Agenda - 06-02-20; 6-b - Guidance for Future Climate Action Fund Project Eligibility and Scoring

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5 1. Social Justice and Racial Equity(0 to Spts): Low-income households have fewer resources to help them avoid or adapt to the impacts of climate change, and communities of color are often most-heavily impacted by the disruptions of climate change. Both socio- economic status and racial identity are key factors that will be used to target and track the positive impacts of these programs. It should be noted that socio-economic status and race should be tracked separately since not all County residents below the poverty line are people of color. • Low-income or marginalized communities/households were engaged in the creation of this project. • Low-income or marginalized communities/households benefit most directly. • Racial minorities will be hired and/or are essential to the completion of the project. • Any negative side effects of the project do not impact any low-income or marginalized communities/households. 2. Emissions reduced (0 to 4 pts): This criterion rewards projects which reduce the most emissions as well as those that reduce emissions within Orange County(e.g.-transportation, carbon farming), instead of at a power plant as all of these are outside of the County except for UNC's co-gen plant which regularly only powers a portion of the UNC campus. • A significant amount of Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced within Orange County as a result of this project. • Greenhouse gas emissions reductions are directly attributable to the project. 3. Efficient use of Funds(0 to 4 pts): This criterion measures the relative impact per dollar of investment from the Climate Action Fund, as well as how. Some example metrics include: • Impact per grant dollar. • Generated cost savings over a reasonable payback period. • Acceleration or expansion of existing programs that already show positive impact. • Leveraging other funding sources. • The proposed project positions the applicant for future funding from other sources. 4. Capacity of Applicant(0 to 3 pts) • Applicant has the expertise to complete the project, and shows understanding of what is needed to accomplish the project goals. • Applicant has done similar projects or has collaborators with direct experience in the project field. S. Local Economic Development(0 to 3 pts): Reducing climate change impacts can also increase and diversify local economic development.Transitioning to renewable energy and clean technologies is a huge market opportunity and the County Commissioners want to reward projects that emphasize local investment. Some example metrics include: • Number of Orange County residents employed by the applicant organization. • %of project materials that are sourced within Orange County/The Triangle/North Carolina. 6. Amount and Duration of Engagement(0 to 3 pts): This criterion measures the extent to which projects effectively educate on climate change impacts, mitigation, and/or resilience, and increase community awareness and engagement with climate change efforts. Some example metrics include: • Number of people reached. • Retention of new knowledge or attitude after project completion. • Likelihood of impacted audience continuing engagement with climate change efforts.