape has changed, BPRC is continuing to build projects, implementation capacity, and momentum at local and state levels—which can be scaled rapidly when the next policy opportunity emerges. Today, BPRC works with 26 partners in 13 states plus Washington, D.C., to implement climate solutions, build a stronger public sector, and put more power in the hands of working people.