FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2025
Media Contact:
Robin Tung
Director of Public Relations
robin@buildingdecarb.org
Children’s Book Celebrates Union Workers and Communities Building Clean, Green Neighborhoods
The Clean Green Neighborhood launches November 13 in English and Spanish.
Sacramento, CA — Today, the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) announced the release of The Clean Green Neighborhood, a bilingual English-Spanish children’s book that celebrates the union workers and communities building and thriving in neighborhoods powered by renewable energy. Written by Kristin George Bagdanov, illustrated by Nicole Kelner, and translated by José Torres, the book is now available for purchase at buildingdecarb.org/clean-green-neighborhood.
The book was produced by the BDC with the sponsorship and creative guidance of four labor unions: International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Locals 104 and 105, and United Auto Workers Region 6. Representatives from each of these locals served on a Creative Advisory Board to guide written and visual content and share ideas for highlighting the essential role of labor unions in a clean energy transition.
The Clean Green Neighborhood tells the uplifting story of how union workers transform their neighborhood to become sustainable and resilient through shared renewable energy. Educators, parents, and community members can use it as a tool to spark conversations about how communities, clean energy technology, and teamwork come together to shape the world we live in for the better.
Whimsical watercolor illustrations transform construction sites, electric appliances like heat pumps and induction stoves, and renewable energy resources into a people-centric vision of a clean-energy community. A thermal energy network becomes a “sharing circle” that heats and cools homes, while workers ranging from operating engineers to electricians celebrate the future-proof neighborhood they have built for their families and futures. The book concludes with a visual glossary explaining what makes a neighborhood “clean and green,” along with a chart highlighting the roles of the unions that make the clean energy transition possible.
“The Clean Green Neighborhood celebrates the people at the heart of the neighborhood-scale clean energy transition,” said Panama Bartholomy, Executive Director of the BDC. “This book beautifully illustrates what we believe: it’s possible to build neighborhoods that can improve people’s health, cut climate and air pollution, prioritize high-road jobs, and ensure that our communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
“For generations, we’ve been training the workforce to do this work,” said EJ Cire, Political and Public Relations Representative for Sheet Metal Workers’s Local Union 104. “It is a privilege to be part of the youth’s education around the green economy.”
“Local 12 is excited to participate in this educational opportunity,” said Matthew Gaines, Political Director for International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union 12. “The Clean Green Neighborhood not only shares with our children a snippet of how some of our infrastructure works, but also showcases work that is done by everyday people, some of whom may be in their own family.”
“Our members live and work in the communities they help power and build,” said Robert Corona, Business Manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11. “We’re so proud to show the next generation that building a cleaner community means good jobs, safe neighborhoods, and a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”
Mike Miller, Director of UAW Region 6 said: “UAW Region 6 is proud to see this beautiful book on neighborhood decarbonization in print. It paints a wonderful picture of how we can grow good union jobs and safe, clean neighborhoods through clean energy development. We have no doubt this book will inspire our children, and hopefully their parents too.”
Order The Clean Green Neighborhood today at buildingdecarb.org/clean-green-neighborhood and help inspire the next generation of builders, community members, and changemakers.
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ABOUT THE BUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION
The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) aligns critical stakeholders on a path to transform the nation’s buildings through clean energy, using policy, research, market development, and public engagement. The BDC and its members are charting the course to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings to improve people’s health, cut climate and air pollution, prioritize high-road jobs, and ensure that our communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Learn more at www.buildingdecarb.org.