Green School Works

The Challenge: Electrify and Decarbonize K-12 School Buildings in Massachusetts

Massachusetts contains approximately 1,800 public school buildings responsible for 880,000 metric tons of carbon every year. Electrifying and decarbonizing these buildings represents a significant opportunity for the state to reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. While school districts are well-versed in capital planning, they may not have the experience or technical expertise necessary to incorporate energy efficiency, electrification and decarbonization measures into their capital planning projects.​

About the Green School Works Program

Created as part of the state's 2024 budget, the goal of the Green School Works program is to provide financial support to K-12 public schools or districts to install or maintain clean energy infrastructure. Funding will go towards project implementation as well as support for building-specific decarbonization assessments and plans and high-level, building-specific assessments and high-level, district-wide decarbonization planning. ​

Program Priorities

The Green School Works Program aligns with the MassCEC High-Performance Building strategy which has as its top priorities 1) implementing decarbonization projects and 2) supporting strategic technical assistance. This program also supports the Commonwealth’s building decarbonization goals expressed in the Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 2030. The plan calls for a broad and aggressive transition of statewide buildings by 2030, including improving building envelopes and electrifying 300 to 400 million square feet of commercial-scale buildings. Green School Works will help establish clear pathways for K-12 school buildings to align with the Commonwealth’s building decarbonization goals.