Resources

Databases

1. Community Benefits Database | Saben Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School | A database of over 50 CBAs, organized in 12 categories, including solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, energy storage, and renewable energy manufacturing

2. Community Benefits Snapshots | World Resources Institute | A selection of 22 articles, projects, and reports

3. Indigenous Land Use Agreement Database | Australian Research Council Linkage Project | A database of over 1,000 Indigenous Land Use Agreements; example: “Comalco Indigenous Land Use Agreement,” link 

4. Community Benefits Agreement Database for Wind Projects | Wind Exchange, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | A searchable database comprised of agreements, funds, donations, and other forms of benefits offered to communities by land-based and offshore wind energy developments in the US, compiled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory from 2022 to 2024

Toolkits

1. IBA Community Toolkit—Negotiation and Implementation of Impact and Benefit Agreements | Gibson and O’Faircheallaigh | Comprehensive guidance for communities considering impact and benefit agreements, with a specific focus on Indigenous communities in Canada negotiating with mining companies (website confirmed active July 13, 2025)

2. A guide to developing a Community Benefit Plan, including how it differs from a CBA and a Community Workforce Agreement, with pages 5-7 covering power mapping and including: Six sample CBAs, Community Workforce Agreement provisions, and PLAs, Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Community Benefit Plan, Anatomy of an Effective Community Workforce Agreement. 

3. Beautiful Trouble (website) | Website with tools on how to develop a narrative strategy that can support building narrative power including Battle of the Story worksheet

4. Clean Energy Activist Toolkit | Sierra Club | Website provides a campaign road map in 6 phases, plus: online organizing guide, resource library, and communications guide, including: sample press releases, event planning guide, petition dropoff event planning, and other communications templates (pp. 40–53).

1. Barnstable Wind HCA, Host Community Agreement, between Town of Barnstable and Vineyard Wind, 2021, link.

2. Castle Wind Morro Bay Offshore Wind Farm Project, CBA, between Castle Wind Farm and City of Morro Bay, California, 2018, link.

3. Western Cape Communities Co-Existence Agreement (aka Comalco Indigenous Land Use Agreement), “Indigenous Land Agreement” between 11 Traditional Owner groups, 4 Indigenous Community Councils (Aurukun, Napranum, Mapoon and New Mapoon), Comalco Aluminium Limited, and the Cape York Land Council on behalf of the Native Title Parties, 2001, link.

4. Connectgen Chautauqua HCA, Host Community Agreement, between Town of Ripley, New York, and Connectgen Chautauqua County, LLC, 2021, link.

5. Footprint Power Salem Harbor HCA, Host Community Agreement, between Footprint Power Salem Harbor Real Estate; Footprint Power Salem Harbor Development; and the City of Salem, Massachusetts, link.

6. Gates Cherokee CBA, CBA, between Gates Rubber Company, Cherokee, and the Front Range Economic Strategy Center, link.

7. Kingsbridge Armory, CBA, between Kingsbridge National Ice Center, located in the Kingsbridge Armory, Northwest Bronx, 2013, link.

8. Los Angeles World Airport, CBA, between Los Angeles World Airports and the LAX Coalition, 2006, link.

9. Medway Grid BESS, Host Community Agreement, between the Town of Medway, Massachusetts, and Medway Grid, LLC, 2022, link.

10. Stibnite Gold Mine, CBA, between the Cities of Cascade, Council, Connelly, McCall, New Meadows, and Riggins; the Village of Yellow Pine, and Adams, Idaho, and Valley Counties; Midas Gold, the operating entity for the Stibnite Gold Project; and its parent company, Midas Gold Corporation, 2018, link.

11. Nashville MLS Soccer, CBA, between Stand Up Nashville, Nashville Soccer Holdings, 2018, link.

12. Nevada Goldmine, CBA, between Nevada Gold Mines and the Confederated Tribes of the Goshutehone Reservation, the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, the Ely Shoshone Tribe, the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe of Nevada and Oregon, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone: Battle Mountain Colony, Elko Colony, South Fork Indian Reservation and Wells Colony, and the Yomba Shoshone Tribe, 2020, link.

13. New Flyer of America, CBA, between New Flyer of America Inc., Greater Birmingham Ministries, and Jobs to Move America, 2022, link.

