3 Easy Steps to Contact Your Representative

3 Easy Steps to Contact your Representative

By Tatiana Krzesicki

Looking to support green building initiatives but don’t know where to start?

All you need is 5 minutes, your smartphone, and an email account!

Step 1 – Find your representative.

In many cases, the right place to start is in your own community. The contact information for your local City Planning Commission is easily available online. Just use your preferred search engine to type “City Planning Commission” followed by your city and state. You may want to include the Mayor or City Council in your distribution as well.

If you want to support green building initiatives more broadly, you can still use the templates below for help! Find your representative in the U.S. House or Senate. Or, select your State Legislature for access to policymakers in your state.

Step 2 – Personalize your letter.

What do you want to say?

You can talk about a specific project or you can bring up the issue of decarbonization directly! Either way, make sure that your letter is short and concise with a clear message about what action you’d like your representative to take.

Use this template below to communicate your hopes for decarbonization legislation effectively.

Date

Full name of local representative/ The Honorable (Full name of state/ national representative)

Policymakers office (i.e. U.S. or State Senate or House of Representative)__

Address

City, State, Zip

Dear __Senator/Representative/Governor__ __Last Name__,

My name is ______. I’m a constituent and ___make it personal! Have you supported any of your legislator’s green initiatives in the past? Are you a builder, contractor, homeowner, or designer that has a strong knowledge of green building practices?___. I urge you to support all-electric requirements in new homes being built in ____ Location___ this year.

Buildings are a significant source of greenhouse gases. 40% of global GHG production stems from building infrastructure annually. With carbon emission levels reaching an all-time high at over 410 parts per million this year, it’s important for us to join with regional and global initiatives to curb local reliance on carbon-emitting structures.

To mitigate climate change we need to actively decarbonize, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to protect community and environmental health. ___ Location ____ already has strong goals for carbon reduction, but municipalities across the nation from D.C. to Texas to Seattle are making even stronger commitments. Your constituents need your help to drive actionable change.

All-electric mandates are the foundation that will help our region become less fossil fuel dependent, avoiding processes that are by definition carbon intensive. Decarbonization efforts of the future will be much harder for constituents if retrofitting becomes necessary for all existing homes. Requiring new construction projects to adapt to climate change and current green building efforts across the U.S. will give ___Location___ residents the time to prepare for the future.

Investment in all-electric mandates for new homes is an investment in the health and living future of our nation. Please make these and similar decarbonization efforts a higher priority by continuing to support the development of robust green building requirements.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to contact me to discuss this issue further.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Your Title

Your Address

Your City, State, Zip

Your Phone Number

Letter personalized? You’re all set!

Step 3 – Send it out!

Make sure you’ve selected the correct address and personalized your subject line to fit your particular goals.

Next Steps – Already sent a letter out?

Use this template to thank legislators who have already supported green building initiatives. One follow-up goes a long way.

Date

Full name of local representative/ The Honorable (Full name of state/ national representative)

Policymakers office (i.e. U.S. or State Senate or House of Representative)__

Address

City, State, Zip

Dear __Senator/Representative/Governor__ __Last Name__,

I’m writing to say thank you.

Because of your hard work advocating for decarbonization efforts, especially all-electric requirements for new homes, [this week or this month] the ____particular outcome___ took place in ___location___.

As you know, the road to disinvesting from fossil fuels and carbon emitting buildings is not an easy one. The need for action is also not yet in the past. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research cites electricity as one of the largest carbon dioxide emitters on a global scale. However, efforts to reach zero emissions in the energy sector can lead to benefits such as the stalling of rates of global warming growth and the upkeep of air and water quality. With global temperatures increasing, sea levels rising .13 inches per year, and instances of hazardous human health occuring in tandem with environmental disasters, continued efforts are needed to mandate the use of sustainable energy and materials in businesses and homes.

No matter the work that still lies ahead, your intentional and continuing effort to care for the environmental and community health of your constituency does not go unnoticed.

On behalf of ___community that you’re part of___, thank you again for your leadership on this important issue.