The Initiative for Energy Justice conducts research, provides policy analysis, and facilitates dialogue to advance concrete policy pathways toward energy justice. We partner with frontline organizing groups and allies striving for universal access to affordable, renewable, and democratically managed energy.
Annabel Shu is a second-year law student at Northeastern University School of Law. She completed a summer co-op with the Initiative for Energy Justice in 2024, and works to bridge grassroots community organizing with advocacy for systemic change through law.
Key Findings
This brief analyzes Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) requirements in New England legislation from 1989-2024. Forty-nine policies (forty-one state-level and eight municipal-level) involving CBAs were found in four different industries: renewable energy, waste disposal, cannabis, and general development. Most CBA legislation introduced Host Community Agreements (HCAs) in community benefits policies, with twenty-four of the bills counted either introducing or expanding HCA requirements, while only six did the same for CBAs with a community coalition or community groups. Codifying community benefits is not cohesive across the region, with states passing requirements only for certain types of developments or industries and including various combinations of CBA and HCA requirements, labor considerations, and revenue sharing agreements. Though the outlook for mandating community benefits remains unclear, community benefits and governance remains a key area of policymaking with the potential to advance tenets of energy justice through New England’s transition away from fossil fuels.