SustainableWorks!

Yesterday I met with Joel Williamson from The Spokane Alliance. The Spokane Alliance is a consortium of churches, labor unions and other community entities. Joel wanted me to get the information out to Local 29 members about SustainableWorks. If you're thinking about any repair or retrofitting to your home or rental units this summer or spring, you may want to give them a call.

In a nutshell, you can get a home energy audit from them for $95 (fully refundable if they don't recommend any improvements) and this includes installation of CFL light bulbs, shower heads and faucet aerators to start saving wasted energy $$$ immediately. This audit is a $650 value. If you decide to get some improvements made, they will act as the general contractor, and will put union workers to the task of doing the retrofitting you want done. The people doing the work are journey level workers who are receiving training and supervision while they make a living. SustainableWorks will even line up the financing and take care of all the paperwork for you. So what is the expected outcome of the project?

120 direct full-time jobs
25 apprentice positions and direct employment pathways
3,000 ton reduction of carbon emissions
$12 million in retrofit work.

To date, 200 journey level workers have received special energy systems training and 50 have been trained in energy auditing,

Throughout Washington, SustainableWorks has audited over 500 homes and completed over 200 retrofits. 85 of these retrofits have occurred in two neighborhoods in Spokane.

On the east side of the state, your home must be in the city of Spokane to qualify. Yes, if you own a rental, it can qualify too.

Also, they do furnace safety checks for people and have eliminated some CO calls that we probably would have been called out to.

SustainableWorks is increasing good-paying union jobs, increasing Spokane's tax base, decreasing energy consumption, helping with residential safety, bringing different unions together and building up our community of Spokane from the grassroots. How cool is that?

If you want more information, you can click on the link or give them a call at 532-1688.