2024CLIMAPALOOZA VII: Redesigned!
Climable redesigned our annual community celebration and fundraiser in 2024 to better emphasize our commitment to our mission and values. The revamped celebration was a beautiful and successful event thanks to our incredible staff and community!
New Leadership!
Climable was thrilled to welcome a permanent Executive Director in 2024, a year of tremendous improvements and growth. We said farewell to our Interim Executive Director who steered the ship in 2023.
Completing our curriculum development with a year of implementation
Climable wrapped up our curriculum development project with Mitsubishi Corporation on a high note: serving nearly 500 students during our year of implementation, which included workshops and classroom visits throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
Climable expands clean energy accessibility work to Rhode Island
Climable expanded into another state in New England for the first time in 2024. We began working with a coalition of four community-based organizations to transform their small office building into an active community space and resilience hub.
New partnership with Fenway Community Development Corporation
Climable and the Fenway CDC joined forces to develop a community clean energy microgrid in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood. 2024 involved community outreach and engagement, and a feasibility study for three buildings in phase one.
Chelsea City Council Unanimously Approve the Community Microgrid
Climable, Greenroots, and our other RUN-GJC partners were delighted by the City Council’s unanimous approval of our community-owned, clean energy microgrid in the city. Phase 1 construction can now move forward.
Climable’s Board of Directors
Grows by Four
Continuing the trend of growth in 2024, Climable’s Board of Directors gained four new members. They are the first addition to our board in some years!
Team expands to five! New Development and Program Manager & Operations Specialist
Climable hit a new milestone of five permanent team members by welcoming an Operations Specialist to manage our operations and finances, and a Development and Program Manager to reinvigorate our development and fundraising initiatives.
Community Energy Efficiency Project: Mass Save
Climable was awarded a Community Education Grant from Mass Save and became a partner organization of the energy efficiency program. Throughout 2024, Climable helped spread awareness of Mass Save’s relevant programs and services to renters and middle-to-low-income households in environmental justice communities in the Boston area.
Lamplighter Partnership Begins
Climable’s community partnership with the local, Cambridge brewery, Lamplighter Brewing Co., kicked off in early 2024. We held multiple fun events with Lamplighter across the year's first three months.
2023Awarded Barr Grant
Climable was awarded an 18-month grant to provide technical assistance on microgrids and resilience hub work in Environmental Justice (EJ) neighborhoods in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
CLIMAPALOOZA VI!
We had another lively and well-attended event! Despite having to postpone the festivities by a day due to weather, we raised even more than last year—–making this our most successful CLIMAPALOOZA to date!
Climable Wraps up the Chinatown Energy Literacy Campaign
Climable, Chinatown Power, Inc., and Chinatown Community Land Trust with the support of the Sasaki Foundation completed an Energy Literacy Campaign for Boston’s Chinatown. The aim is to educate residents on local energy and environmental issues and solutions, empowering them to get involved with the development of the neighborhood’s community microgrid and other local initiatives.
Chelsea City Council Unanimously Approve the Community Microgrid
Climable, Greenroots, and our other RUN-GJC partners were delighted by the City Council’s unanimous approval of our community-owned, clean energy microgrid in the city. Phase 1 construction can now move forward.
2022MA Dept of Energy Resources Study
Climable and Synapse Energy Economics conducted a study for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources on the technical potential of solar within the Commonwealth. We helped collect valuable input from across the state.
CLIMAPALOOZA V!
Bringing in over 250 attendees and over $17k in funds for Climable, CLIMAPALOOZA V was a smashing success. Our performers and sponsors made this event spectacular!
Earthshot Prize Nomination Committee
Climable served on the host committee for the second annual Earthshot Prize 2022 awards ceremony, and is on the nominating committee for the 2023 ceremony. We nominated 14 incredible organizations!
Neighborhood Energy with the City of Cambridge
Climable began developing a microgrid for the Port neighborhood in Cambridge and energy systems for the Cambridge Community Center to improve resilience against climate impacts and provide clean energy.
2021Climable Doubles Staff
In doubling its staff, Climable hired our first Program Manager. We are excited to see our team grow!
CLIMAPALOOZA IV
Making a return to an in-person format, CLIMAPALOOZA IV was supported by many generous sponsors. Climable raised over 11k and hosted a variety of performers.
Chelsea Continues Strong
Climable helped Chelsea, MA secure major grants to fund the microgrid initiative in Chelsea to support City Hall, the Police Department, and an affordable housing unit.
Climable is awarded a MassCEC EmPower grant
Climable was awarded a $150,000 EmPower Massachusetts grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) to support its development of clean energy microgrids in Chinatown and Chelsea, with work beginning in 2022.
2020City of Cambridge Microgrid
Climable began the planning and development of a microgrid project for the City of Cambridge. The goal of this project is to bring accessible renewable energy to the people of The Port, an environmental justice community in Cambridge, MA.
