The economy can thrive without harming the environment or the beings that call our planet home. This is at the heart of Green America’s mission and why we work for a green economy. Yet that vision seems hard to reach when good jobs and workers’ rights are pitted against the environment—a narrative that doesn’t have to be true.
Historically, industry has exploited both workers and the environment through poor working conditions and pollution. Yet history also shows that people stand up to right these wrongs—whether that be enacting child labor laws, the Clean Water Act, or unionizing workforces.

Recently, some companies have adopted more just and green policies, helping to lead industry towards better standards, such as the minority-owned SUNS (Solar Uptown Now Services) Cooperative that employs people of color in steady, clean-energy jobs. While state-wide policies are failing the green economy movement, such as Texas’ mandate for fossil fuels over renewables, there is hope in the Inflation Reduction Act and the small businesses leading the charge.

It’s more important than ever that worker-organizers, unions, and organizations like Green America are working collectively towards a future where people don’t have to choose between a good job and a clean environment.

Blue Fenceline Communities

Blue collar workers are among the first people to face the impacts of environmental issues. Many live in fenceline communities—neighborhoods that are near high-polluting warehouse districts, industrial factories, and dumps.

In the north of Birmingham, Alabama, the Bluestone Coke plant (which makes fuel for steel manufacturing) has been polluting historically Black neighborhoods for decades. The EPA has designated it as “the 35th Ave Superfund site.” Arsenic and lead have been found in residential soil due to leaks from the plant, and residents bear the burden of disproportionately high rates of respiratory issues and cancer.

For generations, residents have worked at the coke plant without knowledge of the harm it caused to their health and their communities. As blue-collar factory workers, this circumstance demonstrates the tragic intersection of environmental injustice and workers.

Jean Tong, Green America’s labor campaigns director, says that this issue spans industries, from the 35th Avenue Superfund to southeast Los Angeles, where garment workers make clothes that contain harmful chemicals for low pay.

“Low-wage workers who face poor working conditions on the job are often living in highly polluted fenceline communities,” says Tong. “Low-income working families are also vulnerable consumers to products sold by companies such as Amazon or Shein that may contain toxic chemicals because of their low prices.”

Tong calls these compounded stressors the “triple-whammy”on low-wage workers—unsafe working conditions, high exposure to environmental risks, and limited access to affordable and healthy essential daily products and food. They are the reasons why organizing at the intersection of workers’ rights and environmental justice is so important.

Where Blue Collar Meets Green

With environmental issues affecting blue collar workers acutely, shouldn’t labor groups and environmental organizations to work together? It’s not that simple.

For example, Native American communities led the fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline, joined by environmentalists and other concerned citizens. When President Biden canceled the pipeline, it was celebrated as a win among these allies. However, the Laborers’ International Union of the North and more labor unions supported the Keystone XL for its creation of steady union jobs. Today, these same unions applaud Biden’s approval of the long-delayed Willow Project in Alaska, which once again is being fought by local Native American communities and allied environmentalists. While these fossil fuel projects contribute to the climate crisis, they also provide steady good-paying jobs for union workers.

“It’s not fair or practical to ask workers to choose between feeding their families and saving the environment,” says Tong. “The responsibility falls on a comprehensive national ‘just transition’ plan toward green jobs and renewable energy. They are two sides of the same coin.”

BlueGreen Alliance, an organization which unites labor unions and environmental organizations for the shared interest of a clean environment and quality jobs, seeks to create policy solutions to these issues.

“We don’t want folks to have to choose between a good job and a clean environment,” Katie Harris, BlueGreen Alliance’s legislative director, says. “We advocated for the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA]. For the first time, labor standards are attached to clean energy tax credits.” This will incentivize companies to invest in clean energy resources that pay a prevailing wage for the tax credits they will earn—prevailing wage means a basic hourly rate given to people who work the same job, used by the government to ensure that tax credits or dollars only go to businesses that pay workers fairly.

This means that under 2022’s IRA, investments in clean energy must also consider the wellbeing of the workers—a major step forward for energy justice. More than nine million clean energy jobs could be created over the next decade with these rules in mind.

Community in Clean Energy

Responsibility falls on corporations to switch to clean energy and support good jobs. Corporations are responsible for 75% of all energy used in the US, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Telecom companies are expected to grow in influence as society becomes more dependent on telecoms to communicate and conduct business, according to Green America’s “Calling for a Just, Clean Transition” 2021 report. They have power to influence clean energy investments with their massive energy use and advance energy justice in the workforce by employing underserved communities.

Dan Howells, Green America’s climate campaigns director, says that public pressure is needed to get companies to transition to clean energy. Whether that’s publicly on social media or calling your provider directly, it’s important for the public to take part.

“The inevitable is coming,” says Howells. “We’ve already reached peak-oil, -coal, and the fossil fuel industry is in decline. The next step is, who’s going to build, install, and maintain all new renewable energy infrastructure and systems?”

Howells uses the example of electric charging stations. As electric vehicles grow in popularity, charging stations are built to serve the same function as gas stations—refueling. However, as more stations pop up across the nation, a workforce will have to maintain them. Our report urges companies to employ women and people of color, to protect workers by honoring the right to organize, and offer prevailing wages.

ChargerHelp! in Los Angeles is a company growing this workforce. ChargerHelp! offers electric vehicle supply equipment technician training and certification, re-skilling for workers looking to change fields, and trainings for workforce development organizations.

As companies like ChargerHelp! transition the workforce into an emerging energy landscape, Howells emphasizes how important conversation between communities and companies is to workers.

“It starts with a conversation: companies with market power should consult with communities where they have current or future projects,” says Howells. “And, they should make sure that the good jobs that come along with renewable energy projects benefit those communities.”

Under the IRA, corporations are eligible for clean energy tax credits, which incentivizes them to invest in good jobs for clean-energy workers.

An Energy Transition for Everyone

Historically, low-income communities and communities of color have been the last to see the benefits of energy transitions and the first to experience negative effects—the neighborhoods near the 35th Avenue Superfund site are a prime example of many environmental injustices around the country. But Green America’s telecoms and labor justice campaigns as well as organizations like BlueGreen Alliance are working to make sure history won’t repeat itself in the clean energy transition.

“In the times we’ve had big economic shifts, there are people who’ve been left behind,” says Harris. “There has to be intentional investments in keeping communities whole. We can make sure that the communities that want these investments actually have a say.”

Harris references coal miners in Appalachia that support the transition to clean energy jobs. United Mineworkers Association members urged Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to support Biden’s 2022 budget bill for its policies of employing former miners in new industries. With the passing of the IRA later that year, there is $369 billion allocated for the transition to renewable energy, some of which will be spent to bolster a clean energy economy in West Virginia.

“Labor union apprenticeship programs have the power to uplift immigrants and communities of color by providing a pathway toward middle class jobs and access to crucial benefits like affordable health care and pensions,” says Tong.

The US can reach for the new frontier of clean energy without leaving anyone behind by addressing the triple win of a just transition: supporting workers’ needs and rights; safeguarding the environment and tackling climate change; and addressing the communities affected. With these tools, labor unions and environmental groups can work towards a future where good jobs and a healthy environment go hand in hand.

Anna Ortega is a lifelong resident of San Bernardino, California. That city is part of the “Inland Empire” north of Los Angeles, once known for its agricultural industry, now known for being a center for warehousing, trucking, and shipping. In April 2021, Amazon started air operations at the San Bernardino airport. In November of that year, Ortega started working there, sorting packages and braving the sometimes stifling heat. Ortega once dreamed of working her way up the ladder with promotions at Amazon. After finding momentum with an organizing workers’ committee, she is now passionate about making her (in)famous workplace better for her colleagues and community. Ortega shared her story with Green American in April, 2023.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you come to work for Amazon?

I was burning through my savings and I really needed a job. [My mom] was working at an Amazon fulfillment center and I was going to apply to the one she was working at, but when I pulled up the Amazon application website, I saw that there was a sign-on bonus for the airport, so I decided to apply there instead. I was actually scared to work at Amazon because I had heard things from other people that have worked at Amazon about the working conditions and what it was like, and so I was fully prepared to quit after six months. But I ended up liking it because of my coworkers. And especially now—the environment that we’re creating, the culture that we’re creating… I really enjoy it.

How did you become involved in worker justice advocacy?

In 2021, the Amazon building where Ortega works had an unannounced closure. A group of affected workers started a petition asking for back pay and policy change regarding unpaid workdays.

When they approached me with the petition, I was honest with them. I told them, ‘I think what you guys are doing is cool, but I don’t want to jeopardize my chances for promoting.’ I thought anybody who signed it was going to get fired. I was scared, and so I declined. But then, the committee delivered the petition and none of them got fired. They didn’t get back pay, but the company gave us a month where we could pick up all the extra time we wanted.

That sent a message. My coworkers got together, they worked, they told the managers, ‘Hey, this is wrong, and you should fix it.’ And they fixed it. And none of them got in trouble. They’re all still here. I thought that was incredibly powerful and after that, I started thinking, hey, that positive change is good. What more can be done?

What is your role?

My department is called Mez [referring to the upper mezzanine level of the building, according to an Amazon job posting]. We do most of the sorting for the building. Most of the sorting happens manually: we take one package at a time, place it on a conveyor or on a robot, scan it, and the conveyor or robot automatically will take it where it needs to go. I get in at 7 a.m. and I leave at 5:30 p.m.

We’re seeing an influx of being sent out of our department to help another department that’s understaffed. It’s pretty unpopular, because we don’t get refresher training on how to do things, and we have to look to the people near us for help because it’s difficult to track down a management member.

I definitely noticed that whenever we hold a delegation, where a group of us goes to talk to a manager, they never say it but we instantly kind of get penalized for it. [Editor’s note: ‘delegation’ is what the workers call it when members of the organizing committee approach management with complaints or concerns. The committee is not recognized formally by Amazon.] We get back from the delegation and back to working and after a few minutes you know, we get sent out of the department and then down in the other department, they’ll say, ‘Why did they send you?’

After the first big action that I took as part of the committee, the next day not a single manager or PA [process assistant, functionally a manager] said anything to me until after like six hours into the shift. Then they pulled a bunch of us to the side like, ‘We just want to let you guys know like we appreciate you, you are welcome to raise your concerns, you can talk to us,’ but it took them six hours to say that.

Anytime we’re going to do a delegation, with work friends who are not part of the committee usually, I give them this talk: ‘They might treat you differently, you’re not imagining it. They will do that.’

Do you feel safe?

It doesn’t always feel like a safe place, no. There’s definitely times when it feels very hectic and everyone seemed frazzled and stressed. Whenever something goes down or something gets jammed, there’s alarms that go off. In those cases, management will still try and push for productivity over safety. I feel like they tend to forget that we’re actual human beings sometimes.

Tell us about the heat you deal with at work and how you addressed issues with it last summer.

The outside department working directly with the planes, they are outside all day in the sun, breathing in the jet fuel and the fumes. They had to walk and walk to find water and have a cool space to sit down and rest if they needed it. On the inside we were dealing with similar issues. There’s an entire department that works adjacent to outside, so they’re letting out the building’s air-conditioned air. There were no fans for them down there, and they didn’t have water in easily accessible areas. If they left their workstations to go and get some, by the time they’d came back, their supervisors were there asking why they were gone for so long, giving them a hard time, when all they wanted was to go and get water.

We realized, no, this isn’t okay, we shouldn’t be dealing with this, so we did two ‘heat delegations.’ We went up to the building’s manager so that we could share our stories and raise our concerns. After that, we saw some pretty big changes. Outside they started giving them their heat breaks, they got really big misters, more ice chests with water. We saw this push from management, letting us know, ‘Hey, remember, pace yourself; don’t overwork yourself; make sure you’re drinking water; if you don’t feel good, take a break.’ We weren’t seeing that before.

Does this create permanent change?

We definitely still have to keep them accountable, we still have to be the ones to [say], ‘Hey, there’s an issue here.’ It needs to be addressed. And then again, ‘Hey, has that issue that I raised the other day been addressed yet?’ [Heat safety measures have] definitely declined a bit since immediately after they were on top of things. Little by little they decline.

[But our organizing committee meets] with each other very often, talk about the issues to try and come up with ways to solve them. At this point, I consider this committee my family because I know that when I have an issue, as hard as it may seem to me in the moment, I know that at the end of the day, I can talk to any one of them. We can get through this together.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m pretty hell-bent on staying here. My involvement over the past year and a half, it’s definitely changed who I am. I really do hope to make this job a better one, and a good one. A job that someone in this community can go to and be able to support [their] family with.

I was born and raised in this city. This is my community. The people who live here deserve better. I do genuinely want to make this a better [opportunity] for the community.

In movies, robots oscillate between good and evil. Wall-E cleaned up trash on an abandoned planet while childlike M3gan committed murder without remorse.

In the workplace, robotics issues looks more like 2019’s Oscar winning documentary “American Factory,” which shows automation bringing an Ohio glass-making factory back to life, but not necessarily giving a good life to workers in it.

When it comes to workplace robotics, the first equipment was introduced by engineers at General Motors in 1961: a robotic arm that could lift and stack 75 pounds of hot metal at a time. With this, dangerous tasks for people were made safer by a machine.

Jessie HF Hammerling, co-director of the Green Economy program at the University of California Berkeley Labor Center, emphasizes that robotics are not inherently bad or good—we have to ask, how are they being used? The answer has huge impacts on workers and the climate.

Robots in the Workforce

Amazon, known for its cheap finds and speedy deliveries at the expense of workers and the planet, employs about 1.6 million people globally and has deployed more than 520,000 robots in its fulfillment and sorting centers. According to investor and CEO of ARK Invest, Cathie Wood, Amazon is adding about a thousand robots per day, which could lead to robots outnumbering human staff in just seven years.

But robots are making the fulfillment centers less safe. Amazon experiences 5.9 serious injuries per 100 employees at non-robotic warehouses (already double the rate of non-Amazon warehouses), but an astonishing 7.9 serious injuries per 100 employees at facilities with robots.

At the Labor Center, Hammerling and her team’s research shows that robotics and enhanced technologies will have a greater impact on job quality than job quantity for human workers. Their multi-year studies covered five of the most robotized sectors—warehouses, trucking, retail, healthcare, and food delivery.

“Job losses were concentrated in specific occupations and limited in scope, but the consequences for workers’ job quality overall were far more substantial, in ways that can have pretty significant negative outcomes for workers, such as lower wages, de-skilling, work speed-up, loss of autonomy and privacy, and the worst impacts were in particular for women and people of color,” Hammerling says.

Outsized impacts on women and people of color come because technological changes can worsen existing inequalities. Many front-line occupations like warehouse workers, cashiers, health aides, and nurses are more likely to be women, people of color, or both.

But, Hammerling says, the effects come from how technology is being developed and deployed. For example, tracking devices used by Amazon to track warehouse workers compromise worker privacy and increase work speeds.

But a similar type of technology has been designed for hotel housekeepers, where location tracking can be activated by a worn panic button, which can help staff get quick help in dangerous situations with guests.
As robots aren’t inherently good or bad for labor, so too with climate—it’s all about context.

Robotics and the Climate

People aren’t thinking enough about the climate impacts of robotics, says Dr. Fiachra O’Brolcháin. He does, as a philosopher and professor at Dublin City University. In his paper, “Environmental Impact of Robotics: Ethical Concerns and Legal Alternatives,” published in Springer Nature in 2020, he and his co-author say that sufficient attention has not been paid to environmental concerns.

“There’s a huge sort of techno-philic attitude in Western cultures—we’re always very excited about new technologies and equate that with progress,” O’Brolcháin says. “Insofar as there’s a focus on the downsides, that I’ve come across, it is the focus on labor and the potential huge loss of jobs from AI and robotics. The environmental aspect has been overlooked.”

The paper brings light to a multitude of issues that should be addressed as robotics are developed and popularized: e-waste, raw materials and chemicals in supply chains, energy use, and environmental justice. For example, if robots become consumer products (as they already have, with robotic vacuums and autonomous vehicles), they might become quickly obsolete status symbols that constantly are tossed away and upgraded, instead of well-fabricated, durable machines meant to be used and repaired for a long life cycle.

Workers really need to have a voice in the processes of technological change, whether it’s climate-related or not.

— Jessie HF Hammerling, UC Berkeley Labor Center

Like many products, the issue with robotics is that the environmental impacts—using a green and just supply chain, with fair pay and without polluting marginalized communities—are often only examined after they have happened. O’Brolcháin says there is a need for governments to consider environmental impacts and create regulations to make products in a green way.

“You’d hope that governments would regulate the market so that we are protected from the more pernicious effects of robots. But with governments, it depends on who you vote for and what sort of lobbies are there,” O’Brolcháin says.

Policymakers in the European Union are starting to look at potential issues, with The Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, and GDPR, a data protection act, but while those do reference human rights, they are not designed to address environmental concerns.

Many roboticists are looking to create climate good with their technologies, which can take on dull, dirty, and/or dangerous tasks—for example SS MAPR, an autonomous boat that can be used to check river pollution and collect data at multiple depths, which could drive stronger pollution laws. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is working on developing robots to repurpose retired electric vehicle batteries to be used as energy storage for buildings—using robots for this can reduce human exposure to toxic chemicals and high voltage.

What’s Next

What’s clear from both Hammerling and O’Brolcháin is that robotic technologies have potential to better human lives and the environment. Tech companies, governments, and potential purchasers of robotics need to participate in ensuring that outcome.

Both experts hope a change in perspective could be what’s next.

“Is it progress to develop a huge number of robots, if they’re very detrimental to the planetary system that we rely on for survival?” O’Brolcháin asks. “Or should there be some notion of a collective good for us all [including nature]?”

Hammerling says for any type of technological change, as workers’ processes change, their feedback needs to be considered.

“Robotics is just one of many types of technological change. The transition to a low-carbon economy is also a form of technological change,” Hammerling says. “Workers really need to have a voice in the processes of technological change, whether it’s climate-related or not.”

At the end of the day, she says that comes down to soliciting feedback from workers and allowing organizing among workers as their workplaces change.

Technology continues to advance, with robotics in the past, present, and future. To ensure that they contribute to an environmentally sustainable society and people-first economy, we must institute technologies while considering the collective good of workers and the planet.

Pressure is rising, creating real progress. Workers are pushing for unions and an end to poor treatment at some of the country’s most recognizable companies. Meanwhile, workers in every sector of the economy are recognizing a need for work/life balance and interest in the four-day workweek is growing.

At the same time, there have been alarming setbacks. Arkansas passed a law making it easier for children to work grueling jobs and other states are following suit.

Needing to push against child labor, organize in protest of poor working conditions and advocate for shorter work weeks… we feel like we’ve seen this before. With this issue, we explore the challenges and victories that workers face today, which are iterations on justice and equity issues from the past. We delve into the power of collective action, the potential of a just transition when it comes to climate solutions, the challenges of facing profit-driven corporations, and the tragedy of kids working dangerous jobs.

Workers across the labor force—whether doing manual labor, employed in the service industry, or sitting behind computers everyday—are feeling discontent and ready to do something about it. National Labor Relations Board chairman and professor Mark Pearce says that the pandemic was the wakeup call and catalyst—for people asking the question, “Is there another way to work and live?” Vulnerable workers in the pandemic were “not only scared, they were pissed,” Pearce said to CNBC.

With companies pivoting and shuttering, work looks and feels different since the start of the pandemic. Jobs and paychecks disappeared for the estimated 9.6 million workers who lost their jobs in the first three quarters of 2020. Some social systems provided support, such as stimulus checks and paid sick leave, and other systems failed, as up to 14% of families didn’t have enough to eat at the peak of the crisis.

After the pandemic laid bare the problems with work across the economy, people want a better way forward—and ways to build our communities to help ourselves. For ideas about how to do that, turn the pages to read more about workers organizing with new momentum, the rise of the climate-labor connection, and the growing interest in the four-day work week.

