Growing Green Initiative (GGI)—an initiative of three Brooklyn-based workforce development organizations: BOC Capital, Evergreen, and Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation—seeks to connect Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)-owned businesses and entrepreneurs across the borough to the economic opportunities within the green economy. Too often, BIPOC businesses and workers face higher barriers of entry that limit participation in rapidly growing sectors such as clean energy, environmental remediation, and green infrastructure. GGI selected Karp Strategies to help address these racial and socioeconomic gaps by identifying tactics that increase access to the green economy for BIPOC-owned businesses and advance the Just Transition in Brooklyn.

Leveraging our experience providing supplier diversity consulting on climate resilience, clean energy, and port infrastructure projects, Karp Strategies conducted a market analysis to identify green sectors that offer the highest economic development growth potential for small businesses. Karp Strategies also conducted an economic landscape of current BIPOC-owned businesses in Brooklyn to triangulate areas where GGI can focus programming efforts and needs. Karp Strategies’ research identified green economy sectors with higher levels of BIPOC representation, and those with untapped, high-growth potential for further BIPOC business engagement. The team also conducted a thorough analysis of green economy-related RFPs across the state and utilized Lightcast data to triangulate relevant industry spending.

Karp Strategies summarized market analysis insights in a final memo and a compelling presentation deck, accompanied by robust recommendations for high-impact small business services and other programming. Through these efforts, GGI gained a clear understanding of green economy industry trends within Brooklyn and NYC and was equipped with an arsenal of tools to expand BIPOC participation in the green economy.