Climate Coach Program - 1 Year Report
Our Climate Coach program is one year old! To celebrate this milestone and share our progress, we have compiled a report on our impact and recommended next steps, both for Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) and the Village of Oak Park.
Here’s the top line numbers after 1 year:
103 Climate Coach Requests were received, averaging about 2 requests per week
18 people volunteered to be Climate Coaches
Most popular requested topics: Available grants, rebates and tax credits (49), Installing rooftop solar panels (38), Switching from gas heating to electric heat pumps (37)
For this report, we surveyed all climate coach recipients and heard back from 25 of them:
88% of survey respondents received some or all of the guidance they were looking for
Action was taken! 3 people upgraded to heat pumps, 3 people installed an induction stove, 2 people added insulation to their home, 1 person signed up for community solar, 1 person got a blower door test, and 1 person planted a native garden. Many others researched contractors and shared information with their neighbors.
Thank you to everyone for helping to make this volunteer-run program a success. OPCAN plans to continue running this program in cooperation with the Village's One Stop Shop program.
Dive in below for details and our recommendations. You can also download a PDF version of this report here.
This report was written by Derek Eder, Amy Rosenthal, Pam Tate and Laura Derks.
Background and objectives
The Climate Coach program is run by Oak Park Climate Action Network to provide advisory technical assistance neighbor-to-neighbor on pathways to emissions reductions and mitigating the effects of climate change at their homes and in their lifestyles. In March of 2024, OPCAN launched the Climate Coach program in partnership with the Village of Oak Park.
The idea came out of the Climate Ready Oak Park Plan, specifically these two initiatives:
BD03. Implement an outreach and education program to raise awareness and connect residents, businesses, institutions, and property owners with technical and financial services for energy and climate resiliency upgrades, including federal, State, and utility programs.
Timeline: Medium-Term
Cost Range: Low
Lead Implementor: Community Group
BD06. Implement an enhanced "one-stop shop" program to provide coordinated energy, resiliency, and health housing retrofits for highly vulnerable community members. Include terms to maintain permanent affordability (refer to Climate and Social Vulnerability Assessment maps here for % Experiencing Rent Burden and % Experiencing Homeowner Cost Burden).
Priority: HIGH
Timeline: Short-term
Cost Range: Medium
Lead Implementor: Village of Oak Park
It is important to note that although OPCAN included BD03 as a priority in its budget recommendations to the Village late in 2022, no funding was allocated at that time. Understanding the urgency of our climate emergency and that there was a considerable need for technical guidance, OPCAN created a volunteer-run service center on an interim basis. It is still OPCAN's objective that the Village implement a “one-stop shop” (BD06) as a key service for residents and businesses to take their own actions, ultimately accelerating decarbonization at relatively low cost to the Village.
Program structure
As a program run by volunteers, the Climate Coach program was designed on the following principles:
Focus on short-term engagements and referrals to professional resources (30 minute phone calls, emails, etc)
Not intended to substitute for full-time paid labor or contractor
No affiliation with any of the vendors we recommend, and no money or incentive of any kind received for referrals
Ensure the confidentiality of residents
Many members of OPCAN have already undertaken a broad array of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainability changes to their homes. Based on a survey of our members willing to volunteer their time and alignment with Village programs and the CROP plan, we offer assistance on:
Getting started reducing my emissions
Insulating drafty homes
Installing rooftop solar panels
Signing up for community solar
Switching from gas heating to electric heat pumps
Switching to a heat pump hot water heater
Switching to an induction stove
Upgrading electrical panels
Preparing for and purchasing an Electric Vehicle (EV)
Native gardening for your lawn or parkway
Reducing basement flooding
Recycling and composting
Available grants, rebates and tax credits
We also launched a website, https://opcan.org, with resources on electrification, lists of vetted local vendors, and relevant financial incentives – for renters, landlords, and homeowners at all income levels.
The Climate Coach program was given a dedicated page on our website (https://opcan.org/climate-coaches) linking to a simple Google Form for requesting a Climate Coach. The program has been administered since March of 2024 by Derek Eder, Laura Derks, Pam Tate, Wendy Greenhouse, and Macey Majkrzak.
The program has been promoted via:
Email blasts to the OPCAN email list
Facebook posts
Press release on the Village website
Included in the Summer OP/FYI newsletter sent to all Oak Park residences
Tabling and flyers at the Farmers Market, A Day in Our Village, Barrie Fest, Eco Extravaganza, One Earth Film Festival
Commentaries and ads in the Wednesday Journal
Clean Energy Open Houses
Yard Signs
Results after 1 year
The Climate Coach program was launched on March 11, 2024. Here are the top level numbers since then.
