Piedmont Housing Joins Green Business Alliance

On May 15, 2023, the Community Climate Collaborative (C3) announced the expansion of its Green Business Alliance (GBA) with the help of special guest U.S. Representative Jennifer McClellan. Piedmont Housing Alliance joined a cohort of Virginia-based businesses and nonprofits who have made a collective commitment to reduce emissions and advance the economy for a clean energy future. Piedmont Housing was one of 10 new community organizations to be announced that day.

What GBA Membership Means

Piedmont Housing is excited to strengthen our ongoing partnership with C3 and grow our relationships with other members of the Green Business Alliance. We plan to collaborate with C3 to transition older properties away from harmful natural gas to safer electric power. With the support and thought partnership of the local nonprofits and businesses that comprise the GBA, we believe that a more equitable and just Charlottesville is achievable.

Piedmont Housing’s Commitment to Sustainability

As an organization with a mission-driven responsibility to think broadly and long-term, Piedmont Housing strives to align energy efficiency, durability, cost mitigation, climate impact, and resilience planning – all of which are especially evident in our efforts in the Kindlewood community. The resident-led redevelopment process there has trained residents in land use and community design practices, bringing them to the table as co-designers and experts on the specific challenges and aspirations of their community. They have elevated both health-related and utility-cost concerns, recognizing the significant and disproportionate burden these aspects of housing historically have on low-wealth families. Core to the community transformation of Kindlewood is an opportunity to develop the new neighborhood as the most sustainable housing at scale – whether affordable or market rate – in Virginia.

“As Piedmont Housing Alliance works to ensure all our neighbors are safely and affordably housed, we acknowledge the ways that Black Americans and other people of color have been disproportionately harmed by laws and practices that have prevented wealth building,” said Executive Director of Piedmont Housing, Sunshine Mathon. “We know that the same is true of environmental harm. We are honored to join the Green Business Alliance and look forward to working with our partners to transform the racialized geography of our lived environment and reshape the link between race and life outcomes.”

Useful links:
>> Community Climate Collaborative
>> Green Business Alliance
>> 10 More Business Join Green Business Alliance (Daily Progress)
>> More about Kindlewood