14. Richmond-Chevron Refinery, Chevron Modernization Project Environmental and Community Investment Agreement, between Chevron and the City of Richmond, California, 2014, link.

15. Sibanye-Stillwater Mining, Good Neighbor Agreement, between Sibanye-Stillwater Mining Company, the Northern Plains Resource Council, Cottonwood Resource Council, and Stillwater Protective Association, 2023, link.

16. SouthCoast Wind Project, Host Community Agreement, between City of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and South Coast Wind LLC, link.

17. State of California High Speed Rail CBA, CBA, between the California High Speed Rail Authority, the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, and Signatory Unions, 2013, link.

18. South Fork Wind, Host Community Agreement, between South Fork Wind and East Hampton, New York, 2020, link.

19. Trailblazer C02 Pipeline, CBA, between Trailblazer CO2 Pipeline, Bold Education Fund, and Bold Alliance, 2024, link.

20. West Harlem Development Corporation, West Harlem Community Agreement, between the West Harlem Local Development Corporation and The Trustees of Columbia University, 2009, link.

1. Template 2A—Email Template for Requesting a Copy of the Native American Contacts List in States Where the Form Is Not Online, link.

2. Template 4A—CB Ordinance Template prepared for Emerald Cities, link.

3. Template 4B—General CBA Template prepared by Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, link.

4. Template 4C—Simplified CBA Template prepared by Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, link.

5. Sample—Grievance letter Nevada Gold Mines/Barrick Proposed Collaborative Agreement, The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, 2020, link.

6. Sample—Clean Energy Community Conversation Guide (prepared by C. Wooten), link.

7. Sample—Form Requesting Sacred Lands File & Native American Contacts List, link.

8. Sample Ordinance—Detroit’s Community Benefit Ordinance, link.

9. Sample Ordinance—Richmond’s Community Benefit Ordinance, link.

10. Sample—Annual Report, City of Richmond, 2022-23 Annual Report Environmental and Community Investment Agreement, link.

11. Sample—Priority CBA Provisions, BlueOval Good Neighbors, link.

12. Sample—Directions and Overview of the Nine Key Steps in Completing a SWOT, link.

13. Sample—Completed Power Map based on the Toolkit Exercise, link.

1. BW Research and Clean Air Task Force, Understanding Community Benefits Plans at the Department of Energy and Their Potential for Impact (2023). The report provides an overview of the Community Benefits Plan process, including its advantages and potential impacts on DOE projects, workers, and affected communities. 

2. BW Research and Clean Air Task Force, Survey on Community Benefits & An Overview of Community Benefits Plans (2023). The report provides a Consolidated Summary of Two Reports, Clean Air Task Force, and BW Research to identify new pathways and approaches that better align the necessity of rapid clean energy deployment with place-based strategies and commitments to communities and workers across the country.

3. Center of Law, Energy, and the Environment, Berkeley Law, Offshore Wind and Community Benefits Agreements in California: CBA Examples (2024). The report provides background and analysis of Offshore Wide CBAs in California.

4. City Bureau, The People’s Guide to CBAs and Alternatives (2022). The report includes information to equip Chicago residents to be active participants in the development process with tools, case studies, and CBA research. 

5. Data for Progress, Community and Labor Benefits in Climate Infrastructure: Lessons for Equitable, Community-Centered Direct Air Capture Hub Development (2023). The report provides findings of a poll that examined public opinion on CBAs and Project Labor Agreements.

6. Equitable Detroit and Detroit’s People’s Platform, Fighting for Equity in Development The Story of Detroit’s Community Benefits Ordinance (2017). The report provides an insightful and strategic look at Detroit’s path to having a Community Benefit Ordinance.

7. Initiative for Energy Justice, Community Benefits Policy and Energy Justice (2024). The report examines how the benefits from energy infrastructure investments can be redirected to underserved and overburdened communities through benefits reallocation policies by local, state, and federal governments.

8. Julian Gross, Community Benefits Agreements: Making Development Projects Accountable (2005). The report includes guidance intended to help community groups learn how CBAs work and to explain many of the different kinds of benefits for which community groups can negotiate. 