We also explore those areas where system change is most needed—and the most difficult. People who are already marginalized due to systemic racism and inequality are too often stuck in low-wage jobs and in workplaces where it is unsafe to demand change. Consider, for example, children workers and outdoor workers.

In 2022, Americans witnessed, and some participated in, union resurgences across the country, along with the highest approval of unions since the major labor organizing in the 1960s. At the same time, we are seeing a corporate backlash to worker power with companies engaging in massive layoffs and outright denial of poor treatment.

Labor victories happening right next to attacks on labor organizing and laws is why we need governments at all levels, companies of all sizes, and communities everywhere to create a culture, alongside policies, that values workers in the long term.

Green America’s labor campaigns director, Jean Tong, reminds us not to forget that each worker we meet in these pages or hear about on the news is a member of a community—maybe yours. As we support a local union or call for better safety standards, we lift up our communities. As we build greener, more just workplaces, we make our cities, towns, and country stronger, too.

In March 2020, our country experienced a profound shift. Streets emptied, classrooms turned virtual, office buildings closed—and a spotlight turned brightly on a workforce that had been historically overlooked and undervalued.

“For the first time ever, frontline workers were a central part of the picture,” says Gina Falada, associate director of advancing worker justice at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).

At the onset of covid-19 and in its aftermath, labor issues like paid sick leave and workplace health and safety have come to national attention, including to investors.

“The pandemic created an opportunity to shine a light on all these issues,” says Falada.

But we shouldn’t have to wait for a crisis to address glaring problems.

ICCR is a shareholder advocacy group which organizes institutional investors to use their power to push companies towards better policies through shareholder proposals and resolutions. Gina Falada and Nadira Narine, senior director of strategic initiatives at ICCR, help guide and inform investor-members so that their shareholding power uplifts workers and their basic human rights every day.

“Shareholder resolutions are intended to benefit the company and its shareholders by encouraging the company to employ high-road employment practices: preventing discrimination or harassment, respecting workers and their freedom to join trade unions, adopting health and safety protections, and more,” explains Brandon Rees, deputy director of corporations and capital markets for AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions that represents nearly 17 million workers.

Shareholder Resolutions on Labor Rights

Currently, freedom of association and collective bargaining, the protected rights of unionizing employees, are gaining significant momentum among shareholders. After votes last year at Amazon and Tesla, ICCR is now tracking 12 resolutions demanding that company policies protect worker leadership and unionizing efforts, especially at Starbucks, Amazon, and other major corporations.

For example, Starbucks, as well as Apple, both had high-profile cases of suppressing staff organizing efforts. Hyewon Han, director of shareholder advocacy at Trillium Asset Management, is working with investors on shareholder resolutions that call on these companies to examine their commitment to human rights—particularly, the right to form trade unions. Han says the first step is for companies to hire independent auditors to assess a company’s alignment to its own commitments and incorporate workers’ experiences into the analysis. Apple agreed to hire an independent firm to do this audit, so shareholders withdrew their resolution.

AFL-CIO also protects working people by filing resolutions such as a Wells Fargo resolution on freedom of association that received 34% of the shareholder vote in April. Rees says he is hopeful Wells Fargo will take action, “given the significant percentage of shareholders that supported the proposal.” Another resolution at Amazon encourages the board of directors to consider all company employee pay when setting CEO targets. Amazon famously has the highest CEO-to-worker pay ratio of all S&P 500 companies, Rees says, with the CEO making more than 1,000 times the median employee’s compensation.

Other pro-worker resolutions in 2023 address paid sick leave, gender and racial pay disparities, and workplace diversity. According to the 2023 Proxy Preview report, about 50 shareholder proposals asked about fair pay, working conditions, and benefits.

Everyone Benefits When Investors Stand with Workers

Responsible investors don’t want to profit from exploitation. Many investors have already aligned their portfolios with their values via divestment, shareholder resolutions, corporate discourse, and community development investments to further workers’ rights, green manufacturing, racial and economic justice, and other issues benefiting workers and communities.

For the investors who are only interested in maximizing their profits, what is their incentive to care about workers?

Han looks at the example of union-busting tactics used by corporations historically and in the present, like at Amazon and Starbucks. Old-school management tactics say that unionized workers cost the company more, but Han points out the additional resources needed to put out legal fires and handle a PR crisis, plus the hit taken to morale of all employees.

“There’s research showing that if you develop high-quality partnerships between labor unions and management, you can have productivity gains, among other benefits,” Han says, referring to process improvements, higher morale, and less turnover.

In addition, ICCR points to the recent wave coined as The Great Resignation where people are walking away from poor treatment.

“If [companies] want to be able to grow and sustain themselves as a business, they really have to take a deeper look at what it means to ensure that workers walk in the door and stay there,” says Narine. “I think investors are recognizing that and signaling it in their vote support.”

Whatever is holding national attention—whether that be the pandemic, an investigation, debate, or exposé—is an opportunity for shareholders to enact policy change that reflects their values.

In the exasperated words of Dolly Parton, “Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living!”

The world of work is evolving, such as strictly in-office workspaces becoming hybrid-remote, to robots in the workplace. Many of today’s workers seek to bring personal interests and causes to their job.

It is possible to bring these interests in environmental and social issues to nearly any job, even if “climate” or “justice” isn’t part of the description. More than 60% of workers want their employers to act on issues like climate change, equality, and poverty, according to a 2021 study by Atlassian. Though, unfortunately, in many parts of the nation, policies or cultures can make it dangerous or even illegal to fight back against racism or speak up on climate.

If you can bring your interests to the workplace, it’s important that you do. The climate crisis is affecting people around the world and social tensions are at a high. Learning how to address these issues as best you can in your current role is a great place to start.

Start Where You Are

Ask yourself: how can you align your job with climate and social justice goals?

Look for places to make change. If you work in finance, can you move the company’s finances towards sustainable investments or switch to a community development bank or credit union? If you work in human resources, could you offer greener benefits like socially responsible retirement plan options or add goals to job descriptions that seek climate and social justice outcomes? Communications teams can help translate complex climate language into something that makes sense for their audience. Supply chain managers can seek partnerships with manufacturers that treat their warehouse workers fairly.

“Legal teams inside companies are often the liaison with the board of directors and we need ESG [environmental, social, and governance] outcomes tied to executive compensation and tied to board performance,” says Jamie Alexander, director of Drawdown Labs at Project Drawdown, a nonprofit providing science-based climate solutions to help the world reduce and draw down greenhouse gas emissions. “The more legal teams can [make] carbon reductions and other climate outcomes legally binding within the company is hugely important.”

You don’t have to work at an office to make a change. Hair stylists can recycle foils and use vegan products as Head Case Hair Studio does in Dallas, Texas. Coffee shops are hubs for conversation, so baristas can support climate conversation by putting up flyers in support of local climate events, making vegan milks the default, and providing discounts for customers that bring in reusable cups.

Some actions require approval from management. With your request, point to a 2021 report from GreenPrint that says 66% of people are willing to pay more for sustainable products. It may not be so hard to convince your boss when profits might increase. Just make sure that the products you offer are truly sustainable—do your research.

You don’t have to stop there. Addressing social tensions is possible when leading with empathy.

Listen, Amplify, and Represent

Matt Scott, director of storytelling and engagement at Project Drawdown, suggests listening to those that are historically excluded from social justice conversations. Amplifying marginalized voices forwards representation, says Scott, who knows first-hand as a Black, queer storyteller featuring underrepresented voices in the series “Drawdown’s Neighborhood.” Sometimes that may be amplifying coworkers of color, low-wage workers without safe workplace conditions down the supply chain, or interviewing underrepresented voices in an article.

“Open up those lines of communication and have conversations that allow you to better understand,” says Scott on connecting with marginalized groups. “What would be best for business and most impactful at the same time? How could you leverage your superpowers as an organization, as an employee, to make an impact?”

As a writer or filmmaker, how could your story benefit from an interview with marginalized groups? Workers in government and community affairs can look towards how a company can use its influence to support social justice policy that is informed by affected groups. Human resources professionals can offer workplace diversity trainings. Clothing and handmade goods could come with tags that say the names of artisans. Bookstore clerks can put anti-racism and local history books on display.

Mitigate Risks Through Community

No matter your role, anyone can work towards building a vibrant workplace. Conversations in the break room or check-in questions at meetings are all pulse checks on what co-workers are interested in, whether that’s a conscious choice or not. Bringing social and climate justice issues into these conversations helps normalize these topics.

“This work is hard to do alone. There’s this fear of, ‘What will my supervisor say if I try to make these changes?’” says Alexander. “Having a solid group of people who are working on this together and have one another to learn from—strength in numbers is really important.”

No one should lose their job for bringing up their concerns, but it could be a risk, depending on management, and what and how you ask. Start pragmatically by outlining the benefits to the company. For example, purpose-driven companies have 40% higher workforce retention than competitors, according to a 2020 report from Deloitte. If leadership learns that climate action and social justice results in improved profits, customer loyalty, and more, they are more likely to agree.

“Center the why” when presenting arguments, says Scott. Personal examples and science-based ones appeal to the emotional and analytical sides of people. “[Make sure] folks will understand the benefit. When it comes to diversity, for example, studies have talked about and continue to talk about how diversity leads to more creative organizations and leads to more profitable organizations,” he says.

In the workplace, this may look like developing a pitch for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice trainings—you don’t have to work in human resources to ask for this. Use science-based research like the 2021 report from Catalyst that states empathetic workplaces have stronger cultures and productivity, as well as personal examples of reduced burnout and increased morale.

However, if that doesn’t work, and you opt for collective action approaches such as walkouts and strikes, developing a community is vital.

“Having folks you can turn to for support and just validate your work or speak up for the efforts you are trying to forward could go a long way,” Scott says. “It gives you a position of being more resilient in facing the challenges you could have.”

No matter what your position, ask yourself how you can forward climate outcomes and social justice in the workplace. Small solutions are just as vital as large ones—and working towards them together will bring ideas to reality.

How do you approach climate and justice concerns in your work? Email us to share your story.

Thank you to Krista Kurth, who inspired this piece.

Don’t think child labor in the US is a thing of the past. In 2022, the US Department of Labor (DOL) discovered over 100 children, aged 13-17, employed in dangerous jobs at meatpacking plants across the country by Packers Sanitation Services Incorporated (PSSI).

“This isn’t kids working at Dairy Queen for too many hours, it’s kids working in meat factories, ankle deep in blood and cleaning saws,” explains Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy at the National Consumers League (NCL) and coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition.

The DOL reported at least three children suffered chemical burns from the caustic cleaning supplies they used. Many worked night shifts after attending school all day.

“It harkens back to a Dickensian idea of child labor,” Maki says.

Though horrifying accounts of dangerous child labor conditions may seem out of place in the 21st century United States, child labor has always been present, if hidden. Exploiting children for labor has followed the familiar thread of targeting the most vulnerable, from enslaved African children on plantations to immigrant children and families experiencing severe poverty.

In 1938, advocates for children won a victory when the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) placed limitations on child labor, like prohibiting children under 16 from working in manufacturing or mining. Later amendments introduced more restrictions, but child labor has nonetheless persisted—in 2023, the DOL found a 69% increase in illegal child employment since 2018, with over 3,800 children employed illegally, likely a significant undercount. The Child Labor Coalition estimates more than 300,000 migrant children work in agriculture alone.

States Are Racing to the Bottom

Less than a year after the PSSI investigation, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law a bill loosening child labor restrictions, by removing parental consent and age verification requirements. In the past two years, 10 states introduced or passed legislation rolling back protections for child laborers.

“Most of these bills are put forward by conservative legislators who believe in untrammeled parental rights [like allowing their children to work],” Maki says. Other legislation that claims to be about “parents’ rights” attack books in school libraries, LGBTQ+ content and speech. These are dog whistles that willfully ignore the consequences and already marginalized communities that will be hurt.

“They don’t consider the repercussions of child labor—the injury rates, the school dropout rates,” Maki says.

Another twisted justification for allowing child workers is labor shortages, due to factors like long-covid keeping people home sick, covid deaths, and a decline in immigration during the height of the pandemic. Also, the most dangerous jobs are often underpaid, which makes it difficult to attract adult workers, opening the door for exploiting children.

Maki speculates that legislators who support loosening child labor laws do so because they see it as a way to address labor shortages.

“Don’t address labor shortages on the backs of teen workers, especially in dangerous workplaces. Instead, raise wages and hire better-equipped adults,” Maki says.

Agriculture is a dangerous industry—and one that benefits from FLSA exemptions. In agriculture, children as young as 16 can work hazardous jobs like operating a forklift or handling and applying chemicals for over eight hours a day.

The United States Government Accountability Office found in 2018 that more than half of all work-related deaths among children occur in agriculture, though the industry employs less than 6% of all child workers (again, likely an undercount).

“We’re particularly concerned about kids working in tobacco fields because the crop is toxic,” Maki says. “Kids wear black plastic garbage bags while they work in oppressive heat to protect themselves.”

One such kid was Jose Velasquez, who immigrated to the US with his mother from Mexico when he was ten months old. When he was eight, he began working on a blueberry farm and switched to a tobacco field at 13.

“A typical day spanned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with an hour for lunch,” Velasquez, now a college sophomore, recalls. “Tobacco is grown in the summer and North Carolina is a humid state. Some couldn’t even eat or keep down lunch because they were so dehydrated and exhausted.”

It wasn’t just physical hardships, either. Velasquez remembers the pain of returning home so exhausted, he didn’t have the energy to play with his friends during the sun-filled summer evenings.

A typical day spanned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with an hour for lunch. Tobacco is grown in the summer and North Carolina is a humid state. Some couldn’t even eat or keep down lunch because they were so dehydrated and exhausted.

—Jose Velasquez, who worked as a child harvesting tobacco in North Carolina

Children Face Unfair, Unequal Treatment

It’s no coincidence that in the 1930s when the FLSA was written, and agriculture was exempt from various restrictions, Black people disproportionately worked in agriculture.

In no uncertain terms, Maki states the underpinnings of child labor in agriculture are racism, stemming from slavery and now most prevalent among migrant children. Most migrant children today are Latin American, seeking asylum from countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, he says.

Mary Miller Flowers, director of policy and legislative affairs at The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, adds that these children are already coming from the margins of society, fleeing poverty, violence, and climate change displacement.

“Our narratives about teenage Black and brown boys, gang and infiltration language, all of it is coming from a racist perspective on who does and doesn’t belong,” Flowers says.

The number of unaccompanied minors arriving to the US reached a high of 130,000 in 2022. Upon arrival, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) takes responsibility for placing children with sponsors. With many children and pressure to move them quickly out of detention centers, which cannot adequately serve children’s needs, HHS caseworkers were overloaded and may have made mistakes in the vetting process for sponsors, according to a 2023 New York Times investigation.

Once on the farm, Velasquez describes a “power dynamic” that puts undocumented immigrants at further risk.
“Sometimes we worked on small family farms,” he says. “The farmer’s children, most often white, got longer breaks, got to go inside and wait for the day to cool down. We didn’t have those benefits; we were expected to work 11 hours non-stop.”

Instability also contributes to disproportionate risks of child labor exploitation. UNICEF, for example, reported a correlation between a rise in poverty and an increase in child labor.

The COVID lockdown accelerated these conditions. While many families faced tight economic situations, children were resigned to remote learning. This reality made for a perfect storm for child labor as Human Rights Watch reported remote schooling and financial hardship led to more children working.

Low grades and dropout rates are intrinsically tied to how many hours a child works, according to NCL and studies that found children who work over 20 hours a week are more likely to drop out.

The Kids Need Our Help

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) reintroduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety of 2022 (CARE Act) before retiring at the end of the last congressional session. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) recently reintroduced the legislation in June 2023.

The bill proposes several new federal child labor restrictions, including pesticide use and undoing agricultural exemptions. It also imposes new reporting requirements for work-related injuries and deaths of agricultural employees under 18, as well as new and more severe criminal violations and fines.

Maki is a strong advocate for steeper fines.

“The $1.5 million fine PSSI got this time is one day of revenue for them,” he says. “This was not enough of a consequence—all the owners got off scot-free even though they knew the children were there.”

This kind of work can’t be solved overnight, but Maki is committed to it: “Here we are, 80 years later [after the FLSA], and we’re still trying to fix it. At every session [of Congress], [NCL] will support a bill to raise the age that children can work until it passes.”

Don’t address labor shortages on the backs of teen workers, especially in dangerous workplaces. Instead, raise wages and hire better-equipped adults.

—Reid Maki, National Consumers League (NCL)

Systemic change is at the core of the issue, especially for migrant children.

“Family separation means children end up in more vulnerable positions and there’s very little opportunity for them to develop trusted relationships with anyone, let alone someone managing their care,” Flowers says. “The less institutionalization of children the better.”

Community and peer-based support and resources are also key.

“We don’t want the government to regularly check in on these families,” she explains, noting their inherent and understandable distrust of the government. “They should be able to access meaningful services with people they can trust, like a church or peers who have navigated this reality themselves.”

Velasquez wants people to educate themselves on the reality of child labor and make changes in their everyday lives.

“Learn what companies are profiting from child labor and don’t buy their products,” he says, recommending instead to buy Fair Trade certified and avoid meat from large corporations.

You can also contact your representatives and demand support for legislation like the CARE Act and immigration reform, report labor violations to the DOL, vote in shareholder proxy ballots, and choose socially responsible investments.

Workers across the country are fighting for similar rights and protections as decades and centuries ago. As we lift their voices, we lift our communities.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee held a hearing this month on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices as the result of a letter sent from 21 state attorneys general to top asset managers that warned them against using ESG considerations in their investment decisions. It’s the latest GOP attack on responsible investing and, according to Dana Milbank’s May 14 Sunday Opinion column, “The party of capitalism comes for the free market,” the free market.

Research shows that returns on socially responsible investments are on par or better than returns on investments not based on ESG principles, especially over the long term.

Legislation in Texas banning cities from contracting with banks with ESG policies cost investors an extra $303 million to $532 million in higher municipal bond interest rates. Taxpayers in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and West Virginia could have owed up to $708 million in additional interest charges on municipal bonds because of anti-ESG laws and bills.

ESG investing seeks out information about risk and opportunity that is not necessarily reflected on a company’s balance sheet. Individual, institutional and public asset managers should be free to consider all information when making critical investment decisions. It is not the role of federal or state government to tell asset managers how to manage investments for their clients.

The extremist attorneys general opposing the freedom to invest responsibly — and the fossil fuel, firearm and mining industries supporting them — should know: This is how the free market works.

The most important thing we can do in the face of partisan attacks on ESG is to keep supporting socially responsible investing.

Cathy Cowan Becker, Washington

The writer is the responsible finance campaign director at Green America.

On June 6 a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability will hold the second in its series of hearings against investing using Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles).

The witness list includes longtime climate deniers such as Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and Jason Isaac of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, both heavily funded by fossil-fuel interests.

If this hearing is anything like the first anti-ESG hearing on May 10, it will peddle in the latest scare tactics from the far right to whip up fear while hiding their real agenda.

Testifying then were two members of the Republican Attorneys General Association: Steve Marshall of Alabama and Sean Reyes of Utah.  

“ESG is a clear and present danger to democracy,” Marshall told the committee: “An unelected cabal of global elites is using ESG to hijack our capitalist system to capture corporations and threaten the hard-earned dollars of American workers.”  

ESG is “an open conspiracy to bypass Congress and instead impose costly changes on American consumers” that would “impact everything from how we grow our food and what we eat to how we power our homes and businesses and even what kind of cars we are allowed to purchase,” Reyes said. 

Such wild conspiracy theories didn't just pop up from nowhere. It's important to understand where they come from -- and why.

