Olympia seeks consultant for Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative initiatives

Olympia seeks qualified respondents with expertise in community engagement to assist with community outreach and meeting facilitation for two regional initiatives promoting residential energy efficiency and electrification.

The selected consultant will help the Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative (TCMC) design and develop a Residential Energy Efficiency and Electrification campaign (EEE) and a Home Energy Score Model Ordinance Policy by supporting outreach and facilitating stakeholder discussions.

According to the request for proposals issued on March 27, the scope of work involves several tasks requiring coordination and facilitation. These include kickstarting the projects and ongoing collaboration, organizing community forums, conducting stakeholder interviews, and facilitating focus groups.

In 2023, Thurston County and the cities of Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater established the TCMC through an interlocal agreement. The local government partners are working collaboratively to significantly reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions and achieve mutually adopted community-wide emissions reduction goals.

With the support of local government partners, the Collaborative will embark on two projects this year:

• Design a Residential EEE campaign that builds on programs like Energize Olympia's heat pump purchase campaign to make energy audits, weatherization services, and incentives available region-wide. The campaign aims to launch a new web tool and advisory service this year to help residents in the region find contractors and compare electrification options.
• Develop a Home Energy Score Model Ordinance (HES) to establish a regionally consistent approach for assessing and disclosing residential energy performance ratings. The goal is to provide homeowners and buyers with standardized information on a property's energy use, expected energy costs, and recommendations for cost-effective upgrades to reduce energy consumption and expenses.

Olympia will oversee contracting for the selected 2024 regional initiatives. The city will oversee any contractors assisting with the regional initiatives.

The deadline for submission of proposals is April 24, 2024, at 5 p.m. Only electronic proposals will be accepted.

For any inquiries about the RFP, you may email Olympia Climate Program Director Dr. Pamela Braff at pbraff@ci.olympia.wa.us. All questions to this proposal must be emailed to the RFP coordinator by April 10, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Questions received after this date may not be answered.