9. Oasis Earth, Citizens’ Advisory Councils for Mining in the Pacific (2012). The report proposes the development of a new Social License to Operate for mining (and other extractive industries), including rigorous independent certification of compliance with the World Bank’s Extractive Industry Review standards, donation of 1% of profits to environmental conservation initiatives, and other enhanced performance standards. Further, it proposes that all large-scale mining projects, particularly in developing countries, establish Citizens’ Advisory Councils.

10. Office of Minority Business & Economic Development, US Department of Energy, Guide to Advancing Opportunities for Community Benefits through Energy Project Development (2017). The report includes descriptions of the community benefit approach and how they are developed and implemented, including case studies.

11. Partnership for Working Families and Community Benefit Law Center, Common Challenges in Negotiating Community Benefits Agreements (2016). The report includes case studies, checklists, charts, and resources for individuals and organizations interested in moving community benefits campaigns forward in their jurisdiction and who want to learn more about the pitfalls and indicators of potentially harmful CBAs.

12. Policy Link, Community Benefits Agreements | PolicyLink. The website offers a basic overview of CBAs, including information on who implements them, key considerations in developing them, and examples of where CBAs are currently in use (confirmed active website July 2025).

13. Re-Imagine Appalachia, Community Benefits – ReImagine Appalachia. This website includes information for its “Community Benefits” initiative and a debriefing on its 2023 Community Benefits Summit (website confirmed active July 2025).

14. Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Expert Insights on Best Practices for Community Benefits Agreements (2023). The report outlines 35 recommendations for developers and host communities relating to CBAs for direct air capture hubs and other clean energy projects.

15. Small Business Anti-Displacement Network, Small Business Anti-Displacement Toolkit - A Guide For Small Business Advocates (2024). The report includes sections on local hiring, tax credits and incentives, zoning, form-based codes, and community ownership.

16. Tallgrass Institute and Lepwe, Tribal Benefit Agreements - Designing for Sovereignty (2025). The report provides an overview of the complex legal and historical landscape surrounding Tribal Benefit Agreements and shares best practices and case studies.

17. The Urban Institute, Community Benefit Agreement. The website offers an overview of CBAs, with a focus on Host Community Agreements, and provides links to the agreements (confirmed active website July 2025).

18. World Resources Institute and Data For Progress: US Clean Energy Projects Need Public Buy-in. Community Benefits Agreements Can Help (2023). The article provides a highly hyperlinked overview of US Clean Energy funding in the Biden administration, early CBA ordinances, survey results on what successful CBAs look like, and a selection of CBAs.

19. World Resources Institute and Data For Progress: Detroit’s Community Benefits Ordinance: Lessons learned about the community engagement process and its outcomes (2024). The paper explores Detroit’s CBO ordinance within the context of its political economy while examining its successes, shortcomings, and lessons learned.

1. Been, Vicki, Community Benefits Agreements: A New Local Government Tool or Another Variation on the Exactions Theme? (2010).

   1. pp. 11–17, “The Legal And Policy Issues Posed By CBAs,” 2023

2. Eisenson, Matthew and Webb, Romany, Expert Insights on Best Practices for Community Benefits Agreements (2023). It includes 17 recommendations for developers, 9 for communities, and 9 for drafting an agreement. 

3. Gross, Julian “Community Benefits Agreements,” chapter in Building Healthy Communities: A Guide to Community Economic Development for Advocates, Lawyers, and Policymakers (2009). This is a publication of the Forum on Affordable Housing & Community Development of the American Bar Association.

   1. pp. 5–7, “Successors, Assigns, and Agents”

   2. pp. 7, “Unincorporated Associations”

   3. pp. 10–11, “Misuse of CBAs”

4. Hoff, Katherine and Segal, Katie, Offshore Wind and Community Benefits Agreements in California (2023). This is a publication of the Center for Law, Energy and Environment, Berkeley Law School. Issue Brief and includes resources to assist coalitions throughout the multiyear CBA development and negotiation process for offshore wind projects.

5. Salkin, Patricia, Understanding Community Benefit Agreements: Opportunities and Traps for Developers, Municipalities and Community Organizations (2007)

   1. pp. 15–16 “Practical Problems with CBAs” 

   2. pp. 16–18 “Legal Issues Related to CBAs”

   3. pp. 18–19 “Checklist of Issues to Review in Considering the Use of CBAs”