Largest known political donation in U.S. history 

In April 2020, a Chicago electronics manufacturing magnate named Barre Seid worked with Leonard Leo – known for leading the Federalist Society, which pushed the U.S. Supreme Court far right – to donate all shares of his business to a newly created entity, Marble Freedom Trust, which Leo chaired. 

The business, Tripp Lite, had made a fortune by manufacturing police, fire, and ambulance lights, then producing surge protectors for home computers. After Marble Freedom Trust gained ownership, it then sold Tripp Light – reaping $1.6 billion for itself and avoiding $400 million in taxes for Seid. 

Leo stepped down from full-time leadership of the Federalist Society to become chairman of another new company called CRC Advisors, which advises and manages conservative nonprofits. Now he was aiming to remake all American society in the way he had remade the court.  

“The idea behind the network and the enterprise we built is to roll back liberal dominance in many important sectors of American life,” Leo told The New York Times. “I had a couple of decades or more of experience rolling back liberal dominance in the legal culture, and I thought it was time to take the lessons learned from that and see whether there was a way to roll back liberal dominance in other areas of American cultural, policy and political life.” 

Through Marble Freedom Trust, Leo is funding a sprawling network of interrelated organizations that work to roll back progress in a variety of areas, including reproductive rights; diversity, equity and inclusion; voting access; and climate action.  

Particularly galling to Leo is ESG. “The ESG movement is polluting our culture and assaulting the dignity and worth of people,” Leo told The Wall Street Journal. “Our enterprise stands with a growing group of Americans who are fighting to crush leftist dominance in this arena.”  

Players in the anti-ESG network 

Dozens of organizations, both old and new, are part of the anti-ESG network, funded by both Leo and other donors, notably fossil fuel corporations. In the past year alone, Marble Freedom Trust spent $183 million, funneled primarily through the Concord Fund, previously known as Judicial Crisis Network, and the 85 Fund, previously known as Judicial Education Project. The trust still has $1.2 billion on hand. 

Here are some groups that benefit from the ant-ESG largesse – can you spot the themes in italics? 

• CRC Advisors. Chaired by Leo, CRC Advisors is the paid consultant and sometimes funder for many of the other groups in the network, as well as for corporations such as Chevron. CRC Advisors has made $43 million from its clients, enriching Leo in the process.  

• Consumers Research. Founded in 1929 to test and report on consumer products, Consumers Research split from the better-known Consumer Reports in 1981 and became a watchdog of liberal causes. Turbocharged with funding from Leo, Consumers Research has spent almost $10 million on an anti-ESG campaign, personally attacking BlackRock Chair and CEO Larry Fink and pushing Vanguard to drop out of the Net Zero Asset Managers Alliance. They also issue “woke alert” text messages on brands they consider to be too far left, such as Target and Bud Light.  

• State Financial Officers Foundation. Based in Shawnee, Kan., SFOF once pulled together state treasurers to discuss issues like borrowing costs and debt loads but has recently emerged as a key player in using state governments to blacklist companies that employ ESG practices. In response to President Biden’s plan to transition to clean energy, SFOF began working with other organizations that have deep ties to the fossil fuel industry to combat climate action by passing state legislation, scuttling federal appointments, and attacking ESG.  

• Republican Attorneys General Association. Funded in part by Koch Industries, Chevron, and Exxon, RAGA has sued to stop the Department of Labor rule allowing ESG investing, told 53 top asset managers that ESG investing may violate the law, and motioned to stop BlackRock from voting shares in utilities that adopt ESG investing. They also filed a brief supporting Trump’s claims of election fraud and rallied Trump supporters to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

• Heritage Foundation. A prominent conservative think tank funded by the Koch brothers and long opposed to climate action, Heritage has recently turned its attention to ESG. They produce articles, podcasts, and a website attacking ESG as a threat to the American way of life, and fund ads portraying an oil driller denied a bank loan because he doesn’t identify as nonbinary. 

Other anti-ESG organizations include: 

• American Legislative Exchange Council. A longtime corporate bill mill funded in part by the Koch brothers, ALEC endorsed model legislation that would ban states from using ESG criteria in pension investments. Bills were introduced in 33 states this year, passing in five. ALEC also considered model legislation that would forbid states from contracting with companies that practice ESG, in some cases mandating a blacklist of firms that restrict or boycott fossil fuels. Although ALEC did not officially endorse the contracts legislation, bills were introduced in 40 states, passing in five.  

• Heartland Institute. Another climate denial think tank, Heartland has also recently turned its attention to ESG. Its April report claims ESG threatens individual liberty, free markets, and the U.S. economy. Heartland has long hosted an annual climate misinformation conference, now featuring anti-ESG speakers such as Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks, who compared ESG to Nazism.  

• Texas Public Policy Foundation. Heavily funded by fossil-fuel interests, TPPF wrote the 2021 Texas law banning state agencies from doing business with companies they claim boycott the fossil fuel industry. The law, aimed at BlackRock, became ALEC model legislation and was passed in West Virginia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, and Kentucky. Studies have found these laws cost states hundreds of millions of dollars in higher interest rates. 

Other organizations in the anti-ESG orbit include National Center for Public Policy Research and National Legal and Policy Center, which file anti-ESG shareholder resolutions and publish anti-ESG proxy voting advice; Teneo Network, a Leo-organized group of elected officials, journalists and public affairs professionals who aim to roll back what they see as liberal dominance; and 1792 Exchange, which has ties to Cleta Mitchell and Ken Blackwell, who worked with Trump to overturn the 2020 election.  

What do all these groups have in common? They want to roll back progress on clean energy and human rights because they profit from a system based on exploiting workers and extracting fossil fuels. 

What are they doing with all that money? 

Center for Media and Democracy, Documented, and InfluenceMap have charted how these anti-ESG groups are tied together. They sit on each other’s boards and staff, sponsor and speak at each other’s conferences, and strategize with each other on legislation and administrative rules. They publish reports, post websites, testify at hearings, and issue letters to government officials and corporations. 

Among their activities:  
 

• On the federal level, pressure from state treasurers pushed two of Biden’s nominees to withdraw: Saule Omarova for Comptroller of the Treasury, who came under attack for saying fossil fuel bankruptcies would help fight climate change, and Sarah Bloom Raskin for the Federal Reserve because she argued financial regulators should crack down on climate risks. 
   
• On the state level, a parade of representatives from many of these organizations have testified at hearings on proposed anti-ESG legislation. Of the 162 bills and resolutions in 37 states, 20 have passed so far with three more expected, and 64 have died, including all bills in 10 states.  
   
• On the business level, state attorneys general sent a letter telling members of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance they may be violating antitrust laws. Meanwhile, state treasurers sent BlackRock a letter demanding answers to nine pages of questions about proxy voting. 

The pressure on BlackRock is having some effect. Fink has been backtracking on public discussion of climate.

In 2020 BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's annual letter mentioned climate 29 times. “Climate risk is investment risk,” he wrote. “In the near future – and sooner than most anticipate – there will be a significant reallocation of capital” because of it. Now BlackRock is backing off its 2050 commitments and touting its fossil-fuel investments.  

BlackRock is not alone. In a classic example of green hushing, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincy explained that while right-wing attacks have made public discussion of ESG toxic, the company isn’t going to stop ESG practices. “I’m just going to stop saying ‘ESG’,” he said.  

Third stage of climate denial 

The anti-ESG movement may seem sudden and virulent, but it does not come out of nowhere. Rather, it can be understood as a new stage in the long history of climate denial. As InsideClimate News and other outlets confirmed, Exxon knew as early as the 1960s that burning fossil fuels would cause global warming; yet instead of changing their business model, they launched a campaign of climate denial. 

The “Exxon Echo Chamber” – a group of public relations agents and lobbyists from the tobacco and oil industries and Exxon-funded think tanks including ALEC and Heartland Institute – pushed the Senate to pass the Byrd-Hagel Resolution in 1997 that prevented ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. 

A decade later, the “Kochtopus” – a network of Koch-funded PR agents, lawyers, lobbyists, academics, think tanks, PACs and politicians – created an astroturf campaign to defeat the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which would have established a cap-and-trade program in the United States.  

Now, another decade-plus later, we are at a similar crossroads in which the fossil fuel industry has joined with conservative activist Leonard Leo to defeat what it sees as another threat to its profits – ESG – by attaching climate action to broad culture war controversies on race, gender, and sexuality. 

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Brian Schatz and Martin Heinrich explain why this is happening: 

“The underlying problem is that the fossil fuel industry is running up against a 'risk wall,' where long-established economic risks associated with climate change are now sufficiently clear and present to trigger ordinary risk-reporting requirements in financial markets. Rather than reduce their emissions, or face up to the risks that they cause, the fossil fuel industry is trying to break and remake traditional risk reporting to selectively remove reporting of climate-related risks.” 

The underlying problem is that the fossil fuel industry is running up against a 'risk wall,' where long-established economic risks associated with climate change are now sufficiently clear and present to trigger ordinary risk-reporting requirements in financial markets."

-- Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Brian Schatz and Martin Heinrich

In past stages of climate denial campaigns, the fossil fuel industry tried to rewrite the science. Now that the climate crisis is impossible to deny, it is trying to rewrite our economic system by treating the material risks of climate chaos as if they are political and subjective, when they are fact. 

ESG train has left the station 

Although the Leo-funded anti-ESG campaign is pushing some businesses to stop talking about their commitments to sustainability and equity, in many ways the ESG train has left the station. Already $8.4 trillion – or 1 in 8 dollars under asset management – use sustainable investing strategies, according to US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.  

Moreover, the consensus among investment managers is that ESG works. As journalist Peter McKillop recounts, ESG is thriving: “85% of investment managers and 96% of S&P 500 companies use ESG to mitigate risk, find opportunities, and build profits. Among U.S. institutional investors, 81% plan to increase ESG allocations, boosting more sustainable assets under management 84% by 2026.” 

That means the most effective way we can fight the anti-ESG campaign is to keep voting with our dollars. Leonard Leo and the fossil fuel industry have a lot of money, but what they don’t have is people. By voting with your dollars, you are telling businesses that the people who buy their products and services want them to use their financial assets to create a more sustainable and equitable world. 

Take action! 

When consumers and investors work together to encourage companies to adopt climate-friendly policies and support workers and human rights, it has an impact – and makes companies more profitable over time. Here are multiple ways you can urge companies to improve corporate responsibility: 

Banking 

• If you are still using one of the big banks, now is the time to move your money. Here are 10 steps for breaking up with your megabank and switching to a community bank or credit union. 
• Ensure your transactions support community development and climate solutions by finding a socially and environmentally responsible credit card. 
• Tell 44 executives at the Big 4 banks to stop bankrolling the climate crisis. 

Shareholding 

• If you own stock, you have a voice in how companies are run. Learn how you can engage in shareholder activism. 
• Be sure to vote your proxy ballots on 2023 shareholder resolutions to demand better business practices.  

Investing 

• Ensure that your investment portfolio does not support fossil fuels by finding fossil-free financial planners, mutual funds, and other products and services.  
• Check out our guide to adding socially and environmentally responsible investment options to your employer’s retirement plan. 

For more information on responsible finance and community investing, check out our Guide to Socially Responsible Investing and Better Banking (to be updated this summer). 

Spread the word! Share information about the fossil-fuel driven attack on ESG and how it harms us all. You can start by sharing this blog series and social posts and articles about the true motives of the anti-ESG crusaders who want to keep us addicted to fossil fuels and fight basic human rights. 

Credits 

For more information about the anti-ESG campaign and the groups behind it, check out the work of these tireless research organizations: 

• Center for Media and Democracy, especially its website sfofexposed.org, as well as its many articles on the State Financial Officers Foundation, American Legislative Exchange Council, Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation, Republican Attorneys General Association, and more. 
• Documented, especially its research on the State Financial Officers Foundation.  
• Grassrootbeer Investigations, founded by Connor Gibson, which has been tracking anti-ESG legislation in the states and documenting state hearings. 

Masks and distancing remain as COVID cements its presence, but the world still calls. Traveling is happening again, as weddings resume and that private rental on the beach beckons.

But while traveling is a great way to appreciate the world, or, more safely, your city or state, by immersing yourself in diverse lands, histories, and traditions. It can also wreak havoc with carbon footprints, disruption of local ecosystems, and more.

But that unexplored neighborhood in your city is calling, and you can answer—sustainably.

Travel Slow

You’ve been anxiously waiting to stretch those travel legs and we understand the desire to hit the ground running. But while tour groups may encourage thirteen countries in just seven days, sometimes the best way to take it all in is by slowing it all down. Rather than exploring a new place in the fast lane, stop by the visitor center or do an online search for local walking, biking, and hiking tours to travel slowly and sustainably.

Carolyn Crouch, founder of Washington Walks, the first company to offer walking tours of our nation’s capital, says it plainly: “The beauty of a walking tour, apart from the fact that it is inherently sustainable, is that it’s also slow travel.”

By exploring a new place on foot, tourism becomes more intimate as you consider the immediate locale around you, whether that be in local restaurants or historic neighborhoods. “I love that about walking tours,” says Crouch, whose tours may take two hours to travel a single mile. “It allows you to take a concentrated experience of a city home with you.”

Planning and Packing

When it comes to travel, planning and packing is part of the fun, so before you even set sail, consider the small ways you can make your next adventure greener.

Packing a reusable water bottle and toiletries (bar shampoos and soaps from Tangie and Vermont Soaps travel especially well) will save money and reduce plastic use. Before you leave, research public transit, and as always, living a more eco-friendly life revolves around habit-building, so re-adjust the thermostat and turn off the lights before leaving your hotel room for the day, and pass on linen and towel service when you can.

Make sure you also pack plenty of masks for whenever you’re using transportation or in crowded spaces.

Stay Local

When visiting a new city, you can find joy—and sustainable travel—in getting to know a place from the ground up.

“You could do something quite extraordinary if you said, ‘I’m going to dine at locally owned places, I’m going to see about accommodations in a home or a small inn operated by locals,’” Crouch says. “Then you’re really contributing to the local economy.”

For example, if you’re heading to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, consider a stay at Montfair Resort Farm. Further north, you can find Thyme in the Country B&B in the Hudson Valley region of New York.

Voting with your dollar is not a concept that only exists where you live. As a visitor, you can give back to the city welcoming you by supporting small businesses, local restaurants, and experiences that pay into the community.

Instead of a magnet that was made overseas from a busy tourist shop, find souvenirs at local brick and mortars or packable food from a farmers market.

Watch Out for Your Footprint

You’ve heard of your carbon footprint, but what about every other footprint you leave wherever you go?
A crucial consideration when traveling is how you will leave a place, including its ecosystem and residents. Strive to leave a positive footprint or, in many cases, no footprint at all.

“Sometimes you can’t help it,” Crouch concedes. “You must get on that motorcoach or plane to get from A to B.”

Do your part, then, to try and offset those emissions by making greener choices elsewhere and buying carbon offsets if you can afford to. If you’re renting a car and can afford it, opt for an electric rental or, as Crouch would encourage, walk as much as you’re able. Public transportation and rental bikes are also fun options.

Finally, understand your presence’s impact on the people and living creatures of your destination.

Travelers can leave bitterness amongst locals when there is a lack of courtesy, which is why it’s important to first and foremost respect wherever it is you’re traveling to and all the living beings who inhabit that place. Especially now, this includes considering the health and safety of the communities you’re going to.

“Research tours and experiences before booking and understand how they impact the local ecological environment, but also the local population, who plays a role in the tourism industry,” Crouch advises.

Advocate for Sustainable Travel

Choosing sustainable travel doesn’t end when the trip is over. Based on what you learned or experienced, start conversations with friends and family, and inspire others to do more. If you have feedback for a restaurant or hotel you patronized, get in touch with them—for example, Crouch has written to accommodations to ask that they stop using Styrofoam and plastic dishware.

Traveling is already overwhelming without considering sustainability, but with the right knowledge, you, too, can become an eco-friendly traveler!

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have a long history in the US with major contributions to technology, science, and entrepreneurship.

Today, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US. The vast diversity of this group of people, spanning from India to Hawaii and Korea to the Polynesian Islands, means that their businesses are informed by an array of cultures and experiences.

However, AAPI has the largest intragroup income inequality of any racial group. Because AAPI people have many different countries of origin, their reasons for immigrating can range from refugee status to work visas. And facing persistent discrimination can adversely affect their ability to accumulate wealth.

In fact, the struggles of AAPI are often invisible. Only New Jersey and Illinois require teaching Asian American history in public schools. As a result, 1/3^rd of all Americans are unaware of the anti-Asian racism in the US. Additionally, the model minority myth—the false idea that certain racial groups are high-achievers and others are not—hides the systemic racism that AAPI face.

To combat systemic racism and recent acts of violence, it’s important to support AAPI people, communities, and businesses. Here are four ways to support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in your community and beyond:

Buy from Asian- and Pacific Islander-owned Businesses 

Spending money at AAPI-owned businesses is one of the most effective ways to support economic prosperity and fight income inequality.  

At Green America, we call this tactic “voting with your dollar”—essentially, putting your money in causes and companies that align with your values. Whether that be shopping at your city’s Chinatown or Little Tokyo, or donating to AAPI-led nonprofits, your dollars will support AAPI families and communities.  

Search “AAPI businesses near me” online to find options in your town—there are many articles listing collectively hundreds of companies both big and small. Google also offers an “Asian-owned” label for business profiles, which can help in your search. 

ChowBus is a meal delivery app, much like GrubHub or UberEats, but it’s for authentic Asian-owned food and restaurants. So far it’s only available in some US cities, such as Chicago, Seattle, and Boston. 

Support AAPI Organizations 

Donating to organizations such as Stop AAPI Hate, AAPI Equity Alliance, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, is valuable to ending hate speech and crimes. These groups work to support AAPI people as well as enact legislation to protect and empower communities. For example, in 2021, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Bill to address the rise of hate crimes during the pandemic, with a particular focus on Asian American victims. 

Donating to community organizations that work to preserve culture is also important. With over 75 countries represented in the AAPI umbrella, there are hundreds of languages and dialects that may be lost over time. Cultural organizations, such as the Filipino Language and Cultural School of Jacksonville, offers conversational Tagalog and cooking classes. 

Partner with AAPI-owned Businesses 

If you are a business, try partnering with local AAPI-owned businesses. By letting your customers know that you are partnering with the AAPI-owned business, you are helping to make AAPI-owned businesses visible. For example, Ti Café in Denver, Colorado is a Vietnamese-owned coffee shop that hosts themed weeks several times a year, where all the drinks and pastries are themed around an anime show or movie. The owners—three sisters—partner with other AAPI-owned bakeries for their pastries and snacks for their themed foods. 

Additionally, partnering with AAPI-owned businesses builds equity. AAPI people are the least likely to seek help from institutions, turning to personal resources like family and friends for financing. Using your resources as a business to partner with and highlight AAPI-owned businesses is a great way to support.  

Get to Know the Different Cultures Within “AAPI” 

AAPI people come from 75 different countries, representing just as many cultures, traditions, and languages. Acknowledging diversity is important to dispel the monolith myth and invisibility problems that AAPI people face. 

One of the best ways to get to know a different culture is through food. Food can demonstrate the type of climate a people live in as well as histories of trade and colonization, but most importantly, the practice of breaking bread opens room for conversation and friendship. Whether it be through an AAPI festival in your town or visiting your local Little Seoul, seeking out food at AAPI-owned restaurants is a wonderful way to familiarize yourself with a different culture. 

Other ways to learn about the diversity of AAPI people is to attend events in your town or state catered to different Asian countries. Filipino American History Month is in October and Native Hawaiian History Month is in September, for example, which can include family-friendly events like dance shows, food festivals, and language classes. 

