Green Success Stories sat down with Mehul Kamran of Mercy Housing, to discuss providing climate resiliency for low income housing residents.

Tell us a bit about your sustainability journey.

My introduction to basic sustainability came at a very young age, as I had taken part in the Boy Scouts of America program since I was a child, which gave me a deep appreciation for our world and a passion for protecting it.

I eventually went to university to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies and Economics to see how I could make climate solutions financially viable so that they would have mass appeal.

Since my university days I have stayed in the nonprofit sector, with the past 2 years being in affordable housing.¶

Tell us a bit about the product or solution you offer.

There’s no product in particular, but my career is based on providing low-income housing with the resiliency it needs to protect the folks most susceptible to the effects of the climate crisis. Through a variety of state and federal funding programs, I’m able to provide low-income tenants with utility savings while also making sure that their homes are built to weather the storm that we expect the climate crisis to bring.¶

Share a green success story with us – how have you helped customers or other businesses in the fight against climate change?

A particular example of a green success story involves the SOMAH (Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing) program. The California-funded program incentivizes the installation of solar PV panels on multifamily affordable housing properties as long as the majority of the benefit would go to low-income housing tenants. With my previous role at BRIDGE Housing as a Portfolio Sustainability Coordinator, I managed the installation of a system under this funding source that reduced electricity costs of the property by 55%, and saw tenant electricity bills decrease significantly as well, providing much-needed savings to low-income residents.¶

What do you envision your industry looking like in ten years?

The need for affordable housing will always be there, unfortunately, so in ten years I see low-income housing being more resilient and granting residents access to the weatherization efforts that high-income folks are able to enjoy. Democratizing access to benefits such as solar PV will ensure an equitable solution to the climate crisis.¶