October 7, 2025
The work of housing and climate agencies overlaps in multiple ways. By collaborating, housing agencies can better ensure that homes and neighborhoods remain safe and affordable in the face of climate risk. Climate agencies, for their part, can help shape the construction, location, and energy consumption of homes, which are both a key source of protection against extreme weather and a major source of emissions. Both housing and climate agencies can increase the reach of their efforts by streamlining their programs and workflows.
Yet despite this, their work is often carried out in silos. Organizations in the housing and climate sectors often have different frameworks for defining and measuring their impact, as well as different funding streams. This misalignment can lead to missed opportunities for leveraging scarce program dollars and maximizing overall impact.
A new report from the Housing Solutions Lab offers insights from a scan of more than 50 programs across the country resulting from the collaboration of climate and housing agencies. We also draw on interviews with leaders of 15 innovative programs identified in the scan to better understand what strategies they used to establish and structure partnerships, share data, engage the community, and fund their efforts. The report identifies promising models for housing-climate collaboration and tips for getting started in your own community.