Purchase from Companies that Care About Workers 

The majority of the world’s garments come from Asian manufacturers and  the industry employs some 60 million workers. While public pressure has helped in securing better wages, the reality is that workers are still vulnerable and experiencing poor working conditions. Long hours, lack of safety measures, and violations of rights still occur in the workplace. 

We can do our part to prevent this by shopping at companies that offer clothes that are made by workers in safe workplace conditions that are paid fairly. Find them at GreenPages.org  

Stop Anti-Asian Hate 

Beyond spending money in support of AAPI businesses and communities, speaking up against hate is crucial to ending discrimination and racism. Asians are often scapegoated in times of crisis, from the Japanese internment camps during WWII to the increase in crimes against Asian Americans during COVID-19. Developing our knowledge of historical patterns and the AAPI experience can help us collectively move away from the invisibility problem and racism that AAPI people face. 

Reading is a great way to start. Here are some books and pieces that we recommend: 

1. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong. This book is an honest exploration of the self-hatred Asian Americans feel, neither white enough or black enough to be in conversations about racial identities, and validates the Asian American experience.  

2. The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee. This book describes the history of Asian Americans, from the first Asians in the Americas to the 21^st century experience. It helps to fill the gap of AAPI history that is lacking in educational institutions.  

3. How White Women Can Move Towards Anti-Racism. This piece in an interview with the authors of What’s Up With White Women: Unpacking Sexism and White Privilege in the Pursuit of Racial Justice. Ilsa Govan and Tilman Smith give us a sneak peak of the lessons they’ve learned through experience in working towards anti-racism for all races in the US. 

While these tips are a place to start, don’t let it be the end of your education and support of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Celebrating AAPI joy and successes is important, too—together, we can move towards a more equitable and sustainable world for all people. 

Hours: 32 hours per week/4 days 
Salary: $72,000 - $80,000 
Grant Track: This is an 18-month position with opportunity for extension 
Reports to: Soil Carbon Initiative Managing Director 
Benefits: Excellent benefits including health care, dental care, paid leave, socially responsible retirement plan, friendly work environment, 4-day work week 
Application Deadline: June 15, 2023, details below 
Apply to: scihiring@greenamerica.org with cover letter, resume and writing sample  

ORGANIZATION SUMMARY: 

Green America is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a just and sustainable society by harnessing economic power for positive change.  

The Soil Carbon Initiative (SCI) is an outcomes-based, scientific, agricultural commitment and verification program designed to help farmers and supply chains measure improvements in soil health and scale the adoption of regenerative agriculture across food and fiber acres. The SCI Company Program empowers food and fiber brands, processors, aggregators, and other supply chain participants to advance regenerative outcomes through their support of farms in the program.  

We are seeking an experienced finance specialist with knowledge of federally funded agricultural conservation programs, technical assistance, and regenerative management. This role involves developing and disseminating educational materials, templates, and training, and providing targeted farmer support. The Finance Specialist will also play an integral role in managing, expanding, and evolving the SCI Farm Transition Fund, which has committed over half a million dollars in regenerative transition finance to date. The Finance Specialist will collaborate closely with the rest of the SCI team to build relationships of trust and respect as we deliver outstanding support to a diverse set of stakeholders across the country. 

SCI team members can choose to work remotely or in our Washington, DC office. This position will involve occasional travel to Network meetings, conferences and business cultivation meetings, staff training, and other purposes. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 

The Farm Finance Specialist will work closely with the SCI team, as well as our organizational partners in the farm community, to expand farmer access to transition finance as they pursue their soil health and regenerative goals. Responsibilities include: 

• Conduct a landscape mapping of federal funding opportunities for advancing farm-level regenerative outcomes, especially via Inflation Reduction Act funds and related sources 
• Work with SCI farmers and partners to understand obstacles and opportunities for funding the regenerative transition on-farm 
• Contribute to the management and evolution of the SCI Farm Transition Fund, including by seeking new and expanded sources of funding, and developing impactful models for maximizing fund impact 
• Map and assess existing technical assistance resources available to farmers and develop guidance on accessing this support 
• Disseminate findings through various channels, including member meetings, newsletters, webinars, and other communication platforms. 
• Develop new communications resources, such as webinars and guides, to facilitate farmers' understanding of funding opportunities and technical assistance. 
• Provide application templates and assist farmers in compiling the necessary information for their funding applications 
• Provide direct coaching and application assistance to a limited number of farmers seeking federal funds to support their farm transition 
• Organizational Support: The success of our work and the strength of our organization depend on the voluntary participation of staff members from all levels of the organization in various cross-departmental teams, in addition to the core responsibilities of each staff position. While staff members are not required to participate in a voluntary team every year, we do depend on volunteers throughout the year for teams such as: Operating Plan & Budget Team; Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Team; Pulse Survey Team; and our annual in-person staff gathering. 
• Other duties as assigned 

QUALIFICATIONS: 

• 5+ years' experience working with farmers and/or farm technical assistance providers to advance soil health and conservation outcomes. 
• Experience with fundraising and grant-writing, including for federally funded programs. 
• Strong knowledge of USDA-NRCS granting programs, including EQIP and CSP.   
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex topics and information into easily digestible educational materials. 
• A passion for and strong knowledge of regenerative agriculture. 
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with internal and external audiences 
• Strong technology skills, including videoconferencing and website platforms (e.g., Squarespace), Microsoft office tools, with mastery of PowerPoint, and the ability to pick up a variety of data/project management platforms. 
• Demonstrates a high degree of adaptability to work on a rapidly growing team 
• Creative approach to problem-solving  

Please note, we recognize that experience doesn't always look the same – skills are transferable, and passion is important. Please tell us how your experience can lead to success in this position.   

HOW TO APPLY: 

Please email your resume, cover letter, and a writing sample to scihiring@greenamerica.org  Applications are due by June 15, 2023 and will be considered on a rolling basis.  

**********************************************************************************

Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.

During Jewish American Heritage Month, we pay tribute to Jewish Americans who helped  make our country what it is today. Jewish people have a broad range of life experiences, coming from different countries, ethnicities, and all walks of life. While there are different ways of identifying as Jewish, according to Pew, Jewish people, both those practicing Judaism as a religion and nonpracticing people who consider themselves Jewish because of family, culture, or ethnicity, make up 7.5 million Americans.  

Jewish American heritage month originated in April 1980, by President Jimmy Carter, who acknowledged that specific month of 1980 had significance as the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Solidarity Sunday for Soviet Jewry, Israeli Independence Day, and the Days of Remembrance of Victims and Survivors of the Holocaust. The week was expanded to several weeks and finally to the month of May in 2006 by President George W. Bush. 

Jewish people have been present in the US since the colonization of the country and by the time of its founding, and as immigration from Europe increased, Jewish communities grew stronger in many American cities. Jewish people have faced dangerous and deadly Anti-Semitism throughout the course of American history to the present day. At the same time, Jewish Americans have created vibrant communities across the country and also faced concerted efforts for learning English and assimilating.  

As with all heritage months, we celebrate our differences, acknowledge historical victories and setbacks, and fight for justice for people who may be of different backgrounds than oneself. This month brings Americans together to remember, honor, and be inspired by Jewish American history and culture as well as the countless individuals of those backgrounds who have made tremendous contributions to our country. 

To help enhance your celebration with content you can use all year long, Green America is pleased to share Jewish American Heritage Month resources that highlight accomplishments and the justice still needed in society, the economy, and the environment. We do this as a reflection of our vision: “to work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the abundance of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.” 

Together, let’s celebrate and recommit ourselves to building a just society. 

Holiday Background & Social Justice: 

Jewish American heritage month 

14 Ways to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month 

18 Ways to Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month 

Keshet: Works for the full equality of all LGBTQ Jews and our families in Jewish life 

Ken Burns: The US and the Holocaust 

Reform Judaism: Racial Justice 

Jews for Racial Justice 

Economy and Labor: 

Dayenu: Tell Big Banks – Move your Dough 

Jewish Center for Justice: Labor and Economic Justice Work 

Environment: 

Repairing Our World: Jewish Environmentalism through Text, Tradition, and Activism 

Dayenu: The Jewish Movement to Confront the Climate Crisis 

Regenerating Traditions in Growing 

If you are looking at our profile, you are curious about what it means to invest according to your values. For the past decade Longwave has pursued investment returns through a scientific approach and repeatable process. With our 2023 merger with JSA Sustainable Wealth Management, a firm with 30 years experience in values based and impact investing, we have brought together the heart and mind. Through this depth of knowledge and experience, Longwave has created portfolios can help you do well while doing good.

Our ESG Investing Principles:

• Make an authentic contribution to the ESG space. We focus on only the most devout and rigorous ESG solutions. 

• Focus and capture all tracked ESG categories, not just one. 

• Use the weight of our capital as a voice for structural change, including using our voting power to make real change.

We may be a great fit if you see yourself in the following description: People in our client family care about leaving a positive legacy, whether it’s with their children, their community or in the creative equity of the world. Their sense of curiosity drives them to travel, explore, teach, heal, create and advocate. Work is both a passion and a means to share their time and resources with the people and activities they care deeply about.  

We hope to hear from you soon!

We have big news from our leadership team here at Green America!   

We’re celebrating our beloved Fran Teplitz, Green America’s Co-Executive Director of Business, Investing & Policy, and her 23 years of remarkable service here at Green America, as she moves into “rewirement,” as Fran calls it, not exactly retirement!

“Fran cares hard – about justice, the environment and the well-being of people everywhere,” said Alisa Gravitz, Green America’s CEO.  “She’s been a driving force at Green America for all these years.  My colleague, my friend, Fran always brought love and magic to this work.  We’ll miss her every day – and are so happy that she’ll have more time for family, friends, her faith congregation, community activism and projects of all kinds, including attending more protests!”   

During her time at Green America, Fran shaped the organizational culture at Green America, including our organization’s focus on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) across all of our programs, advanced social investing and better banking practices for individuals and organizations, steered our organization’s Green Business Network and led organization-wide collaboration on planning, development and budgeting.  She earned the respect and admiration of everyone she worked with – our staff team, our board, our individual and business members and our green economy allies – always listening deeply and bringing out the best in all of us. 

 “It’s been a great pleasure and gift to work with Fran over the past 23 years,” said Todd Larsen, Green America’s Executive Co-Director, Consumer & Corporate Engagement.  “Fran advanced Green America’s work on so many fronts and brought compassion and commitment to everything she does.”  

And we’re welcoming Dr. LaKeisha (Keisha) Thorpe as our new Executive Co-director for Culture, Planning & Green Business Development.  Keisha brings a wealth of experience that promises to help take Green America’s operations and green economy programs to the next level.  “Keisha’s brilliant strategic thinking, heart-centered organizing and deep experience in justice, equity and inclusion creates continuity from Fran’s work and a bridge to our future,” said Alisa.  “We can’t wait for our members to meet her!”  

Keisha’s doctoral dissertation focused on food, transculturalism, and cultural humility, she’s served on the board of her local food cooperative, and she’s always made justice and equity a major focus in her work.  In her academic career, Keisha advanced justice, equity, diversity & inclusion (JEDI) initiatives, creating better campus experiences for students, faculty and staff.  She served in leadership roles for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion or conducted research at the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA; Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA; Princeton University in Princeton, NJ; and at Moravian University in Bethlehem, PA.   

Keisha also brings passion for healthy food and food access, and experience in grassroots organizing. Her work with the Bethlehem Food Co-op allowed her to educate members and build bridges in the community to involve more people. “Green America’s work on food and agriculture has grown substantially, and Keisha’s insights on food equity and supporting local green businesses will help advance our regenerative agriculture, Climate Victory Gardens programs, and support our Green Business Network members,” said Todd. 

Dr. Thorpe shared, “The gratitude and excitement I feel at joining Green America are immeasurable. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work in tandem with folks who consider JEDI work not only a necessity, but a norm. I cherish the work surrounding sustainability, social justice, and honoring foodways; I am looking forward to continuing the work I believe in so deeply within the mission of Green America and the bedrock of all the wonder that Fran has done. I’m wishing her all the best, all the joys of life, on her “rewirement.” I know we will all miss her, and I know that we are all thrilled about what’s to come”.  

Fran added, “It has been my honor and joy to work with the Green America staff team, board, our individual consumer and investor members, the members of our Green Business Network, and our allies to propel the green economy forward, always interwoven with both social justice and environmental sustainability. I am deeply grateful to have shared this journey with all of you and will forever remain a Green American!  And I’m thrilled to pass the baton to Keisha, as we expand our next generation of leadership.” 

Our entire leadership team, staff team, and board members extend a warm welcome to Keisha and deep thanks to Fran.   

That was seriously weird.

JEVA LANGE•MAY 10, 2023

Of all the nonsense spouted during the House Oversight Committee’s “ Examination of Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices with Attorneys General: Part One” on Wednesday, perhaps the most patently false comment came from Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs. “Always interesting to hear people say things,” the congressman mused.

It is not, in fact, always interesting to hear people say things, something that the GOP-controlled House’s ESG hearing illustrated time and time again. In the three-and-a-half hours that Utah’s Attorney General Sean Reyes, Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall, and minority witness Michael Frerichs, the Illinois state treasurer, were grilled by House members, it became obvious that “there were two different hearings occurring,” as Chairman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, noticed in his closing remarks.

Comer’s comment was intended as a dig at Democrats, who certainly shopped their own agendas during the event, but his party was guilty of the same offense. ESG stands for “environmental, social, and governance” and refers to a mainstream financial investing philosophy that considers factors beyond pure earnings numbers, such as a company’s diverse board, which has been shown to improve performance, or the momentum behind the transition to renewable energy, which might make investing in an oil company a bad long-term bet.

For one half of the committee room, ESG investments are also “an attack on capitalism” and a grave violation of fiduciary duty in pursuit of a “left-wing agenda”; for the other half, ESG investments are prudent and beneficial, informed by a greater reach of “data,” and in observation of the basic principles of the free market. Ne’er the twain arguments did meet, or even especially engage with one another.

The hearing began with Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, tracing the Indo-European roots of the word “woke” and went downhill from there. Republicans played all their hits: They got emotional talking about their big, beautiful pickup trucks; cited China’s ambitions to “rule the planet”; and if you had “socialist utopia,” “radical left,” “pronouns,” “the Bible says…,” and “get woke, go broke” on your bingo card, you’d have won a cash prize.

There were “anti-Semetic overtones up to 11,” as The New Republic’s Kate Aronoff pointed out, and Rep. Glenn Grothman, Republican of Wisconsin, complained that “there are certain disfavored groups in our society” who might be disadvantaged by ESG principles because “people don’t like men, people of European backgrounds, that sort of thing.” The University of Alabama vs. University of Tennessee football rivalry was, for some reason, relitigated. There was a requisite dig at tofu. Godwin’s law — that all lengthy debates bend toward an eventual Nazi reference — was proven.

As incredibly dumb as the hearing was, though, it was also incredibly important. Republican state treasurers and right-wing think tanks and donors have moved to punish companies, banks, and investors that have seen the writing on the wall — that “natural disasters and warming temperatures can lead to declines in asset values that could cascade through the financial system,” as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned earlier this year, and that “the industries of the future,” like renewables, “are winning,” as Rep. Seth Magaziner, Democrat of Rhode Island, who is not on the Oversight Committee but spoke in a guest appearance at the hearing on Wednesday, said.

Already, though, some 15 states have introduced legislation to effectively penalize businesses that have aimed for more climate-friendly policies, with West Virginia’s state treasurer pulling $20 million out of a fund managed by Blackrock over the firm’s push for companies to reduce emissions and Texas passing a law barring the “energy discrimination” of firms that choose not to do business with fossil fuel companies. It’s a trend that has many in the climate space deeply concerned.

“Using ESG principles to help inform investing is not a breach of fiduciary duty. On the contrary, not taking all factors related to risk and opportunity into account can be seen as a breach of fiduciary duty,” Cathy Cowan Becker, the responsible finance campaign director for Green America, said in a statement. “Individual, institutional, and public asset investors should be free to consider all information when making critical investment decisions. This is how the free market works.”

The choice of Republican witnesses was telling, too. Both Marshall and Reyes were among 13 attorneys general who filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last winter over the investment firm Vanguard’s attempt to buy electric-power utility company shares in what the AGs alleged was “contrary to the public interest” and an instance of “environmental activism.” The pair of AGs also signed on to sue the Biden administration over the Department of Labor’s new rule allowing for fiduciaries to make ESG considerations; additionally, Marshall and Reyes added their names to a letter sent to banks and asset management companies threatening legal action if ESG-informed investment strategies were pursued. Reyes, Utah’s attorney general, has also sued the National Association of Attorneys General “over their investment of public money into ESG funds,” The Center Square reports.

And as Rep. Magaziner, the Democrat from Rhode Island, pointed out, “The two Republican witnesses who are here, who may be very credentialed in other ways, between the two of them have zero degrees in investments or economics or finance, are not CPAs, are not chartered financial analysts.” Rather, “Our Republican witnesses have experience trying to overturn elections that were freely and fairly won.” The Democrats’ minority witness, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs, meanwhile, looked wearier and wearier as the day wore on and he remained the lone voice defending ESG investing as inherently being in the best interest of clients.

The outwardly strange battle lines of the ESG fight have resulted in some real moments of cognitive dissonance, and that held true at Wednesday’s hearing. “I just watched @GOPoversight’s hearing on #ESG and you might be surprised to hear how much the @GOP favors securities disclosures these days ... what is even going on here,” Brad Kutner of the National Law Journal tweeted after Republican congressmen bemoaned the lack of transparency around ESG investments. And Rep. Lauren Boebert, the MAGA provocateur from Colorado, used her time to slam Blackrock as a “primarily left-wing activist fund that uses its status as the fiduciary for several investment funds to coerce companies into introducing ESG politics into their retirement account savings.” Writer and analyst Kelly Mitchell, in a must-read Twitter thread chronicling the hearing, pointed out that irony.

Democrats weren’t exempt from cringe-worthy moments, either. “If you don’t have a woke capitalism you’re going to have a broke capitalism,” Raskin said, and then unfortunately repeated. And in one of the hearing’s oddest moments, freshman Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Democrat of Florida, used his time to veer off topic and advocate for gun reform, leading to a brief verbal spat with the chairman.

But Moskowitz’s tangent also produced perhaps the most relatable statement of the whole hearing. “I don’t know what we’re doing here, Mr. Chairman,” Moskowitz said, his frustration finally boiling over. “This is part one; there’s going to be a part two? I mean, part one was just so fascinating. I can’t wait for part two.”

Green America released the following media release on May 10, 2023 in support of socially and environmentally responsible investing as the Republican House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on environmental, social, and governance practices.

“This Is How The Free Market Works”: Leading Green Economy Organization to Conservative AGs Opposing The Freedom to Invest Responsibly

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 10, 2023 – This morning, Republican House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices at 10 a.m. The hearing is the result of a letter sent from 21 state attorney generals to top asset managers throughout the country, warning them against using ESG considerations in their investment decisions.

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization with 300,000 individual members and supporters as well as nearly 2,000 companies in its Green Business Network. It released the following statement in support of ESG investment practices.

Cathy Cowan Becker, Responsible Finance Campaign Director at Green America, said:

“Research shows that returns on socially responsible investing are on par or better than investing not based on ESG principles, especially over the long term.

“The reason ESG investing works is that it seeks out information about risk and opportunity that is not necessarily reflected on a company’s balance sheet. For example, if a company routinely dumps toxic chemicals into communities, underpays and overworks its employees, and skirts basic safety practices, that poses a financial risk. Eventually these poor practices will catch up with that company, and investors and shareholders will be caught holding the bag. On the flip side, if a company takes advantage of burgeoning markets in clean energy, provides fair pay and benefits for its workers, and contributes to its community, that company is positioned for stable growth and greater profitability.  

