Equity Statement

We believe that all people deserve access to a clean, healthy environment, and that the environment and justice are inherently interrelated. Communities that bear the brunt of environmental degradation have historically been marginalized and excluded from the environmental movement. We must address these historical and ongoing injustices toward communities of color and low-income communities to fulfill our mission.

OLCV is committed to creating a culture of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will incorporate these values into our work in the following ways:

• We will ensure that each member of our board and staff is committed to working on equity and justice.
• We will work to elect candidates for office who share our commitment to not only the environment but also to racial and environmental justice.
• We will hold elected leaders accountable not only for their actions related to climate action and environmental protection, but also related to equity and fairness. We will also ensure that democratic systems are accessible to all people.
• We are committed to being part of and leading increasingly diverse coalitions that reflect our state’s population and promote leadership from communities of color.
• We will ensure that we consider equity when we work on legislation and policy, and we will stand with social and racial justice groups.

To do this work, we will educate our board, staff, volunteers, and members on environmental justice and equity, as well as encourage them to join us in solidarity in the fight for social and racial justice. We will actively seek to include the voices of those previously left out of the environmental movement within our organization. We will put people at the heart of our work.