Diversity Equity Inclusion and Justice

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice

Why a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Action Plan?

Our Climate is committed to doing outer and inner work of DEIJ. We are ever-more-committed to addressing multifaceted, intersectional aspects of climate justice that disproportionately impacts frontline communities. Our commitment is not just to the issues themselves but the way we dismantle racism and build power within our organization.

While Our Climate is now a Black-led organization working on a complex, multifaceted issue that disproportionately impacts frontline communities, we do acknowledge our history as a white-led organization. Our evolution as an organization has been possible because we understand racism is a part of the very institutions we’re a part of. Furthermore, we must acknowledge bias and unintentional harm will be perpetuated if we do not make an explicit effort to incorporate DEIJ into our organization. We’re dedicated to climate justice and prioritizing equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice is key to achieving the vision we dream of.

Download DEIJ Action Plan

Commitments

Support Our Climate as we sustain and grow our work and diversify organizational leadership, staff, board, program members, and volunteers;

Holistically evaluate Our Climate’s policies, processes, and programs, identify trends and prioritize action to address inequities within the organization;

Implement a measurable plan that will hold Our Climate accountable to becoming a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization;

Create a culture that encourages and incentivizes Our Climate participants to hold hard conversations and encourages and values action.

Process

This process was led by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee within Our Climate’s Millennial Advisory Board. The committee was made up of eight students, one board member, and one staff member, and was facilitated by the Deputy Director. The Committee surveyed all staff, board, and over 50 student alumni on their experiences with Our Climate, wrote and edited multiple drafts of the plan with feedback from our staff and board, and solicited feedback from a DEI consultant before our board approved the final plan in September 2019.

This plan is written around three overarching commitments:

Diversity in Organizational Leadership
Equitable and Inclusive Organizing Practices
Equitable and Inclusive Access to Our Climate’s Programs

Accountability

We will be held accountable to this process by holding quarterly DEI Committee led check ins, in which the Deputy Director shares tangible changes, evaluations, and other related updates with the committee about the implementation of the Action Plan. Additionally, we will share this plan with our program participants, partners, and donors in an effort to make this work known and to be held accountable by outside forces.

We would like to thank the following people for serving on the DEI Committee: Jonathan Villaneuva, Robin Chapman, Ava Harrington, Cecelia Bolon, Jessica Hart, Jen Van Strander, Allison Romer, Eben Bein, and Raven Graf. The committee was facilitated by Cassidy Jones. We would also like to thank Post-Landfill Action Network for their time and willing to serve us with their consultation. Finally, we would like to thank and highly recommend Michaela Ayers from NOURISH Consulting for her expertise and support in guiding our vision and intentions into action.

This interim plan was informed by the following documents:

Awake to Woke to Work

Green 2.0’s The Green Insiders Club

Earth Justice’s DEI Plan

Post Landfill Action Network’s DEI Mandate

White Supremacy Culture

Improving Board Diversity

Vision for Change: A New Wave of Social Justice Leadership

Everybody’s Movement

Lastly, we recognize this as an ever changing and evolving process. We are open to and eager for feedback and questions. To learn more about our DEI Action Plan, you can read the full plan here or reach out to our National Policy and Programs Manager Emily Martin at emily@ourclimate.us

Our Climate’s Racial and Gender Demographics

Our Climate collects demographic information related to race, gender, economic background, educational background, pronouns, and other important information such as immigration status, being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and accessibility needs. While we haven’t shared a full snapshot here, we are excited to share our full demographic data through our upcoming DEIJ Transparency Report in 2021.

We are the Generations that MUST ACT!

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