“Using ESG principles to help inform investing is not a breach of fiduciary duty. On the contrary, not taking all factors related to risk and opportunity into account can be seen as a breach of fiduciary duty. Individual, institutional, and public asset managers should be free to consider all information when making critical investment decisions. This is how the free market works. It is not the role of government on the federal or state level to tell asset managers how to manage investments for their clients.”

Additional data/resources:

• According to Morningstar’s 2022 Sustainable Funds US Landscape Report, most sustainable funds delivered stronger total and risk-adjusted returns than their respective Morningstar Category indexes. Over half of sustainable funds finished in the top half of their Morningstar Category, led by equity funds. Data for the previous five years showed even better results – the returns of 74 percent ranked in the top half and 49 percent in the top quartile returns.

• The Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing released a study, Sustainable Funds Outperform Peers during 2020 Coronavirus, that found that in a year of extreme volatility and recession, funds focused on “on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, across both stocks and bonds, weathered the year better than non-ESG portfolios.” The research analyzed more than 3,000 US mutual funds and ETFs, finding that sustainable equity funds outperformed non-ESG peer funds by a median of 4.3 percent in 2020.

• The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business released a 2021 meta-study aggregating over 1,000 studies on ESG and performance. The report found that 59 percent of studies showed that ESG investments had a similar or better performance relative to conventional investment approaches, while only 14 percent found negative results. It also concluded that “ESG investing appears to provide downside protection, especially during social or economic crises.”

• Two 2021 Texas laws banning cities from contracting with banks with ESG policies cost an extra $303 million to $532 million in higher municipal bond interest rates.

• Taxpayers in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virginia could owe up to $708 million in additional interest charges on municipal bonds due to anti-ESG laws and bills.

• Texas is paying 19 basis points more and Florida is paying 43 basis points more than California in interest rates on the bond market because they prohibit contracts with lenders that consider ESG.

To speak with a representative of Green America, contact Max Karlin at (703) 276-3255 or mkarlin@hastingsgroupmedia.com.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org

Green America released the following media release on May 10, 2023 in support of socially and environmentally responsible investing as the Republican House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on environmental, social, and governance practices.

“This Is How The Free Market Works”: Leading Green Economy Organization to Conservative AGs Opposing The Freedom to Invest Responsibly

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 10, 2023 – This morning, Republican House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices at 10 a.m. The hearing is the result of a letter sent from 21 state attorney generals to top asset managers throughout the country, warning them against using ESG considerations in their investment decisions.

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization with 300,000 individual members and supporters as well as nearly 2,000 companies in its Green Business Network. It released the following statement in support of ESG investment practices.

Cathy Cowan Becker, Responsible Finance Campaign Director at Green America, said:

“Research shows that returns on socially responsible investing are on par or better than investing not based on ESG principles, especially over the long term.

“The reason ESG investing works is that it seeks out information about risk and opportunity that is not necessarily reflected on a company’s balance sheet. For example, if a company routinely dumps toxic chemicals into communities, underpays and overworks its employees, and skirts basic safety practices, that poses a financial risk. Eventually these poor practices will catch up with that company, and investors and shareholders will be caught holding the bag. On the flip side, if a company takes advantage of burgeoning markets in clean energy, provides fair pay and benefits for its workers, and contributes to its community, that company is positioned for stable growth and greater profitability.  

“Using ESG principles to help inform investing is not a breach of fiduciary duty. On the contrary, not taking all factors related to risk and opportunity into account can be seen as a breach of fiduciary duty. Individual, institutional, and public asset managers should be free to consider all information when making critical investment decisions. This is how the free market works. It is not the role of government on the federal or state level to tell asset managers how to manage investments for their clients.”

Additional data/resources:

• According to Morningstar’s 2022 Sustainable Funds US Landscape Report, most sustainable funds delivered stronger total and risk-adjusted returns than their respective Morningstar Category indexes. Over half of sustainable funds finished in the top half of their Morningstar Category, led by equity funds. Data for the previous five years showed even better results – the returns of 74 percent ranked in the top half and 49 percent in the top quartile returns.

• The Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing released a study, Sustainable Funds Outperform Peers during 2020 Coronavirus, that found that in a year of extreme volatility and recession, funds focused on “on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, across both stocks and bonds, weathered the year better than non-ESG portfolios.” The research analyzed more than 3,000 US mutual funds and ETFs, finding that sustainable equity funds outperformed non-ESG peer funds by a median of 4.3 percent in 2020.

• The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business released a 2021 meta-study aggregating over 1,000 studies on ESG and performance. The report found that 59 percent of studies showed that ESG investments had a similar or better performance relative to conventional investment approaches, while only 14 percent found negative results. It also concluded that “ESG investing appears to provide downside protection, especially during social or economic crises.”

• Two 2021 Texas laws banning cities from contracting with banks with ESG policies cost an extra $303 million to $532 million in higher municipal bond interest rates.

• Taxpayers in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virginia could owe up to $708 million in additional interest charges on municipal bonds due to anti-ESG laws and bills.

• Texas is paying 19 basis points more and Florida is paying 43 basis points more than California in interest rates on the bond market because they prohibit contracts with lenders that consider ESG.

To speak with a representative of Green America, contact Max Karlin at (703) 276-3255 or mkarlin@hastingsgroupmedia.com.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org

JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America – the Big 4 banks – have collectively invested $1.37 trillion, or 25%, of all fossil-fuel financing worldwide since 2015. It's time to hold them accountable. Join us in calling on the Big 4 banks to fund people and planet, not climate chaos.  

Kroger has a major problem with super-polluting, greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These HFCs have thousands of times the warming capacity of carbon dioxide, and supermarkets are leaking millions of tons of them every year. Grocery stores are major HFC emitters and need to act fast to eliminate HFCs.

Girls performing Hmong traditional dances at a 2019 Asian Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

During Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, we spend time thinking about the people who share that heritage and represent a broad range of backgrounds and who make our country what it is today. Even the month’s official website acknowledges how broad this group is, as it encapsulates people from all 48 countries of the Asian continent and the 25 island nations that make up Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Like any heritage month—Black history, LGBTQ+ Pride, Latin-American Heritage, etc, May’s celebration of Asian and Pacific Islanders does not represent a monolith of people, but encompasses people of an immense range of backgrounds, identities, and stories. 

Asian Pacific American Heritage month originated in Congress by Frank Horton (R-NY) and in the Senate by Daniel Inouye (D-HI) in 1977 as just a week, but the commemoration was broadened to a month in 1990. The month of May was chosen in commemoration of the first Japanese people to immigrate to the US, recorded as May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869—an important milestone made possible by mostly Chinese immigrant workers who laid those tracks.

Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have a long history in the United States, certainly dating back before 1843, and have faced systemic racism by the government, such as the colonization and US annexation of Hawaii in 1898 and Japanese American incarceration from 1942-1945. While fighting stereotypes of “perpetual foreigner” and “model minority,” this broad group, which is estimated to make up 22.9 million Americans and rising, have faced growing hate-related attacks, according to the FBI. Green America believes that a truly green society is one where all people are healthy and safe, so we aim to fight dangerous stereotypes and lift voices of our Asian and Pacific Islander allies during this month.

This month brings Americans together to remember, honor, and be inspired by Asian and Pacific Islander history and culture as well as the countless individuals of those backgrounds who have made tremendous contributions to our country.

To help enhance your celebration with content you can use all year long, Green America is pleased to share Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month resources that highlight accomplishments and the racial justice still needed in society, the economy, and the environment. We do this as a reflection of our vision: “to work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the abundance of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.”

Together, let’s celebrate and recommit ourselves to building a just society.

We will be updating this list in May with new articles from Green America and new events as we learn of them!

Holiday Background & Social Justice:

How One Woman's Story Led to the Creation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

31 Stories for 31 Days of AAPI Heritage Month

How AAPI Thinkers are Redefining Asianness

What is AAPI Heritage Month? Learn About Its History and How to Celebrate Respectfully

Theme for 2024 

YES Article – Home is where the Art is 

Movement Hub: a living library of curated resources for AAPI organizers, activists, and community members 

The Asian American Foundation Heritage Month Toolkit 

Economy:

Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month by learning more about trailblazers and leaders who have left an undeniable mark on the labor movement

Understanding economic disparities within the AAPI community

Factory Exploitation and the Fast Fashion Machine

Meet Green Business Network Member The Good Tee

UFCW Celebrates AAPI Heritage Month 

6 Ways to Support Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities 

Environment:

Reclaiming Victory Gardens from Our Racist History

Through the Eyes of a Grassroots Leader: How the Asian American Community Reclaims Its Voice in Environmental Justice

Pacific Islanders are embracing their cultural past to better their climate future

Meet 13 Asian and Asian Diasporic Nature and Environment Writers

Asian American Pacific Islanders in the Environmental Movement 

Why the Environmental Movement Should Stop Ignoring Asian Americans 

8 AAPI Climate Voices to Follow 

Virtual Asian American/Pacific Islander History Month Events:

See virtual events here: https://www.asianpacificheritage.gov/

On TV: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — May 2024 

A Conversation with Author Celeste Ng and Harvard Professor Ju Yon Kim 

LA County Library Events 

Search “AAPI month events [your town]” to find local celebrations near you!

Books:

How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang 

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See 

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen 

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So 

Severance by Ling Ma 

Disability Visibility by Alice Wong 

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel 

Penguin Random House List of books to celebrate Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month 

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement was considered a historic breakthrough in putting the world on a trajectory to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C, the level scientists say is required to prevent irreversible climate chaos. 

Yet since then, the world’s 60 largest banks have plowed $5.5 trillion into fossil-fuel financing, including expansion projects, tar sands oil, Arctic and Amazon oil and gas, offshore drilling, fracking, liquified natural gas, and coal mining, according to the 2023 Banking on Climate Chaos report. 

Topping the list of banks at the root of climate chaos are the Big 4 – JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America – which together account for $1.37 trillion, or 25%, of all fossil-fuel financing since 2015. These four megabanks topped fossil-fuel funding in 2022 as well.  

These banks are propping up corporations like ExxonMobil, Saudi Aramco, Chevron, BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips– which is driving the disastrous Willow oil-drilling project in the Arctic – even as the fossil-fuel industry made a record $4 trillion in profits in 2022 due to high energy prices from the war in Ukraine. 

No new fossil fuel projects

All this is happening in the shadow of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s March 2023 Synthesis Report, a “final warning” that the world must stop expanding fossil-fuel production if we want a chance of a livable planet: “no new oil and gas fields, no new coal mines, no new or expanded oil and gas pipelines, no new LNG terminals, no new coal-fired power plants,” the report said.  

“The world cannot afford any fossil fuel expansion: no new oil and gas fields, no new coal mines, no new or expanded oil and gas pipelines, no new LNG terminals, no new coal-fired power plants.”

2023 Banking on Climate Chaos report 

The fossil fuel projects already in process – wells being drilled, gas being fracked, coal being mined – are more than enough to push the climate past 2°C of global warming, the Banking on Climate Chaos report said. Much of current fossil fuel production – and any new projects – are stranded assets.  

Fossil fuel reserves may be listed on a company balance sheet, but they can never be dug up and burned – or profited from -- without causing irreversible climate catastrophe.  

Green America was one of 623 organizations in 75 countries to endorse the 2023 Banking on Climate Chaos report. The report is authored by Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance, Sierra Club, and Urgewald.  

Frontline and Indigenous communities 

Central to this year’s Banking on Climate Chaos report are the stories of fossil fuel and climate impacts on frontline communities worldwide, from the United States and Canada to Argentina, Nigeria, Turkey, Uganda, Mozambique, Pakistan, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and more.  

For example, the Mountain Valley Pipeline – financed by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC, and BNP Paribas – would carry fracked gas across 591 streams in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, through an Appalachian sacrifice zone already riddled dirty coal and gas projects.  

What are the solutions?  

In a special essay for this year’s report, Tom BK Goldtooth and Tamra Gilbertson of Indigenous Environmental Network outline what must be done to address climate chaos.  

At the top of the list is a specific demand: Keep fossil fuels in the ground. “We must restructure our social and economic systems, replacing the business-as-usual, fossil-fueled, extractive, throwaway economy with one that protects people and the environment,” Goldtooth and Gilbertson write. 

They point to carbon pricing, carbon offsets, carbon trading, and other market schemes as chief culprits in the continued burning of fossil fuels. “From the United Nations (UN) to the state, 25 years of carbon games have not stopped fossil fuel extraction. Carbon accounting is in fact designed precisely so that polluters can continue extracting,” they say. 

“The only way to address climate change is to stop relying on carbon trading and other greenwashed mitigation and keep it in the ground.” 

Tom BK Goldtooth and Tamra Gilbertson

Instead, Goldtooth and Gilbertson call for Indigenous peoples to lead future climate negotiations. “We hold an estimated 80% of what remains of the Earth’s land-based biodiversity in our lands and traditional territories. Without Indigenous Peoples protecting and maintaining ecosystems, climate change would have already caused widespread planetary collapse,” they write. 

Goldtooth and Gilbertson point to the increase in carbon offset markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement as especially threatening for the sovereignty and rights of Indigenous communities because it will set up the system for land grabs. “We at Indigenous Environmental Network have serious concerns about how the UN will monitor the new carbon trading platform, what accounting system will track the market, who will control it, and what role the private sector will play,” they say. 

Carbon offsets are false solutions that do not reduce emissions, but instead deepen climate chaos, Goldtooth and Gilbertson write. Efforts to stop the climate crisis must be trusted to and led by Indigenous people who hold a spiritual relationship with the land, water, ecosystems, and all life. Strategies for system change must center Indigenous people’s rights and keep fossil fuels in the ground. 

What banks must do 

Not all banks are on the wrong path. Banque Postale, a public bank in France, shows change is possible. In 2021 after the International Energy Agency said investments in renewable energy need to triple, Banque Postale committed to end financing for all companies expanding oil and gas and to exit the fossil fuel sector completely by 2030. Crédit Agricole of France and Nordea Bank of Finland have made similar commitments on coal.  

But other major banks, especially in the United States and Canada, lag far behind.  

The Banking on Climate Chaos report makes five demands:  

• End all finance for fossil fuel expansion immediately. 
• Set emissions reduction targets for 2025 and 2030, with zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, based on absolute emissions reductions, not carbon offsets. 
• Require all fossil fuel clients to adopt robust transition plans aligned with a 1.5°C pathway. 
• Protect human rights and Indigenous People’s rights, including Free, Prior, and Informed consent. 
• Scale up financing for a just and fair transition to local and distributed clean energy. 

What you can do: Take action!  

Big banks are driving climate chaos, but you don’t have to. You have a choice to do better – and fortunately there are lots of better banking options to choose from.  

1. Take action: Tell big banks to fund people and planet, not climate chaos.
   
2. Find banks and credit unions that reflect your values on our Get a Better Bank map. 
   
   The banks and credit unions included in our Get a Better Bank Map meet at least one of the following criteria:  

• Federal certification by the CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) Fund  
• Certification by Green America’s Green Business Network  
• Membership in Inclusiv, whose mission is to help low- and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence through credit unions.  
• Membership in the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (US members)  
• FDIC-identified Minority Depository Institutions (The scope of this designation indicates minority ownership and/or having a majority of board directors who are a minority and a customer base that is predominantly minority.)  

Together, by using better banks while holding big banks accountable for fueling the climate crisis, we can build an equitable and sustainable economy based on respect for both people and planet. 

Cathy Cowan Becker is the Responsible Finance Campaign Director at Green America. Contact her at cbecker@greenamerica.org.

Seattle Messenger Cooperative was founded in 2016. We are a collectively owned organization that makes all decisions as a team and is dedicated to providing efficient, environmentally sustainable, and value-aligned car and bicycle courier services to various businesses within Seattle and the greater Washington State area. 

Since our start seven years ago, we have expanded our clientele from a few small legal, food, and commercial organizations within Seattle's city limits to a wider array of local businesses throughout Washington State. We prioritize maintaining small business clientele that are minority- and locally-owned, and provide discounted rates for organizations that do not have a large profit margin in order to ensure that delivery is more equitable.

As we are all passionate about keeping Seattle green, we pride ourselves on using bicycles as our primary means of transportation in order to minimize the negative impact of car pollution while completing our deliveries. Lastly, as a team composed primarily of members who hold at least one marginalized identity, we are passionate about continuing to create a courier company where everyone has a seat at the table.

Child labor is a long-standing problem with 22 years of broken promises.

Chocolate companies voluntarily agreed to eliminate child labor in cocoa production with the 2001 Harkin-Engel Protocol. Two decades later, one thing is certain: voluntary commitments by companies will not eliminate child labor.  

Living Income

Learn More

Traceability

Learn More

Representation

Learn More

Hours: 16 hours/week (Monday-Thursday) 
Dates: Summer: approx. 12 weeks (with option to extend through fall) 
Application deadline: 5/1/24 
Start Date: June 3rd 
Reports to: Executive Editor 
Compensation: $20/hr 
Location: Remote within the United States 
 

Green America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a just and sustainable society by harnessing economic power for positive change. Our unique approach involves working with consumers, investors, and businesses. Our workplace reflects our goal of creating a more socially equitable, environmentally sustainable economy and world.  

Our editorial interns are fully involved in the Green America editorial team. All interns have the opportunity to acquire short, published clips and gain experience with many aspects of magazine publishing. We are looking for an intern with exceptional writing and editing skills, sharp analytic skills, meticulous attention to detail and factual accuracy, and familiarity with Microsoft Office and internet research. 

The editorial intern’s primary responsibility will be assisting the Executive Editor, Editorial Team, and Communications Team with Your Green Life, our annual guide to green living and environmentally responsible products and services. The intern will research stories, conduct interviews, and write articles with tips and strategies for green living. The intern may pitch their own stories, so the role is suitable for someone who is driven and cares about environmental and social justice education. 

The intern will also have opportunities to assist with production of the Green American quarterly magazine and other related content creation. 

This position is fully remote, though if the intern is based in the Washington, D.C., area and wishes to come into the office, they may. Applicants must be based in the US. 

Responsibilities:  

Editorial and Writing: Work with Executive Editor and the Editorial and Communications Teams to create content for our publications and communications.  

• Assist with preliminary research and outlining of each publication. 

• Write articles for print publications (80% of the job, approximately). 

• Write blog entries and web content as needed.   

• Assist in the fact-checking process for each publication as needed.  

• Provide editorial assistance on special teams and programs. 

• Assist in updating web pages. 

• Research and write blog posts about emerging issues related to green businesses and Green America’s mission. 

Qualifications:  

• 2 years+ writing or editing experience  

• Experience with conducting background research for writing 

• Experience conducting journalistic interviews is a plus 

• Excellent proofreader, familiarity with AP style is a plus 

• Experience using a CMS (we use Drupal) is a plus  

• Passion for green-economy work!  

To Apply: 

Please e-mail a resume, cover letter, and 2-3 short writing samples (news-style articles with interviews preferred, critical writing such as op-eds or blog posts accepted—please avoid sending academic papers or fiction) to: editors@greenamerica.org. Please use the subject line “2024 Summer editorial intern.” No phone calls, please. 

Applicants who find this posting on Indeed, LinkedIn, or other hiring sites must apply using the email above, not external applications. 

**********************************************************************************

Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.

Re:wild Your Campus, a program of Re:wild, believes young people have the power to make lasting change. The program’s goal is to create safer, more sustainable living and learning environments for all. It offers remote, one-year paid student fellowships to students, who receive training and tools to work with their campus’ sustainability department and groundskeepers.

There is a general lack of knowledge around the issue of harmful herbicides and other chemicals on college campuses. These chemicals harm human and environmental health, including contributing to a decline in campus biodiversity. This lack of understanding and ambiguity around the term "organic land management" and “rewilding” tends to be the first obstacles fellows face. However, it’s something that is easily actionable once campuses are informed and willing to participate in the change.

