Blogging Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in writing for EcoBlock! We’re always looking to connect with new authors and feature content that relates to our core goals of clean energy, environmental sustainability, and urban resilience.

If you have a burning idea, thought, or question that will challenge our readers and move our industry forward, we want to hear about it!

Blog articles should be:

  • Short (max. 500-800 words)
  • Have a short and catchy title. For longer pieces, consider using subheadings to streamline and organize your text.
  • Offer a strong thesis with a clear intro, well-constructed argument, and thoughtful conclusion. Blog content should be educational and supported by credible sources, not just opinions.
  • Relatable, clear, and concise. EcoBlock has a diverse community of readers from all age groups and backgrounds, so please avoid using jargon or overly technical, academic language.
  • Include a short bio (1-2 sentences) with your name, title/organization, and social media links, if any.
  • Give credit. All references and citations should be directly embedded in the text as hyperlinks. Please include any supporting visuals (e.g., photos, videos, infographics) as a separate JPG/PNG/MP4/MOV file, with the proper references and/or citations noted in a Word or Google document.
  • Have a voice. Be interesting, personable, and human!

Potential topics may cover:

  • Current events and developments related to climate change, urban development, and renewable energy
  • Tips on sustainable living
  • Recaps of EcoBlock and partner-affiliated events
  • Short interviews, anecdotes, thought pieces, etc. with leading organizations and stakeholders in the fields of energy and environment

For more tips on how to write a blog post, check out these resources:

For examples of sustainability-related blogs, check out these platforms:

When you’re ready to submit your post, complete our submission form by clicking the button below and attach your article draft as a Word (preferred) or Google document. Please note that only complete drafts are considered (not pitches).

Submit a Post

What happens next?

All submissions are reviewed regularly by the EcoBlock editorial team. You will be notified via email of the status of your article within 2-3 weeks of submission.

Have additional questions, comments or concerns? Shoot us an email at: ecoblock@berkeley.edu. We’d be happy to help!

FAQs

EcoBlock reaches a diverse audience of homeowners, researchers, and industry professionals who share a common interest in sustainability. 

In general, some of our audience’s burning questions/needs/concerns include:

  • How can we implement deep decarbonization in the most timely manner, without having to rebuild a majority of housing and infrastructure?
  • How can we best reduce the resource use and carbon footprint of buildings and vehicles?
  • How can essential services be provided to residents when the electric grid is disrupted?
  • How can such a major transition unfold in a modular, affordable way that includes all communities?

When writing your article, please consider ways to relate your topic to the questions above. 

No. Our editorial team only reviews completed article submissions.

Here’s what happens after you press Send:

  • The EcoBlock editorial team will review and discuss your submission.
  • If your article is accepted, you will work closely with an editor to refine and develop your draft.
  • We’ll schedule your article for publication once revisions are approved and finalized.

Yes!

  • Promotion across our social media: EcoBlock will promote contributing posts via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other relevant social media platforms under the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) (we’ll even link to your social media too!) Based in the University of California, Berkeley, at CITRIS, CIEE is a dedicated group of experts who define, conduct, and manage public-interest energy research. 
  • Access to our audience of researchers, energy industry leaders, and sustainability enthusiasts: Blog posts are featured in EcoBlock’s monthly blog roundup and sent to a dedicated mailing list of researchers, and members of the general public.

  • No. While a lot of great ideas are shared in conversations and via social media, the EcoBlock editorial team is committed to reviewing all submissions fairly and equitably. When a member of the EcoBlock team reaches out to see if you’d be interested in contributing a blog post, this means we love your idea and the work you are pursuing. However, every good article depends on the right approach to an idea, and the team is unable to make an informed decision until a full draft is submitted.

Thank you for your interest in sharing EcoBlock content! We believe in making information accessible for everyone and thus, publish under a Creative Commons — Attribution/No derivatives license. 

This means you can republish our articles, both online and in print, for free. We only ask that you follow a few basic guidelines: 

  • Please do not edit our material, except to reflect changes in time, location, and editorial style. 
  • Please include all embedded hyperlinks for articles that are republished online.
  • Please credit all authors and their respective organizations in the byline.
  • Please credit EcoBlock and include a link back to either our home page or the original article URL. We prefer that you credit us at the top of the article and include our logo (available below). 
  • You can’t sell our material separately, but it’s alright to repost our articles on pages with ads. 
  • Please do not republish any photos, infographics, videos, or visual material that accompany the article without asking for permission. (For such requests—or any other questions—please reach out to ecoblock@berkeley.edu.
  • Please do not systematically republish all of our blog articles, nor frame our online and print content as your own. 

Special republishing cases:

  • Extracts: You can run the first few lines or paragraphs of the article, provided that you directly credit EcoBlock and include a link back to the original article URL.
  • Quotes: You can quote authors, provided you include a link back to the original article URL.
  • Translations: All translations of blog content require author approval. You can reach out to the author(s) directly via the contact info that accompanies their author profile. 
  • Edits: All material edits must be directly approved by the author prior to publication. You can reach out to the author(s) directly via the contact info that accompanies their author profile.  
  • Signed consent / copyright release forms: These are not required, given that you adhere to EcoBlock’s republishing guidelines. 
  • Print: All blog posts can be published in print in accordance with EcoBlock’s republishing guidelines, with the exception that you do not need to include embedded hyperlinks. Please send an image of the republished article to ecoblock@berkeley.edu so we can share it with the author upon publication. 
  • Podcast and video: All attribution requirements under the creative commons license apply to podcast and videos.

Yes! If you have an article that complements EcoBlock’s work, please feel free to send it our way by completing this form.