Corrie Morley Is Putting Insulation at the Center of the Energy Transition

Corrie Morley didn’t always know she wanted to own her own insulation company. She just knew that whatever guys could do, she could do better. In today’s Building Science Alliance training, Morley brought her team from Koala Insulation to learn about the systems that work alongside insulation to create more energy-efficient homes.

Morley isn’t providing this training so her team can take over electrification; she’s doing it so they’re better educated and equipped to help homeowners improve their homes’ energy efficiency. Insulation is where it all starts: a home has to be properly sealed before homeowners can realize the full cost savings of a heat pump, solar, or other green technologies.

Corrie Morley and the Koala Insulation team participated in the Building Science Alliance training for Building Science Principles certification.

What stood out to me about Morley was her passion for her work and her ethical approach to growing a business. She keeps the best interests of her company and industry in mind, even when that means taking on greater risk or facing customer pushback from homeowners who don’t want to pay for wildland-urban interface (WUI)-grade equipment that can mitigate fire risk.

Morley also talked about the lack of women in the trades and the discrediting that comes with working in a male-dominated field. But she doesn’t let it get to her. Instead, she leads by example and lets her work speak for itself. Her legacy is evident in the passionate, hard-working people who make up Koala Insulation.

The Koala Insulation team took measurements of the attic at the Building Science Alliance headquarters to get an estimate for insulating. The home, built in the 70's, has minimal insulation causing air leakages.

When I think about climate change and the energy transition, home electrification hasn’t ranked high on my list of systems with the biggest potential impact. But talking to Morley and the rest of the Building Science Alliance has given me a different perspective: sustainability is about all of these systems working together, and doing so more ethically.

A safe home is somewhere on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, so climate justice must also address the unsustainable housing systems disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income neighborhoods—from asbestos and poor insulation to mold and inadequate fire mitigation. If the climate justice movement is about moving toward a society that considers its impact on the natural world, we need to start with our own communities before expecting them to share the burden of protecting our shared environment.

If people have energy-efficient, safe homes where they aren’t worried about their heat being shut off or the long-term effects of asbestos or carbon monoxide poisoning, they have more capacity to adopt other systems that support a healthier planet. But as long as proper insulation and other basic home improvements remain out of reach for the people who need them most, we won’t be able to meaningfully move the needle on climate change.

Just as the systems within a home work together to support energy efficiency, climate change mitigation touches every industry. We need more leaders like Morley, who bring an intersectional, holistic perspective to the work of creating ethical and sustainable change.