The student fellows learn to provide clarity around what those terms mean, including explaining that switching to safer practices are often less costly than the status quo, after which campus groundkeepers are usually more receptive to the program. The students work with them to integrate more mechanical tools and pest management techniques, and to replace harmful chemicals with healthier alternatives.

Social justice is another important component of the program. Throughout the fellowship year, Re:wild Your Campus provides learning opportunities that highlight different intersectional environmental justice issues, including bringing in various social justice experts and advocates.

The fellowship year is meant to act as an accelerator. The student and campus continue the work after the fellowship year ends. The fellow also works to involve other students in campus land care. Many of the campuses they’ve worked with have made commits to change beyond the program as well. For example, Loyola Marymont has decided to stop using synthetic chemicals in its land care all together. 

There are several ways to support Re:wild Your Campus’ efforts in addition to donating to them to support the student fellowships. Please consider following them on social media and resharing their posts. You can also write your alma mater to explain why you support Re:wild Your Campus’ mission and encourage them to do the same. Finally, you may recommend students to the program as well. 

After the 2016 US presidential election, Christina Dedora, Eliza Sutton, and Katherine Brown—former co-workers at the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI—were so deeply concerned by the anti-immigrant and refugee rhetoric surrounding the election, that they were moved to action. Inspired by their mutual work at the Southside Community Land Trust, which has helped people grow food for over 40 years in a mainly low-income, immigrant community, the women founded Sanctuary Herbs of Providence. The business is a great model of taking local action to live for and promote one’s values.

They first began by connecting with immigrant farmers they knew through Southside and started using the locally grown herbs to make various tea blends to sell at the farmers’ market. They’ve worked with nearly 20 farmers over the years, and about 8-10 at any one time. I first learned about their tea from NPR while driving 12 hours from Michigan to Vermont for a wedding in the summer of 2018. Their commitment to supporting immigrants and growing herbs chemical-free convinced me I had to try Sanctuary’s tea (my favorite blends are Glitter and Tongue Tingler).

Soil and human health are of utmost importance to Sanctuary Herbs. They encourage and teach their growers to follow regenerative practices like adding compost each year, no-till, chemical-free gardening, and using cover crops where possible. Most of the farmers grow on small plots (even as small as 1/8 of an acre), so ensuring the soil is healthy is crucial for the intensive growing required.

As time passes, they have recognized that customers seem to be less concerned about Sanctuary Herb’s social mission. Now, while they maintain their practice of supporting small, immigrant farmers, Sanctuary Herbs focuses its messaging more on the environment, as this has risen to the top of customers’ concerns. Christina shared that there was a learning curve involved. The bottom line is people want a good product that has a low carbon footprint and benefits their health.

As Sanctuary Herbs develops, they are looking to increase the number of farmers they work with and to create a larger, broader network. Eventually, they would like to add a brick and mortar store that would allow them to increase their drying room. They currently must transport 5000-7000 lbs. of herbs to a nearby city for drying. Having their own store would help to lower the carbon footprint of production.

Christina shared that farming is really physically demanding. “A lot of heartache and money can go out the door.” For example, one farm’s basil suffered a common mold, and they had to destroy the whole crop. Purchasing crops and products from your local, small-scale farm goes a long way to supporting the farmer and ensuring their continued livelihood, especially in times of crop failure or extreme weather.

Click here to learn more about Sanctuary Herbs of Providence’s mission and farming practices (and to try their tea!).

As President Biden was vetoing a Congressional resolution that attacked our freedom to invest in companies that practice responsible environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), a pitched battle has been raging in the states.  

So far this year, 138 bills and four resolutions have been proposed in 33 states that would roll back the ability of fiduciaries to consider ESG factors in investment and contract decisions.  

Responsible investing has come under sustained attack on both the federal and state levels as part of the right-wing culture wars against what they call “woke capitalism.” These bills would force investment managers to disregard important considerations of risk and return, harming state employees and taxpayers alike. Many states have found these bills would cost millions in fees and lower returns. 

While I can’t cover all state bills in one blog post, I can give you a broad outline, tell you how things are going for the anti-ESG campaign – which is facing a lot of pushback – and what you can do to help.  

A guide to anti-ESG bills on the state level 

Four main types of bills are being considered in the states: 

• Bills that target public worker pension programs
• Bills that target state contracting authority 
• Bills that require disclosure or consent for ESG investing 
• Unique bills with no model anywhere else 

Pension bills 

Almost 50 bills in the states target management of state-run retirement funds, requiring financial officers or pension boards to focus solely on “pecuniary factors” in investment decisions.  

• One model bill from the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) forbids considering ESG factors and “events in the distant future or that are systemic” -- a clear reference to climate change.  
• Another model bill from the Heritage Foundation specifically forbids consideration of greenhouse gas emissions or diversity among corporate boards or employees.  

Some bills list other issues that state pension fund managers are not allowed to consider. For example, an Indiana bill would forbid investing in funds that limit or boycott fossil fuels, firearms, agriculture, timber, and animal products, while a Kansas bill adds refusal to provide abortion access and transgender health services.  

Contract bills 

Almost 40 bills target state contracting authority:  

• Some are based on a 2021 ALEC model bill that prohibits state contracts with financial service companies that boycott fossil fuels.  
• Others are based on a 2022 ALEC model bill that expands the prohibitions to any company (not just financial services) that has any sort of boycott against a long list of favored industries, including fossil fuels, timber, mining, agriculture, firearms, and more.  

These bills often require the comptroller to create a blacklist of companies the state is not allowed to do business with. Many also require the state to divest from such companies -- sometimes with no exceptions even if it increases fees and lowers returns, a direct violation of state fiduciary duty. 

For example, an Iowa bill that has passed the Senate and is now in the House would require a blacklist and divestment from companies that boycott fossil fuels, timber, mining, agriculture, and firearms, with no exceptions for increasing contract costs and lowering investment returns. A similar bill in Kansas adds companies that do not support access to abortion or transgender health care. 

Disclosure bills 

A third type of state bill, modeled on New Hampshire’s Fair Access to Financial Services Act of 2022, pertains to loans or contracts by financial institutions with individuals, organizations, or companies.  

These bills require financial institutions to disclose “subjective criteria” such as ESG scores, diversity, political, or ideological factors, but some ban these criteria entirely. Some bills require financial institutions to disclose these criteria before a contract is signed, while others require it only for customers who are denied services. There are various levels of civil and even criminal liability. 

Unique bills 

Finally, several states are considering their own unique spin on anti-ESG. Texas is the leader here, with proposals that would:  

• Urge Congress to investigate BlackRock CEO Larry Fink 
• Require companies to prove that using ESG criteria is in their best interest 
• Prohibit shareholder proposals that promote disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions.  

States fight back for the freedom to invest 

As these bills make their way through state legislatures, not all has gone smoothly. Where these bills do well is in states whose financial officers are committed to the anti-ESG crusade. For example:  

• Utah – whose state treasurer Marlo Oaks is national policy chair for the anti-ESG State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) -- passed four laws and one resolution prohibiting state investments and contracts with firms that boycott favored industries. 
• Idaho – whose treasurer Julie Ellsworth is SFOF’s national policy vice-chair – passed one law with two more close to passage that prohibit state investments and contracts with firms that boycott favored industries.  
• West Virginia – where SFOF member Riley Moore is state treasurer – passed a law limiting consideration of ESG in state pensions over criticisms of the state investment board.  

Yet other states – including some conservative strongholds – have seen surprising pushback, usually tied to the cost of anti-ESG legislation and activism by local bankers, insurers, and retailers.  

Kentucky

After Kentucky passed a law requiring the state to divest from financial firms that engage in fossil fuel boycotts, state treasurer Allison Ball created a blacklist that included firms such as BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup. Kentucky Attorney General David Cameron then sent 44 subpoenas and demands for documents related to the NetZero Banking Alliance to these and other megabanks. 

In response, the Kentucky Bankers Association sued, calling Cameron’s demands an “amazing overreach,” while the board in charge of the state retirement system sent a letter to Ball saying it would not divest from the blacklist of fund managers because doing so “would be inconsistent with our fiduciary duty.” BlackRock alone manages about 30% of the state retirement funds.  

Ironically, none of the targeted financial firms actually boycott fossil fuels – in fact, most have substantial investments. But like most large firms, they also have ESG policies.  

North Dakota

In North Dakota, the House of Representatives voted 90-3 against a bill that would have required the state to stop doing business with a blacklist of financial institutions that boycott fossil fuels, and voted 87-6 against a bill that would have required the state pension fund to divest from a blacklist of financial institutions that make ESG investments that could conflict with energy or agriculture industries. 

Key to these votes was testimony from the Department of Financial Institutions Commissioner, North Dakota Securities Commissioner, North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office Director, North Dakota Bankers Association, and Bank of North Dakota. Even the bill’s sponsor turned against the contracts bill, while the state investment board said the pension bill would require doubling fiscal staff.  

The North Dakota House did pass two other similar bills, but only after amendments completely gutted them, leaving the study of ESG trends and economic boycotts as the only requirements. 

Indiana

In Indiana, a bill that requires the state’s $43.7 billion retirement system to divest from any funds whose managers use ESG factors -- even for other clients, --would cost the state $6.7 billion in lower returns over the next 10 years, a fiscal analysis found. The amount was so shocking that a long list of opponents lined up to testify against it, including the Indiana Bankers Association and Indiana Chamber of Commerce.  

Republicans amended the bill to exclude private equity and hedge funds, dropping the estimated losses to $5.5 million over 10 years – still a hefty amount. The bill passed the House and is now in Senate committee. Indiana has since hired anti-ESG Strive Asset Management to manage their shareholder votes on company policies, paying its co-founder Vivek Ramaswamy $4000 an hour.  

Kansas

In Kansas, a bill to prohibit state contracts and retirement investments with companies that use ESG criteria would cost $1.1 billion in divestment costs and $3.6 billion in lowered returns over the next 10 years, the Budget Division found. The bill is so vague that “all current investment managers would be disqualified,” said Alan Conroy, executive director of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.  

Among those testifying in favor were Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Treasurer Steven Johnson -- a member of the anti-ESG SFOF – and longtime climate change denier William Happer. Subsequent amendments indemnify the retirement system for actions needed to comply and allow hiring of a proxy voting advisor. The bill has passed the Senate committee and moved to the full Senate. 

Other states 

• Officials with the Arkansas retirement system said the state could lose up to $40 million per year if a bill passes requiring divestment from a blacklist of companies that use ESG metrics. The bill, whose sponsor says he doesn’t believe these findings, is close to final passage. 

• The Nebraska legislature has considered three anti-ESG bills, none of which have moved beyond committee hearings after the opposition from the state’s banking industry. Robert Hallstrom of the Nebraska Bankers Association said one bill would require the state treasurer to dictate a bank’s business and that another could result in significantly lowered returns.  

• In Wyoming, all three anti-ESG bills are dead after considerable pushback from the state treasurer’s office and retirement system. “The bottom line is it would probably cause us to sell just about everything we have other than U.S. Treasury bonds,” chief investment officer Patrick Fleming said. The state could not invest in Peabody Coal because it has an ESG policy, he noted. 

Controversy at ALEC 

As mentioned previously, many of these state bills are based on model legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), that would require states to stop doing business with companies considered to be boycotting fossil fuels, logging, mining, or agriculture businesses.  

Yet ALEC has not officially endorsed its own model bill. In January, the ALEC board, comprised of 23 Republican state lawmakers, voted to send the bill back to committee after lobbying by the American Bankers Association and state banking associations. “Government should not be dictating business decisions to the private sector, which is what the draft model policy proposed,” the ABA said.  

The fossil fuel industry is pushing back. The Domestic Energy Producers Alliance sent a letter to ALEC board members asking them to adopt the model policy. The measure would “ensure that our state and local taxpayer dollars are not advancing the woke agenda,” the letter said.  

Divesting from ESG turns out to be expensive 

Several studies show that anti-ESG laws result in substantial costs: 

• A Wharton School study found that two 2021 Texas laws banning cities from contracting with banks that have ESG policies cost an extra $303 million to $532 million in higher municipal bond interest rates. 
• A report by Econsult Solutions found that taxpayers in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virgina could owe up to $708 million in additional interest charges on municipal bonds due to anti-ESG laws and proposals.
• A Bloomberg article shows that Texas is paying 19 basis points more than California and Florida is paying 43 basis points – almost half a percentage point – more in interest rates on the bond market because they prohibit contracts with lenders that consider ESG. 

Public opinion supports responsible investing 

Despite the concerted campaign to push anti-ESG bills across dozens of states, multiple polls and focus groups show that public opinion clearly supports responsible investing.  

• A poll by Penn State and ROKK Solutions in fall 2022 found that 63% of respondents – including 70% of Republicans -- say the government should not set limits on ESG investments.  
• In focus groups conducted by JUST Capital in December 2022, participants said companies should be “good corporate citizens” and make a positive impact on society, especially by paying their employees a fair, living wage. They also saw ESG as part of a sound investment strategy.  
• Polling by Climate Power and Data for Progress in March 2023 found that most think financial managers should be able to consider ESG factors in investment decisions, and they support investing public retirement funds in clean energy assets. 

Investors also see ESG as a critical part of their fiduciary duty: 85% of investors are interested in responsible investing, 86% believe companies with sustainability practices may be better long-term investments, and 84% are interested in sustainable investments that can be tailored to their needs, according to US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. 

Even many Republicans, who may not like ESG investing, do not support the war against it. “I think we have to attack [wokeness] in America, but I’m a free market guy,” New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said. “If a business wants to be woke, I don’t agree with it — I completely disagree with it. But it’s not up for the government to come in and punish a business or penalize a business.” 

How you can stand up for socially responsible investing 

If you live in one of the states currently considering bills that would limit responsible investing, the most effective thing you can do is contact your state legislator to voice your disapproval.  

• Find your state legislators by inputting your address at openstates.org 
• You may also be able to find your state representatives on your state legislature’s website, which you can find at congress.gov/state-legislature-websites 

States currently considering anti-ESG legislation include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. All bills are dead in Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wyoming. All bills have either died or been signed into law in West Virginia. All bills have been signed into law in Utah. Reach out to me at cbecker@greenamerica.org if you have any questions. 

You can also support responsible investing by: 

• Checking out our guide on adding socially and environmentally responsible investment options to your employer’s retirement plan. 
• Checking out our 10 steps to breaking up with your megabank and switching to a community development bank or credit union.  
• Checking out how you can use your own investments to create a greener world by engaging in shareholder activism such as voting your proxy ballots. 

My next blog will examine the funding sources for the anti-ESG campaign, but for now understand this is the symptom of once-dominant industries trying to maintain their hold on power and profits – and know their days are numbered. There are more of us, and we will prevail if we stay true to our values. 

Credits 

I am deeply indebted for the material in this blog post to several allies and organizations that have been tracking anti-ESG legislation in the states and beyond. Among them are: 

• Connor Gibson, founder of Grassrootbeer Investigation, who has been painstakingly documenting state legislative hearings. 
• Lara Friedman of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, who has tracked how anti-ESG legislation is a direct descendant of anti-BDS (boycott, divest, sanctions) laws. 
• Frances Sawyer, founder of Pleiades Strategy, whose guide to model anti-ESG legislation provided the basis for this analysis of the different types of state bills. 

March 31 is the international Transgender Day of Visibility. Green America calls on all of our members, supporters, businesses, and the general public to take this opportunity to celebrate the transgender community and take action to support transgender rights.   

There are many ways to take part. Here’s a few actions everyone can take: 

• Learn about transgender history, including the history you weren’t taught in school. 
• Learn about terminology and make sure to refer to transgender persons by their gender identity and not their sex assigned at birth. 

• Take action at the federal and state level with the National Center for Transgender Equality.  Legislation targeting transgender persons, and especially transgender youth, is being introduced all over the country.  Legislators need to hear from their constituents that these attacks on transgender rights are not acceptable. 

As an organization that works with businesses small and large to create greater social justice and environmental sustainability, we call on all workplaces to provide an inclusive space for transgender workers.  

And employers should go further and actively support and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community throughout the year. 

Voting for CREDO’s April Grant of $35,000 is Open to the Public; Funding To Support 3 Progressive Nonprofit Groups.

WASHINGTON, DC – March 31, 2023 – Green America, the nation’s leading green economy organization, is one of three nonprofits chosen to receive part of a $35,000 grant from CREDO for its work in the category of Climate Justice. Voting begins on April 1 and is open to the public. At the end of April, CREDO will tabulate all votes and distribute the donations accordingly.  

Green America will use the funding to support its mission of harnessing economic power – the strength of consumers, investors, and business leaders across the country – to create a more socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

Shireen Karimi, director of digital communications at Green America, said: “It’s a true honor to be participating in CREDO’s April donations program. With CREDO’s support, we will leverage consumer, business, and investor voices to persuade corporations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition our food system to regenerative practices, and protect socially responsible investing from right-wing attacks.”

Every month, CREDO members help choose how to distribute monthly donations to progressive nonprofit groups working on important issues including women’s rights, climate justice, economic justice, voting rights, peace and civil rights. The public can vote for one, two or all three of the organizations on the monthly donations ballot. 

Since 1985, CREDO has donated over $94 million to groups like Doctors without Borders, the Sunrise Movement, Amnesty International, and more. In recent years, Green America has been the recipient of over $113,000 in CREDO grants to support its work. Green America is grateful for CREDO’s past support and encourages its audience to help grow this figure by voting in the April contest up to once per day. 

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org

MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin for Green America, (703) 276-3255, or mkarlin@hastingsgroupmedia.com.

Contact: Website | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn 

Tuesday Winslow is a true renaissance woman—electrician, Marine Corps veteran, now a papier-mâché artist who turns “trash into treasure” with her décor company, Mirrors Decorated. 

Shopping at Mirrors Decorated is a way to shop green, one-of-a-kind pieces for your home or office. Made by hand, Winslow sells wall and wood mirrors uniquely decorated by papier-mâché using materials like maps, stamps, newspaper, and colored, recycled paper and configured in globally inspired shapes. 

“My father told me I would never make it as an artist,” Winslow confides. 

“I probably didn’t start wrestling with it until I became older,” she says. “Before we were told how to think, I was bold.” 

She recalls her childhood growing up in Washington, DC, and attending parties at art galleries where she sipped on champagne underage and explored the Library of Congress. 

Winslow’s bold streak is not something that has disappeared, as seen by her vast life experiences. Everything she has done and learned has led to this, from the skills she picked up as an electrician to her discipline in the military and the artistry she began to perfect in high school at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. 

“I learned to plaster, I learned sculpting, I learned a lot of things,” she says. “That, in addition to the library, where it was like a scene out of Matilda, coming home on the subway with all these art books, is when I picked up papier-mâché.” 

Papier-mâché was a natural fit for Winslow who wanted to pursue an art form that was inexpensive and non-toxic. 

“I was artistically rich and cash poor,” she says mirthfully.  

A year after she left the Marine Corps, Winslow decided to once and for all be a living artist. Though her military days were behind her, they still informed her work as an artist as she began to create papier-mâché mirror creations. 

One source of inspiration was Mayan codices, folding books made of paper, and another was her time stationed in Okinawa, Japan. 

“They took the industrial concept, the manufacturing process and perfected it,” she says of what she observed and learned while living in Japan. “It’s their use of color and innovation. I fell in love, I was like, ‘These artists are really craftsmen.’” 

Winslow’s favorite part of her own art is attaching the mirror to her papier-mâché pieces, because it was something that stumped her at first. The process was trial and error, and when she eventually figured out a way that worked, it made her art pieces all the more satisfying. 