CLIMAPALOOZA Goes Virtual
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Climable wasn’t able to hold CLIMAPALOOZA III in person as usual. Yet, we didn’t let that stop us! We held the event virtually, like most things in 2020, and made the most of the situation. In times like these, community was more important than ever!
Climable Wraps up the Chinatown Energy Literacy Campaign
Climable, Chinatown Power, Inc., and Chinatown Community Land Trust with the support of the Sasaki Foundation completed an Energy Literacy Campaign for Boston’s Chinatown. The aim is to educate residents on local energy and environmental issues and solutions, empowering them to get involved with the development of the neighborhood’s community microgrid and other local initiatives.
First Co-op
We hired our first full-time student from Northeastern University’s co-op program!
Audley’s Charity of the Year
Travel company Audley named Climable their 2020-2021 Charity of the Year!
2019-2013 HighlightsBoston Globe coverage
In 2019 the Boston Globe wrote a piece on our microgrid work in Chelsea — check it out here
CLIMAPALOOZA I and II
After five years of benefit concerts, we hosted our first annual climate action rally and silent auction, Climapalooza, in 2018, and repeated in 2019!
Patagonia, NEGEF, and MassCEC Grants
We received a 2019 grant from Patagonia’s Cambridge store for our microgrid work. Patagonia’s grant program offers many benefits to nonprofits, including the use of their event space. We occasionally hold fun, community-oriented events in their Harvard Sq. store!
In 2018 we received a grant from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund to help us market and develop outreach materials for our microgrid work. We were also involved in 2 of the 14 microgrid projects that received grants of $75,000 each for microgrid feasibility studies. Climable’s work focused on Chelsea and Chinatown in Boston as a partner in the RUN-GJC coalition.
Puerto Rico Project
We began working with the Comité Pro-Desarrollo Villa Cañona, a grassroots organization in Loíza, Puerto Rico. Loíza was hit hard by Hurricanes Irma and María in 2017. We plan to work with Villa Cañona to add solar panels and battery storage to their community center in order to provide resilience and clean energy if and when another power outage occurs in Loíza.
EESI Renamed Climable
Switcheroo: we become Climable! We changed our name from EESI to Climable because we want our name to show people that we are ABLE to take action in the face of CLIMate change.
Behind the Switch
We launched our podcast, Behind the Switch, as a joint venture with Synapse Energy Economics.
European Climate Foundation Rebuttal
in 2014 EESI contracted with the European Climate Foundation to support Frank Ackerman's rebuttal of the controversial analysis made by Richard Tol on climate change.
Our Beginnings as EESI
The Wallace Global Fund supported EESI’s work in preparing policy briefings on the TTIP ahead of the Paris Climate Talks.
Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) commissioned EESI to do an impact study on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The final result is in the form of formal comments by Frank Ackerman.
EESI worked with the Alternatives for Communities and Environment, Inc. to fight against a proposed gas plant in a low income neighborhood in Brockton, MA.
The E3 Network approached EESI to assume responsibility of the group’s operations.
The Blue Moon Fund enlisted EESI to explore post-coal employment prospects in Kentucky. EESI tapped Synapse Energy Economics to publish the findings.
Brown Climate Development Lab
Climable partnered with Brown University's Climate & Development Lab and Synapse Energy Economics to gather stakeholder input from across New England through 12 workshops.
Puerto Rico Project Finishes
Climable, in collaboration with Clean Water Action, teamed up to bring a reliable source of energy to the Comité Pro-Desarrollo Villa Cañona, a nonprofit in Loíza, Puerto Rico. The solar microgrid is now up and running!
Cambridge Community Center Project Kick-off
Climable started the planning and development of a clean energy micro-grid for the Cambridge Community Center.
Chinatown Power Incorporated
With the help of Climable, Chinatown Power was incorporated to govern the microgrid project in Chinatown. We then helped Chinatown Power hire a full-time microgrid manager.
Loíza, Puerto Rico Fundraising Complete!
Climable raised enough funds to complete the microgrid project in Loíza, Puerto Rico that was started in 2019.
Clean Energy Curriculum
Climable wades into the world of education with funding from the Mitsubishi Corporation to develop a clean-energy curriculum for 5th and 6th grade students.
Energy Justice Internship
Climable launched a new internship program in collaboration with Synapse Energy Economics, funded by the Energy Foundation. The program gives energy industry experience to graduate students from marginalized backgrounds.
Litterman Grant
With help from a Litterman Family Foundation grant, EESI funded research for the early stages of environmental economist Dr. Frank Ackerman’s book, Worst-Case Economics: Extreme Events in Climate and Finance. The book was published in 2017!
2012Founding
Jean Ann Ramey, co-founder of Synapse Energy Economics, one of the premier energy and environmental consulting firms in the US, has the idea for an organization that works to make the technical information that groups like Synapse produce accessible to the greater population. The result is the birth of the Environment, Economics and Society Institute. The board, originally composed of 3 women, convened over the summer. EESI was incorporated in Massachusetts by September 2012.