The eighth episode of Powering Forward, hosted by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and the Clean Energy Business Network, explores strategies to strengthen diversity and inclusivity in the clean energy economy.

As companies and governments seek to build a more diverse and inclusive economy, what opportunities exist within the clean energy economy specifically? What are some emerging federal and state level efforts to promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the cleantech economy—both in terms of workforce development and project development? And how can the private sector engage?

In addition to exploring these topics broadly, we will discuss a case study with respect to the U.S. Department of Energy’s American-Made Solar Prize, a $4.6M prize competition to help innovators rapidly develop new solar technology and software solutions. Now in its fifth round, this year’s prize competition particularly seeks to recruit a diverse pool of applicants. Additionally, a subset of the prize focuses on software solutions to help promote greater justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in solar access.  Learn more about the prize.