“It’s easy to get discouraged and frustrated, you make mistakes and things don’t work out. But then you find a solution.” 

These wins are what Winslow chooses to focus on. 

“I can't afford to focus on man's inhumanity to man no matter what form it takes. Yes, discrimination and oppression exist, whether it is in the family or from the outside world, but it's only aim is to separate and cause fear and harm,” she explains. “My battlefield is my own mind. My decisions, my disciplines, faith in God and believing He has a good plan for me that no man can stop is where I work at keeping my focus.” 

There are many stories of people overcoming oppression and discrimination, and those are the stories Winslow loves best. 

“Statistically, women and people of color are underrepresented in business. But if that’s all that’s talked about, it’s what we’re going to focus on. But then you look at people who overcame hardship and they’re doing some fabulous things all over the world.” 

We’re used to seeing all kinds of flavors and add-ins to chocolate – from sea salt to orange to ginger.  But recently there’s been a lot of buzz about additives that no one wants – lead and cadmium – being found in chocolate.

We’ll walk you through why those two heavy metals are found in many chocolate bars, the risks to you, and what you can do.

How do lead and cadmium end up in chocolate?

No one is deliberately adding lead or cadmium to chocolate bars.  

Lead ends up in cacao post-harvest, as the beans are fermenting and drying.  If they are dried on the ground, they may absorb lead from the ground.  They may also absorb lead from dust in the air.  All of this lead comes from the fact that the heavy metal was released from industrial processes and leaded fuel over decades and has spread widely.

Cadmium occurs naturally in many soils including volcanic soils. As cocoa trees grow, they absorb the cadmium which then ends up in the cocoa pods that are harvested to make chocolate.

Are heavy metals found in other foods?

Yes.  Heavy metals are found in a variety of foods.  

Testing of foods by the FDA found:

• Spinach and sunflower seeds were highest in cadmium.
• Baking powder has the highest lead concentrations, and baby foods like sweet potatoes and biscuits had the highest mean lead concentrations.
• Arsenic concentrations were highest in crisped rice cereals.
• Mercury is frequently found in fish samples.

Unfortunately, heavy metals are present in many foods. 

How concerned should you be?

Both lead and cadmium can lead to significant health risks if consumed on a regular basis.  

• Cadmium can cause cancer and kidney damage, as well as weakened bones.
• Lead can impact your nervous system, kidneys, gastrointestinal system, and respiratory tract.

Other heavy metals pose similar health risks.  

Of course, these risks are tied to how much of each heavy metal you consume and how often you consume it.  The damage tends to accumulate over time. Eating a varied and healthy diet can go a long way in reducing your risks from ingesting heavy metals.

What Can You Do Now?

To try to avoid a buildup of cadmium or lead in your body, it’s a good idea to treat chocolate as a treat, not a health food, and eat it occasionally. While dark chocolate contains antioxidants, it also tends to be higher in lead and cadmium than milk chocolate since there is more cocoa in the bar or truffle.  So eating milk or plant-based milk chocolate is one option, and can be a good choice for children, who are more susceptible to health issues from ingesting heavy metals (and children generally prefer milk chocolates).

You can also eat chocolate covered fruits or other snacks which will reduce the amount of chocolate eaten. If you prefer dark chocolate, you can look for bars with closer to 65% cocoa concentrations rather than bars with higher cocoa concentrations. 

You can also eat chocolates that test low in lead and cadmium, while supporting companies that have better practices around supporting farmers, communities, and the environment.

What are the solutions?

Long term, the solution to reducing heavy metals in chocolate must come from chocolate companies supporting farmers in changing growing and post-harvest practices to reduce lead and cadmium concentrations in cocoa.  This must be part of an overall increase in compensation and support from chocolate companies. Cocoa farmers often live on less than two dollars per day, so the burden can’t be on them to take action. Fair trade and direct trade chocolate companies can build on their practices of supporting farmers with higher payments and technical support to address heavy metals in chocolate as well. 

If multinational corporations, which earn billions of dollars per year off of chocolate, committed to paying farmers a living income and supporting cocoa farmers in improving their practices, it would result in a decline in child labor and deforestation in cocoa growing communities as well as a reduction in lead and cadmium in cocoa. As consumers, we can urge companies to do more for farmers.

Companies can also try to blend cocoa beans that are higher and lower in both lead and cadmium to produce bars that are at a safe level.

As consumers, we can support farmers by purchasing chocolate from companies that are engaged in fair trade or direct trade practices with farmers.  And, we can limit our exposure to lead and cadmium by purchasing fair trade and direct trade bars that test low in these heavy metals.

Dark Chocolates that are Fair or Direct Trade and Low in Lead and Cadmium

Nonprofit group As You Sow has done extensive testing on chocolates to see which bars contain lead or cadmium.  As You Sow didn’t test all chocolates for lead and cadmium, but of the fair or direct trade dark chocolate bars they tested, they found that the following had low levels of either heavy metal:

• Equal Exchange Organic Fairly Traded Dark Chocolate Panama Extra Dark 80% Cacao
• Divine 85% Dark Chocolate
• Endangered Species Chocolate Natural Dark Chocolate with Cherries- 72% Cocoa

Milk chocolate bars from fair trade or direct trade companies are likely lower in both lead and cadmium as well.

Fifteen years ago, when Swati Srivastava and Mark Bartosik, two expats from India and England, looked out at their “typical American lawn” in Bayshore, New York, they felt they had two options: water, water, water to dispel those pesky yellow patches of dying grass or... transform the space entirely.  

Planting to Problem Solve 

Srivastava and Bartosik share a love of life and an abhorrence of waste. Their Climate Victory Garden appears the perfect manifestation of those values as a fruitful solution for green living. 

What started as planting a few shade trees to preserve their Long Island lawn has flourished into a fruit orchard that surrounds three vegetable plots (of about 350 square feet), an herb garden, a gazebo woven with grape vines, and a compost pile—all of which contribute to their no-spray butterfly habitat. When summer comes, Srivastava and Bartosik live almost exclusively off what they grow in the backyard. 

“It was a very slow thing,” Srivastava says. “We were just doing what seemed right: let’s not waste water. Let’s not waste electricity. Let’s not waste peelings and food scraps.” 

Gardening allowed Srivastava and Bartosik to create a waste-free oasis: grass is well-shaded and allowed to grow longer to reduce irrigation, which then reduces electricity; all organic scraps from their kitchen become part of the compost pile which is used as fertilizer for the vegetable plots and fruit trees. "Before bringing any new plant life to our property, we ask ourselves, ‘How is it going to earn its keep?’" Bartosik says. Whether by providing shade or sustenance, each plant has a job to do, which makes a garden teeming with sustainable and symbiotic life.  

“We’re okay with every year being different,” adds Srivastava. “Some years we have so much of one thing and something else completely dies and doesn’t work.” 

This resilient kind of approach makes the gardening process feel more like an interactive adventure, where each plant has a mind of its own. Even the compost pile fights to be seen and contribute, like when a few discarded butternut squash seeds took root and suddenly produced an unplanned “monster plant” that took over the garden, yielding 40 incidental butternut squashes amongst the other vegetables.  

Fruits and Vegetables Galore 

“The first thing that comes to life are the berries,” Srivastava explains, excitedly. Summer blueberries, blackberries, red currants, and raspberries are followed by a cornucopia of root vegetables, sweet peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Not to mention the cherry, peach, apple, pear, and nectarine trees.  

When discussing their garden, Srivastava and Bartosik speak with euphoric passion. They describe a turnip harvest that smelled so good, they couldn’t help but wipe off the dirt and take a bite right there in the garden. They explain how the best jam comes from collecting warm blueberries on a summer morning and squishing them directly onto toast. 

“There is nothing that compares with the taste of fresh food when it comes from your garden with zero food miles. To walk out on a hot, sunny day and pick off warm tomatoes and put them in your mouth where they pop,” says Srivastava, cradling her hands around an imaginary tomato. 

“The taste of the food that comes from your garden... it gives you joy.”  

To Potential Gardeners: Get Your Hands Dirty, Now 

For those who might be considering a Climate Victory Garden but are holding back for one reason or another, Mark Bartosik has an encouraging response that is so logical and simple, it might get you over the hump—don't wait. 

“Yes, it may take some five years for a blueberry bush to get really big and give you a big harvest... so you had better plant it sooner, hadn’t you?”  

Despite not growing up with green thumbs—Srivastava’s family in India had an occasional pot of basil and Bartosik liked to climb the apple trees of his grandparents’ orchard—they are both insistent that their garden has not been an overwhelming challenge. They recommend starting with berry bushes because they come back year after year and to never underestimate community. They have learned lessons from local farmers and even given back, like when their local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) had a bad rosemary harvest, so the couple shared their abundance. 

Srivastava and Bartosik own a net-zero energy home on Long Island, where technologies such as geo-thermal and solar energy generate as much (or more) energy than they consume. In the past they have opened their home to over 200 people as part of an Environmental Defense Fund program called The Solar Tour, inspiring others to go solar or work to lower their footprints. They hope to engage with similar events in the future and connect with like-minded people in their area and beyond:  

“We need more community events for Climate Victory Gardens, for living net zero-energy life, so people in the neighborhood can meet each other and learn from each other.” 

This story was written by Olivia Liang and originally appeared in the Green American Magazine, Spring 2023 edition.

Thanks to Green America's Skip the Slip campaign, Walgreens is ensuring its receipt paper is free of phenols Bisphenol A (BPA) and Bisphenol S (BPS). BPA and BPS are endocrine disruptors that contribute to developmental, reproductive, and neurological problems.

Walgreens began the transition in all of its Boots locations in the UK and now is transitioning all of its nearly 9,000 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in the U.S. to phenol-free papers by the end of 2023. 

This step to reduce toxic chemicals on receipts follows on Walgreens starting to offer digital-only receipts in 2020, again thanks to our Skip the Slip campaign, resulting in saving 87 miles of receipt paper every day.

While Walgreens reducing paper waste is great, the company needs to take further steps by making digital the default option and giving a paper receipt only when asked. 

From the most recent issue of our magazine, Green American, where we update readers on the progress we've made over the last quarter on climate, finance, food, labor, social justice, and more.

Telecoms Need to Do More on Climate Justice

Green America’s newest report, “Calling for a Clean, Just Transition,” is our next step in pushing the big three telecoms giants—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—toward 100% renewable energy.

Since 2018, Green America and our members have urged telecoms to adopt 100% renewable energy by 2025. We’ve scored major victories along the way. As a result of our members’ actions, all three companies have made several of the largest corporate purchases of renewable energy. Still, they have much more to do.

Not only are we asking telecoms to put new wind and solar power on the grid, but to ensure that renewable energy purchases further energy justice.

Our findings in “Calling for a Clean, Just Transition” show uneven progress in adopting renewable energy:

• T-Mobile committed to 100% renewable energy by 2021 and announced it had achieved that. We’d like to see T-Mobile up their game to reaching this goal with 100% new renewable energy. Currently, about 50% of this renewable energy is from renewable energy “credits” (RECS), which do not guarantee new solar or wind installations.
• Verizon committed to 50% renewable energy by 2025 and purchasing clean energy to reach that goal.
• AT&T does not have a clean energy goal, but has entered clean energy contracts that may get the company to about 25% renewable energy.

“It is not enough to purchase renewable energy. Large purchasers like telecoms also need to commit to and ensure that their energy purchases support energy justice,”says Dan Howells, Green America’s climate campaigns director. “Renewable energy purchases should benefit communities and workers most harmed by fossil fuels and incorporate these communities and workers into the process of finding sites for clean energy installations and making construction decisions.”

In particular, he says, these companies should have diverse workforces, with greater representation of women, other marginalized genders, and people from Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, who have traditionally been excluded from energy-sector jobs.

“Based on our research, we did not find evidence that any telecom is prioritizing energy justice in their contracts for renewable energy,” says Green America’s executive co-director Todd Larsen. “Each has, at best, a mixed record in supporting energy justice so far. T-Mobile is the best of the three, and still has more to do.”

In the coming year, Green America and our members will be calling on the telecoms giants to get to 100% renewable energy that puts new solar or wind on the grid by 2025 and to prioritize energy justice in these purchases.

Amazon Takes an Important First Step on Chemicals in Clothing

Amazon, the largest clothing seller in the US, lags in its protection of consumers and workers from the toxic chemicals often found in apparel. It’s making progress, thanks to activism by Green Americans.

For two years, Green America’s Toxic Textiles campaign called on Amazon to address toxic chemicals in all the apparel it sells. Nearly 40,000 Green Americans urged Amazon to act quickly on dangerous chemicals in the tens of thousands of pieces of clothing, footwear, and accessories sold on its website. Green America also engaged activists online through videos and social media.

In response, Amazon announced that its private label brands will comply with AFIRM’s Restricted Substance List (RSL) for apparel, accessories, and footwear products in North America, Europe, and Japan. AFIRM is a membership organization for the apparel and footwear sector that works to address chemical management. The AFIRM RSL ensures that chemicals of concern are below certain thresholds in products sold to consumers.

This is an important first step toward eliminating toxic chemicals that Amazon sells—and a victory in the long-term battle for worker, consumer, and environmental protection. In theory, this first-step would mean that when customers purchase products from Amazon’s private labels, including Amazon Essentials, Mae, Goodthreads, 206 Collective, and Core 10, they should be protected from exposure to some of the most toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Advocates and experts, including Green America’s labor campaigns director Jean Tong, are concerned this does not go far enough to protect consumers and workers.

For workers in particular, Green America is pushing Amazon to adopt a Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) to reduce exposures to toxic chemicals in all its supplier factories, not just what is on the clothes at the time of sale. Since the vast majority of apparel sold on Amazon.com is from third-party companies, it needs to ensure all the clothing it is selling protects consumers and workers.

In addition to the MRSL, Amazon should take the meaningful step to join The International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, which is a “legally binding agreement between more than 180 garment brands/retailers and global trade unions to make textile and garment factories safe.”

“Green America and our allies are calling on Amazon to do the right thing and go further,” says Tong. “When people spend their hard-earned money on Amazon, they shouldn’t have to worry whether they are exposing their family to toxic chemicals. And, no one wants workers and communities harmed in the making of these products. It’s time Amazon put consumers and workers’ concerns before profit by adopting the International Accord and a MRSL.”

Trader Joe’s Acts on Climate Change

Trader Joe’s has long ranked low among supermarkets in terms of refrigerant management, which is a major driver of climate change. In 2016, the grocery chain settled a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency because of its significant leaks of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCS), which violated the Clean Air Act, and have thousands of times the global warming potential of CO2.

In January 2023, Trader Joe’s finally announced that all its new stores will use, counterintuitively, CO2 refrigerants, which are much better for the planet than conventional HFC coolants. The announcement comes after over 20,000 Green Americans urged Trader Joe’s to do better, and after the Environmental Investigation Agency, a Green America ally, ranked Trader Joe’s poorly on its Climate-Friendly Supermarkets Scorecard.

“This is a credit to Green Americans taking action to pressure Trader Joe’s to clean up its act,” says Dan Howells, Green America’s climate campaigns director. “But Trader Joe’s has a long way to go to catch up with grocery chains like Aldi, Target, and Whole Foods on climate-friendly refrigerants. Trader Joe’s now needs to retrofit its 530 existing stores to use ultra-low Global Warming Potential refrigerants.”

In 2023, Green America will call on our members to take further action to urge Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and other major grocers to end their use of refrigerants that are a significant driver of climate change in all of their stores.

For Osei Doyle and Brendalyn King, one conversation changed everything, taking them on a journey to explore Black Americans’ connection to land.

“We were walking down Myrtle Avenue, and I asked her: ‘What do you want your legacy to be?’”

His question sparked a conversation about their community and what they could do to create a better future. In 2020, it brought them from New York to Salem, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, to establish the farm Salem HempKings. On this farm, they grew 200 hemp plants in the first year and plan to increase to 500-600 in 2023. After the harvest, they processed the plant material into products like salves.

The pair joined Green America’s Soil & Climate Alliance (SCA) in 2020, when they “had no idea what soil health was or what it had to do with hemp” after Gabriel Grant, a Green America advisor, asked them to join. Quickly, King says, they learned the importance of community, regenerative agriculture, and “proudly” jumped into work with SCA.

In 2021, Doyle and King expanded their ventures and bought over 244 acres of land around Lake Placid, Missouri, between St. Louis and Kansas City. With big plans for the land, Doyle and King are stepping up as leaders to shift mindsets about our relationship to the land, and who has a right to it.

Take Off Your Shoes and Walk in the Grass

For Doyle, who grew up in Trinidad, surrounded by the lush Caribbean, nature is understood to be essential for an abundant life.

“When I came out to Salem and decided to farm, I felt like I could hear myself for the first time. I think everybody deserves that serenity,” Doyle says.

This serenity, however, is not always accessible to everyone. In the US, people of color are three times likelier to live in “nature-deprived” spaces, according to a 2020 Center for American Progress report.

During the pandemic and following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people at the hands of police, King recalls white friends leaving home—camping in the mountains, hiking through the desert—for weeks at a time, while many Black Americans had nowhere to heal.

“Our land [in Lake Placid] will be that place where after traumatic events people come and rest and have conversations about it,” she says. “We want people to come to our property so they can ground themselves. Take your shoes off and walk in the grass, touch the soil, work with the land.”

How Land Becomes Reparations

Giving Black Americans the chance and space to reconnect to the land, to heal and grow on it, is one way to support justice for centuries of systemic inequality and brutality.

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s 1910 Census of Agriculture, Black Americans collectively owned 16-19 million acres (about the area of South Carolina) of land—the peak of Black landownership. The most recent census, from 2017, found Black Americans owned only 4.7 million acres (about the area of New Jersey).

In a 2022 study, published in the American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings journal, Dr. Dania Francis determined the value of declining Black-owned acreage between 1920 and 1997. The loss is estimated at $326 billion and affected more than 200,000 Black Americans.

“I think of it as a right to citizenship, especially for those who’ve worked the land,” King said. Centuries of slavery, in which this land was cultivated and developed on the backs and from the lives of Black people, make their land and wealth loss particularly egregious.

King and Doyle purchased the Lake Placid land from previous Black owners, the family of Dr. PC Turner, who originally bought the land in 1934. Turner imagined it as Missouri’s equivalent to “Black Eden,” Idlewild, Michigan—a resort town for Black families founded in 1912 and shuttered in 1964. Their Lake Placid dream, then, is not theirs alone, but that of Black Americans kept from the land that is rightfully and equally theirs.

A New Way to Think About Crops

Growing hemp as their main crop, and using it at the revitalized resort, is an intentional choice.

The once-ubiquitous crop, which colonial farmers were mandated to grow by law, starting with a 1619 Virginia law affecting all farmers in the state, became a political and racist weapon in the 20th century. As regulation, criminalization, and legalization battles waged over cannabis, the plant which hemp and marijuana come from, and Presidents Nixon and Reagan’s wars on drugs targeted Black Americans, incarceration rates soared and remain high today. In 2018, nearly 600,000 Black Americans were arrested for possession, triple the rate of white people, according to a 2020 ACLU report.

One of the couple’s goals is to offer opportunities for people who have experienced incarceration.

“We’ll host them and encourage them to work with us in the hemp industry and on the land,” Doyle explains. “Over time, a reentry program will emerge.”

They plan to educate visitors on cannabis, including misconceptions, and how to grow it regeneratively, use it creatively (like building structures made from hemp on the resort), and overall defy its weaponization by white supremacy.

Even as records for possession are expunged across the nation, King’s indignation with injustice is part of what inspires this work. “It was like, ‘Oops, sorry we’ve jailed you, but good luck out there now,’” she says. “These men and women deserve better.”

And better is what Lake Placid will offer, not just to people experiencing freedom again, but all people who visit, and especially the Black Americans who have been systemically kept from the land their ancestors toiled away on.