Coach Requests
103 Climate Coach Requests received, averaging about 2 requests per week
18 Climate Coach volunteers (we launched with 13 and have since added 5 more)
Our program’s popularity peaked in January 2025 when it was heavily promoted by OPCAN, the Village of Oak Park, and Climate Ready Community Outreach to Oak Park (COOP).
Climate Coach requests per month
Most popular topics
Of the requests we received, the most popular topics/needs were:
Available grants, rebates and tax credits (49)
Installing rooftop solar panels (38)
Switching from gas heating to electric heat pumps (37)
Insulating drafty homes (31)
Switching to a heat pump hot water heater (24)
Signing up for community solar (23)
Total requests by topic. Note: each resident may indicate multiple requests.
Home types
Seventy-eight percent of the requests came from residents living in a single family home. Considering only 44% of households in Oak Park are single family, this shows the limits of the reach of this program or, more likely, the increased difficulty that townhome, condo and multi-family home-owners face in making these upgrades.
What kind of home do you have?
Outreach sources
The primary way that people have heard of the Climate Coach program is from the Village of Oak Park newsletter / website (48%), followed by word of mouth (23%).
How did you hear about Climate Coaches?
Coach composition
The Climate Coach program currently has 18 coaches. However, not all coaches have received the same number of requests. We always match coaches based on the topics they have expertise in. As a result, the majority of the climate coach requests were fielded by a group of 5-7 coaches with experience with heat pumps, insulation and rooftop solar.
Requests fielded by Coach
Impact
For this report, we sent a follow-up survey to everyone who requested a Climate Coach. Of the 104 recipients, 25 responded (24%).
Coach follow-through
92% of respondents met with a Climate Coach
Did you meet with a Climate Coach?
Coaching satisfaction
68% of respondents received the guidance they were looking for. 20% received some guidance sought.
Did you get the guidance you were looking for?
Action taken after coaching
The climate actions taken by respondents varied widely, but 86% of respondents took some kind of meaningful step forward in upgrading their homes. Several took major steps, like installing heat pumps or switching to an induction stove.
Highlights:
3 people upgraded to heat pumps
3 people installed an induction stove
2 people added insulation to their home
1 person signed up for community solar
1 person got a blower door test
1 person planted a native garden
Action taken after coaching
Select testimonials
“It's a great service! We were specifically looking for local examples of other people switching from a gas furnace to an electric heat pump, and wanted to learn more about their experiences during cold weather.”
“My coach was helpful and generous with time. I'd like it if there were a one-pager of information or advice that could be used as a reference. My coach had great first hand knowledge, but each situation is a little different so some more general information or trusted websites would be a good complement. Thank you!”
“It is a good way to get started on any of the above processes especially when trying to sift through information publicly available. It is good to hear first hand experience.”
“All of the Climate Coaches I've spoken to and all of the Open Houses or events I've attended were by and for people on the very high end of Oak Park's income class. I would like to see more focus on how people who don't have million dollar homes or six figure EVs can help reduce their emissions and be more climate conscious.”
Recommendations for next steps
VOP/OPCAN: Establish a cooperation agreement with the Village’s one-stop center (BD06) so that the two services are complementary and easily accessible by all income levels.
VOP/OPCAN: Identify the technical assistance needs for multiple unit townhouses, condo associations, and apartment buildings and gain the knowledge needed to support their sustainability journeys.
VOP: Allocate an additional $500,000 to $1 million for Energy Efficiency Grants to multi-family dwellings and small commercial buildings, grant applications which could be shared with those who apply for help from a Climate Coach.
OPCAN: Map out a marketing plan for the Climate Coaching program with support from the Village, realtors who have electronic newsletters, and other vehicles for promotion like the Chamber of Commerce.
OPCAN: Identify and recruit more Climate Coaches with heat pump, insulation and rooftop solar experience.
OPCAN: Explore a Climate Coach program for commercial building owners. The grants, tax incentives and costs are different and more complex, but the core concept of peer-to-peer guides should work with this group as well.
About OPCAN
Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) is a volunteer group of Oak Park residents working to eliminate our community’s contribution to the global climate crisis through equitable policies and practices.
OPCAN advocates for timely implementation of the goals of Climate Ready Oak Park, the climate action plan adopted by the Village of Oak Park in 2022. We also advocate for more climate friendly policies with other local taxing bodies, residents, businesses, and organizations.
OPCAN members meet monthly to discuss goals and activities, with working groups meeting more frequently to focus on building electrification, budgeting and policy, and resident outreach.