Environmental justice is the right of all people and communities to a clean, healthy, and safe environment. It promotes equal environmental protection under the law and in fact. It empowers all communities to make informed decisions and fully participate civically and economically in the creation of environmental solutions.
Our focus areas
Environmental Harms
BIPOC and low-income communities are disproportionately harmed by environmental hazards. We focus on efforts to prevent and repair these environmental disparities and ensure the affected communities can meaningfully engage in forging solutions.
For 2026, we will prioritize work happening in or focused on the U.S. South that:
- Provides frontline communities with actionable data they can use to both inform decision-makers and mitigate the environmental harms they face
- Develops and implements long-term solutions that protect both ecosystems and public health
- Holds polluters financially and/or legally accountable for environmental impacts caused by their operations
Inclusive Participation in the Green Economy
A Green Energy transition is well underway, but the economic opportunity that goes along with it is not distributed equitably. We focus on efforts to ensure that BIPOC-led environmental organizations and diverse companies can fully take advantage of the investments, benefits, and opportunities of the Green Economy.
For 2026, we will prioritize work happening in or focused on the U.S. South that:
- Measurably increases jobs, investments, and/or wealth-building opportunities in the Green Energy Transition for companies and individuals from marginalized backgrounds
- Increases capital to support, replicate, and/or scale solutions led by frontline communities that advance the transition to a green economy
- Demonstrates and amplifies models of economic inclusion in climate adaptation, mitigation or resilience
Regenerative Economic Models
Achieving environmental justice and addressing climate change requires a shift from extractive to regenerative economic models. We focus on social entrepreneurs and innovators who are building regenerative projects and models based on sustainability, ecological restoration, and community wealth-building and resilience.
For 2026, we will prioritize work happening in or focused on the U.S. South that:
- Transitions or restores agricultural, forest or other lands and watersheds damaged by pollution
- Increases investments to organizations and social entrepreneurs that help to scale innovative alternatives to extractive and/or polluting processes, practices, and products.
- Demonstrates and amplifies effective regenerative economic models and their impact on local economies, ecosystems and public health
“What’s critically important to us is that our work supports those most impacted by environmental justice as the architects of change.”
– Valerie Boucard, Director of Environmental Justice
