Program on the Environment

Environmental degradation is a global challenge yet its impacts are disproportionately experienced particularly by the immigrant community as social inequality limits capacity to mitigate harms. These communities challenged by language barriers, access to stable jobs, and affordable housing and health care are more likely to be located in sacrifice zones and experience higher rates of associated health impacts. This compounds existing inequalities increasing the community’s vulnerability to pollution and climate change, hindering efforts to build community resilience if unaddressed. Therefore, there is a need for organizations that work with marginalized populations to adopt an environmental justice (EJ) framework. Thus, this study evaluates the opportunities and challenges of integrating an EJ framework into organizations that work with marginalized communities to mitigate the particular environmental challenges faced. This line of inquiry was accomplished through the development, integration, and evaluation of an EJ curriculum into Partner In Employment (PIE) paired with a literature analysis on the adoption of EJ into social work practice. Findings show that an EJ approach strengthens community-organization relationships, improves environment and community health, and empowers communities, while limited knowledge and resources, poor communication, and unclear objectives hinder integration. Understanding the opportunities and challenges of EJ serves to inform the best practices and methods for integration which includes a recognition justice approach, community-based practices, and environmental education. These practices function as an incentive for organizations to adopt an EJ approach which allows organizations to fully meet the needs of the community in addressing environmental inequalities and building community self-resilience.