On June 21, HUD joined more than 20 federal agencies to release its updated Climate Adaptation Plan. In the plan, HUD establishes protocols to integrate climate resilience into funding opportunities, such as climate change preference points in Notices of Funding Opportunty.

Across federal agencies, the plan builds on the initial release in 2021 and projects goals for 2024-2027, including better assessing exposure of assets to climate related hazards, expanding operational focus on managing climate risk, and adopting common progress indicators with other federal agencies to better assess climate adaptation efforts.

The White House Climate Adaptation Fact Sheet is available here.

According to HUD, more than 800 properties have signed up for the agency’s free energy and water benchmarking service, which allows HUD-assisted housing property owners to better understand the energy and water consumption at their properties in relation to other similar properties.

LeadingAge supported the program roll out and urges members to sign up early for the four-year program.

Energy and Water Benchmarking information from HUD, provided during a LeadingAge housing call in is available here.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its first actions to address extreme heat in affordable housing properties on April 23. The agency established an internal working group to improve resilience to extreme heat; HUD also published a “Quick Guide for Extreme Heat” and launched a centralized library of technical assistance resources.

According to HUD, the world recorded the warmest year on record in 2023. Across the United States, heat records were broken, including Phoenix, Arizona experiencing 31 consecutive days above 110°F, and Chicago, Illinois reaching a heat index of 120°F. Many affordable senior housing communities lack the resources they need to address extreme heat impacts on older adult residents.

On October 23, 2023, LeadingAge hosted a virtual session on the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) for HUD-assisted housing providers. The call featured LeadingAge members who have received awards, HUD staff leading program implementation, and LeadingAge business partners who can assist with GRRP applications.