What We Do
EnviroJustice is a relatively new organization that promotes fundamental systemic change, environmental and social justice through education, activism and mobilization from a progressive, faith-based perspective. We are global in scope and local in focus.
Our job at EnviroJustice is to speak in broader terms and to articulate, disseminate and integrate the bigger picture into the landscape of both the environmental and faith-based communities. We tap into systems of thought and practice — very personal and developed early in childhood — that have oftentimes been allowed to become separate and distinct to the detriment of both.
And so we speak in terms of praxis and the interconnection with love and justice. Like the Civil Rights Movement that helped to launch the drive for environmental justice in the United States, EnviroJustice sees the world through a different lens. Although rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, EnviroJustice is deeply ecumenical and strongly based in science. We understand the influence of the corporate sector, the power global financial institutions hold in the marketplace, and how to leverage that influence and power to achieve real change in the world.
As stated in our bylaws, the primary objectives and purposes of EnviroJustice shall be the promotion of environmental justice beneficial to the public interest through education, activism and mobilization from a faith-based perspective. Specifically, the bylaws provide that we shall engage in the following activities:
Provide educational resources and materials to the public promoting the principles of environmental justice;
Emphasize faith-based perspectives within the environmental justice movement;
Organize progressive faith-based communities to support environmental justice issues;
Promote the ethical, balanced and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for humans and other living things;
Advocate on behalf of victims of environmental degradation; and
Work to transform the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing and non-violent direct action.
At the present time there are really few, if any, other comparable organizations that provide the kind of service that EnviroJustice offers, and it is a main objective of EnviroJustice to bridge that gap. However, our work is quite complimentary with that of other organizations whose efforts we support and join.
Here are a few examples of our collaborative work:
EnviroJustice is a member of the Business Ethics Network and has worked closely with a number of its members on related issues.
EnviroJustice is a member of the Open the Government coalition of individuals and organizations, bringing together First Amendment advocates, good government groups, journalists, environmentalists, and organizations representing working men and women to stop the growth in government secrecy and advocate for greater public access to government information.
EnviroJustice works with BankTrack, an international network of civil society organizations and individuals tracking the operations of the private global financial sector and its effect on people and the planet.
EnviroJustice participates in the work of the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Working Group.
EnviroJustice supports and highlights the work being done by other like-minded non-profit organizations, such as Rainforest Action Network (specifically on the Free Grassy Narrows campaign in the Canadian Boreal), EarthWorks and Oxfam (the No Dirty Gold campaign), Riverkeeper (clean up of Newtown Creek in Brooklyn, New York), the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (post-Katrina activities in the gulf coast), and Pacific Environment (Sakhalin II oil projects).