Sustainable LA Grand Challenge

The City of Los Angeles has committed to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035. In 2021, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), determined the technical feasibility and necessary investments to transition to 100% renewable energy. To ensure that the benefits of 100% renewable energy are equitably distributed, LADWP launched the LA 100 Equity Strategies Study in partnership withNREL and UCLA.

An integral part of that equity effort has been to better understand and document the challenges facing small ethnic-owned businesses (EOBs), which are a vital part of Los Angeles’ business sector and form the backbone of our economy, generating jobs and wealth. To better understand the challenges facing EOBs and to assist LADWP in developing equitable policies, programs, and practices, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK) and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) embarked on a one-year community-informed research project to learn more about the hurdles facing small EOBs and entrepreneurs in the Los Angeles region regarding the effects of the pandemic, environmental sustainability, energy burden, the anticipated effects ofclimate change, and potential challenges to adapt to the transition to 100% renewable energy. The study included two major components: a survey of over 500 EOBs and qualitative insights provided by stakeholders, LADWP staff, and pilot workshops.