A Farming Revolution

Doyle and King don’t believe in doing all this work alone. They plan to start giving presentations to local farm bureaus and converting the mindsets of farmers “stuck on corn and soybeans” to test plots with people of color and different crops like hemp, which boasts regenerative agricultural benefits like bioremediation (introducing microorganisms to help break down environmental pollutants) and carbon sequestration.

“What does it look like for white landowners to have a part in reparations by sharing the land with Black farmers and prioritizing healthy soil?” King asks.

Focusing on new crops, cooperative and regenerative agriculture, and on healthy soil through additions like biochar and carbon substrates, she says, is how to move forward and away from a struggling and harmful industry stuck in the past.

“Can we create a supply chain with justice intertwined?” She wonders. “We can show that farmers care, we can ensure the land is taken care of. It’s all possible.”

It was neck-deep in the dirt, digging lines and building drainage, where Tom Cotter’s journey as a regenerative farmer began.

“I would spend weeks in trenches, four, five feet down, running tile lines [irrigation] and the soil always smelled dead, smelled stale,” says Cotter. “And then when we started doing cover crops, I realized, wow, it smells good. Like a good cup of coffee.”

Cotter is a fourth-generation farmer in Austin, Minnesota, and is part of Green America’s Soil Carbon Alliance, which is a network of farmers, distributors, and companies seeking to transform the agricultural system from industrial and conventional to healthy and regenerative.

Now his days in the trenches are decades ago, and he has nearly 25 years of experience in cover-cropping. With that, Cotter has learned how to transition his farm that used to be fully tilled and use synthetic chemicals and fertilizers—to regenerative, filled with life above and below the soil. Cotter’s fields are brimming with biodiversity, from red clover to cattle and earthworms to ladybugs. This multi-species approach speeds up the transition to regenerative and marks him as a leader in the regenerative agricultural space.

Cover Crops for a Change

Cotter and his father would till all the acres—which means stirring up the entire topsoil—until 1998 when they bought a tile pile, the equipment for installing large, plastic drainage pipes in fields to distribute water evenly. While installing the tiling pipes, Cotter realized his soil was just dirt.

Cotter started using cover crops at the same time as the tile pile, and the differences between the tiled and covered fields and the full tillage fields were noticeable immediately—not just in smell, but in the new population of earthworms. Cover crops are exactly what they sound like, crops that grow to provide living cover above and below ground to protect the top layer of soil.

Seeing earthworms meant they were doing something right. But in the 90s, cover cropping was nearly unheard of among conventional tillage farmers. Cotter spoke to several agronomists who all said what he was doing wouldn’t work. Transitioning to regenerative fields typically hurts farmers financially during the first few years, until the microorganisms, nutrients, and organic matter have time to restore the soil and grow healthy crops worth selling.

Despite the naysayers, he continued to transition fields. When Cotter introduced livestock grazing in 2015, things really started changing. Before, he’d find fifty earthworms if he dug a hole. After adding livestock, he’d find hundreds. He’s since added alfalfa, red clover, white clover, and other grasses to fields in transition—these act as cover crops and as forageable feed for his livestock. He uses livestock to get the soil healthier faster to make it easier to transition to organic.

“The more species you have, the more microbe colonies you’ll get to work with and the more nutrients available,” says Cotter.

Now, a third of Cotter’s 800 acres are USDA-certified organic, where he grows corn, sunflowers, soybeans, oats, and hemp, all regeneratively managed.

On Land and In Business

For most farmers, the idea of losing profit in the transition to organic and regenerative can cause hesitation. But just as Cotter uses diversity to expedite fields in transition, he diversifies his income to protect the financial health of the farm.

Cotter’s cattle serve two purposes: to transition fields and to sell for beef. His cows eat nothing but forage and grass in pastures their entire lives, helping to stir up the topsoil with their hooves and adding nutrients and microbes to the soil in their manure. Cattle are born and raised on the farm until it’s time to sell as “grass-finished” beef.

Additionally, Cotter has a family-owned and -operated CBD business. Cotter grows regenerative and USDA-certified organic hemp on the farm just a few miles from his shop in Austin, Superior Cannabis Company. His two sons and one daughter operate Austin and Duluth, Minnesota, locations as managers and wholesalers.

“We have to separate ourselves from the thousand other hemp growers, so that’s why it’s certified organic and certified water quality [with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture],” says Cotter. “I’m proud of it. Most companies just say, ‘raised organically.’”

Doing What’s Best

Doing things differently is how Cotter became a leader in the regenerative and organic agriculture spaces, modeling the way for other conventional farmers to make a change. It’s part of his upbringing. As an adoptee, he was often confused about who he was and felt like he didn’t fit in.

“Growing up when you don’t know what you are, the most important thing is I’m myself. I strictly do the best that I can do as myself,” Cotter says.

Doing his best by himself, by his family, and by his farm and cattle is what Cotter excels at. He plans everything ahead of time to ensure the best possible outcome for the crops and livestock.

“I treat every field individually,” he says. “You don’t treat all your kids the exact same way because they’re all different. It’s the same with my fields.”

“When I first started [with regenerative agriculture] I would write down what plants [the livestock] ate first and think, okay, that’s the most important one. And then a week later, we’d move them to a different spot, and they’d eat something totally different,” Cotter adds. “I had to quit thinking I know it all and just observe and see what’s really happening. Too many times, farmers, people, we think we know it all. And we really don’t. That’s one of the best lessons for me.”

Cotter hopes to instill in other farmers the importance of diversity on a farm, both in animals and plants. And from that diversity, understanding that the complexities and the nuances of it all is something to learn from; no matter what, living harmoniously with the land is a never-ending growing experience.

There are Climate Victory Gardens in the Midwest doing inspiring work—fighting for food equity in Minnesota. When you read the name of the organization running these gardens, Project Sweetie Pie (PSP), its founder, Michael Chaney, wants to evoke the feeling of an elder lovingly calling you “sweetie pie,” who wishes for and sees the best in you.

Chaney sees the best in you, too. He wants the best for you. That’s why, in 2010, he started the food justice organization in Minneapolis, viewing the act of nourishing our bodies with not only healthy foods, but education and justice, as crucial to our collective survival and wellbeing.

PSP works on several levels, from spearheading the distribution of fresh produce to the communities of the Northside neighborhood to mentoring and empowering students of North Community High School by teaching entrepreneurial and agricultural skills. It is also a partner of Green America’s Climate Victory Gardens program (ClimateVictoryGardens.org).

“I’m an activist, first and foremost,” Chaney says. “I’m simply using agriculture as one of the tools of my trade to curate a greener, prosperous future.”

The Minneapolis Community Today

Chaney understands all eyes are on Minnesota. “After the murder of George Floyd, how do we come back from that?” he asks.

Minneapolis is a city of vibrant communities, resilience, and, like everywhere in the United States, also has injustice and contradictions. All around him, Chaney saw people struggling to live bountiful lives in what was supposed to be a country where anyone could be or do anything.

Black residents make up 18.4% of Minneapolis’ population, but account for a quarter of all food-insecure households in the city. Latino and Indigenous households experiencing food insecurity are also overrepresented.

“Low-income communities are placeholders, commodities seen as disposable when wealthy developers are ready to gentrify a neighborhood,” Chaney says, not mincing words. Tossing these communities aside is what leads to things like food scarcity, he explains. Living on the underserved margins, residents lose access to education, tools, and resources.

Using PSP as the base of operations, Chaney wants to disrupt this pattern and re-invest in people. He grew up in Wisconsin on a 160-acre family farm in the 1950s. He recalls his peers being able to pursue trades like mechanics, carpentry, and home economics. When funding is cut to trade schools and programs, people are left “hung out to dry,” Chaney laments.

Chaney moved to Minnesota to attend the University of Minnesota, where his activism in the state began. In 1984, he co-founded the Minneapolis Juneteenth Celebration, and a decade later, he co-founded the Wendell Phillips Community Development Federal Credit Union. This credit union was created to fill the need for a financial institution controlled by members and serves primarily communities of color; in 2001, it merged to become the City-County Federal Credit Union.

“By marginalizing people, by dismissing people, by not allowing people to become their best selves, by not investing in communities, we really are unraveling the American dream,” Chaney says.

Giving Resources to Those Who Need Them

“Community isn’t just happenstance,” Chaney insists. “It’s a lifestyle where we as individuals must help support the collective.”

That’s why the work of PSP touches on many aspects but is centered around one idea: restoring the commons.
One of Chaney’s proudest achievements in his efforts to better the community was helping advocate for and pass Minnesota’s first urban farming legislation. Authored by Rep. Karen Clark (D), the 2015 bill distributed $6 million in funding for urban agriculture, including PSP, specifically in low-income communities made up of predominantly Black and Indigenous people.

“One of the things we found out during the pandemic, is that resources weren’t as rigid as we thought,” Chaney explains. “There were funds and resources available to help remedy hunger, unemployment, medical aid. Until these artificial restrictions imposed on us by the rich and the powerful [end], we’re not ending poverty, we’re perpetuating it. Poverty is slavery, and if we really want to have an abundant society, we must invest in the residents of our communities.”

I'm an activist, first and foremost. I'm simply using agriculture as one of the tools of my trade to curate a greener, prosperous future.

—Michael Chaney, Project Sweetie Pie

Food Equity Is the Next Stage of Civil Rights

Growing one’s own food generates a plethora of benefits, from nutrition to combatting climate change, and taking back agency over what you consume and the land you live on.

“The local food movement is the latest iteration of the Civil Rights movement,” Chaney says. “It’s addressing equity—you’ll know what equity looks like when you see [local and culturally relevant] food sitting not just in specialty stores, but also in big box stores, that is truly reflective of the cultural diversity in our community. We’re democratizing agriculture.”

Chaney doesn’t care what people decide to grow, just that they grow.

“This is a long climb, and we must tell our story,” he says. “We must fight for our self-sufficiency and our future. Health, well-being, and justice is what we’re growing as much as a tomato on a vine.”

The Minneapolis Community of Tomorrow

One of the most astonishing things about PSP is its focus on longevity. Several of its programs were created to invest in a future Minneapolis, one that Chaney hopes will long outlast him.

Step Up pairs Minneapolis youth with Twin Cities employers through internships and training to help them build careers and lead to a diverse and skilled workforce. Since 2003, Step Up has implemented nearly 30,000 high-quality internship opportunities.

Another program, Northside Safety-N.E.T. (Neighborhoods Empowering Teens), uses resources to train young people on civic engagement through environmental and community lenses.

“I daresay that we are building a legacy,” he says hopefully. “We are harnessing the food of our ancestors and now it’s our turn as stewards to feed and care for families in the future.”

On the rolling hills of Southeastern Washington state, Ariel Zakarison drives a tractor over her family’s farm, which, at 600 acres, is a relatively small farm on the scale of US agriculture. But her family’s land isn’t trying to be like every other farm. The Zakarisons use their land on the Palouse, a region that includes parts of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon in support of other small farmers.

Thirty-six-year-old Ariel and her mother, Sheryl Hagen-Zakarison, use their farm in support of their mission to spread the word and benefits of regenerative agriculture, and help neighboring small farms stay alive.

How They Feed the Land and Those Who Live on It

The family grows small grains including triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye), winter peas, barley, wheat, and a rotation of cover crops. All those small grains get ground up into animal feed and sold to local farmers under the company name Zakarison Partnership Feed. The grains are grown with soil health in mind—using regenerative practices—which create nutrient-dense feeds for poultry, hogs, and ruminants. They also work to start important conversations.

“A lot of folks, especially in this area where there’s a lot of conventional farming, view soil as a substrate, just something that we put seeds into and chemicals onto,” Zakarison says.

She explains that over time, the nutrient density of crops grown on heavily chemically treated soil diminishes, and beneficial bacteria, fungi, and other natural systems disappear. This isn’t the case on the Zakarison farm, where they use regenerative strategies like no tilling, no pesticides, and no treated seeds (treated seeds have chemicals or other synthetic materials applied to the outside to boost their ability to grow). Selling regeneratively grown animal feed from their feed mill gives Ariel and Sheryl a chance to talk to hundreds of local farmers about the benefits of transitioning to regenerative agriculture.

“We sell our feed at a price that is typically lower than feed stores in our area so that we can help keep the small farm ecosystem and local food economy in our area healthy,” Zakarison says.

Plus, by using the intercropped grains for the feed mill, they can experiment more, Ariel says, because they don’t have to separate the grains after harvest or find separate markets for small amounts of different feeds—all palatable grains can go into their mill.

From Farm to City, Back to Farm

Ariel’s story is unique not just because she and her mother run a family farm together, but because she’s a farmer who nearly wasn’t. She went to school for fine arts, specifically painting and printmaking, first getting her bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University, nearly 400 miles from home. Then she followed her older sister, Shannon, almost 3,000 miles to New York City, where Ariel earned a Master of Fine Arts at Hunter College. She worked for the college for several years after graduating. Then she moved to Austin in 2020, but started doing multi-month stints back in Washington to help her parents with different aspects of farm management. In June 2021, she returned to the farm full-time.

But, she hasn’t abandoned her work as an artist—far from it. She keeps a studio on the farm and works in it, particularly during the winter months, when the needs of the farm are much fewer.

“Farming definitely has a huge influence in the artwork that I’m making,” Ariel says. “Both things are important to each other. The one keeps the other going at this point in my life, which is really neat.”

Though Ariel’s path to farming wasn’t direct, she comes from a long line of people who worked the same land she cares for each day. Her great-aunt ran away from home to The Palouse in the 1930s, and on finding a husband and farmland, sent for her struggling family to join her. The Zakarisons have been there ever since.

How Soil Can Heal

One of the reasons Ariel’s parents needed help on the farm is also a reason why they are transitioning to regenerative management. Eric Zakarison, Ariel’s father and Sheryl’s husband, is facing early onset Parkinson’s disease, making him unable to manage the farm he lived and worked on for his whole life. Ariel says this is a common diagnosis among farmers in their area; because of that, the family thinks pesticide use in the past and chemical exposure may be to blame for farmers’ illnesses. Indeed, a 2018 study by UCLA researchers found a link between those who used pesticides in their work and increased Parkinson’s risk, a link that continues to be studied.

One of the goals of regenerative transition is to reduce, or even eliminate, the use of chemicals on the land, resulting in healthier soil and healthier people. Two 2021 peer-reviewed studies, one of crustaceans and the other of frogs, showed pesticide exposure can have multi-generational toxicity, including negative effects on reproduction and metabolism.

Sheryl studied agronomy in college at nearby Washington State University, where she met Eric. Ariel explains that Sheryl is the curious, environmentally motivated steward of the land who has led the farm’s transition into regenerative agriculture—which led them on the path of participating in the Soil Carbon Initiative’s Go-To-Market Pilot. Though they both studied farming, Sheryl and Eric had to trade off holding office jobs over the years, in order to get the family health insurance. Sheryl was curious about regenerative practices and once her children grew up, she was able to spend more time on the farm, convincing her husband and father-in-law to switch to no-till practices.

“She’s a fast learner and a voracious consumer of new information, especially around agriculture,” Ariel says. “She makes things really easy because she’s really excited about what we’re doing and she’s so involved and knowledgeable.”

With Ariel and Sheryl at the helm, the Zakarison farm is one of few led by a pair of women in conventional or regenerative agriculture in the US. Their passion for learning and bettering their land and community is evident, and contagious.

“[Sheryl] learned how to drive tractors and all this stuff first. I know that if she can do it, I’m sure I can do it. It’s kind of scary to learn how to do that at first, especially when you’re in your thirties learning a new trade,” Ariel says. “Now I love it. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Jesse Smith fervently claims the Central Coast of California as his home. It’s where he was born and raised, where he met his wife and started a family, where he works to build land resiliency and community around local food as the director of land stewardship at White Buffalo Land Trust. But he didn’t always know he was going to be working the very land he calls home.

Smith started his career as a graphic designer but made a switch to permaculture landscape design—a type of land management that aims to make landscapes that are self-sufficient, sustainable, and natural—after taking a class with his father-in-law, permaculture designer and teacher, Warren Brush.

“I always hated presenting a portfolio of print material, because it was so static, it was so finished,” Smith says. “I love the concept of designing agro-ecosystems that were continually evolving but also continually relevant for human interaction and involvement. From that moment, our families decided to start a farming operation.”

In 2011, Jesse and his wife Ana, along with Ana’s parents and cousins, partnered with a family fund that had been invested in fossil fuels to instead move resources “from oil to soil.” In short, they helped manage a farm, in the Central Coast region, of course.

The family made the farm idyllic—across the 50 acres they grew avocados, apples, and persimmons, raised heritage-breed pigs, chickens, and turkeys, and grew microgreens and mushrooms in a greenhouse. The family sold their goods at farmers markets and to restaurants, all while offering education about permaculture to their customers and the public.

Uprooted but Inspired

In December 2017, the Thomas Fire ignited Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, burning nearly 300,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire in California history at the time (it’s now the eighth largest). The family and all their farm staff were displaced. The community lost 26 lives in the fire, and the flooding and mudslides that followed. The farmland was spared, but the fire had burned up against all of its borders. Jesse and his family’s priorities shifted as the owners of the property decided to sell.

“[The fire and aftermath were] detrimental to a community because of the life loss and the destruction. But it was also a gross wake-up call once again as to the fragility of our food system,” Smith says. “It was a reminder of what my unique perspective and my skill sets could provide in demonstrating and advocating for a different approach for local/regional food resiliency and security.”

After looking to his community for work on these goals, Smith met Steve Finkel in 2018. Finkel was in the process of founding the White Buffalo Land Trust (WBLT) in memory of his late wife Lyndsey McMorrow, who had a passion for regenerative agriculture. Smith and Finkel were the first two members of the team, which now includes Ana and a dozen others. Jesse oversees land use as the director of land stewardship, including for the 1,000-acre Center for Regenerative Agriculture at Jalama Canyon Ranch, which WBLT acquired in 2021, a place where the principles of regenerative agriculture are tested.

Probing for Proof

Jalama Canyon Ranch is home to a variety of different ecosystems, including grasslands, oak woodlands, savannas, riparian corridors (land along the edges of rivers), where the staff of WBLT are cultivating the land with practices sourced from regenerative principles, educating professionals and the public, and using data collection and ecological monitoring to test regenerative growing methods.

On the land, they grow California staples: wine grapes and olives, along with goats, sheep, and cattle. On partner farms throughout California’s Central Valley, from Bakersfield to Chico, WBLT works on other test crop projects: almonds, cotton, persimmons, and elderberries.

The point of such variety is to be able to run experiments and collect data to show that regenerative agriculture is a way forward in resilient farming—across crops and various eco-regions. Cotton and almonds in particular, Smith notes, are “keystone crops” which hold environmental, economic, and cultural importance. But because they are so ingrained in California and US agriculture systems, it can make it harder to recognize and implement changes that might need to be made in those systems and enact them.

Each project sparks questions, which sometimes spark new projects, Smith says.

“What if there was an emerging system of crop production, that could become a keystone crop that really played at the crux of watersheds and communities and culture and human health?” Smith and his team asked.

Through discussions with different stakeholders, Smith says the western blue elderberry emerged as a crop that has a long history in the region, as a native crop that has been tended by Native communities, can be effective in landscape restoration, and a regional growing network could be developed to support growing market demand.

The elderberry project is a new one, funded by a Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant from the USDA, aimed at funding pilot projects that help farmers and ranchers develop climate-beneficial practices across different commodity cropping systems.

In addition, the team is going through several certification processes to see which best serves WBLT and to help advise farmers on which might best serve them. Smith was at the founding meeting for our SCI and has ushered WBLT through the Go-to-Market Pilot.

In so many ways, Smith is building communities as he builds the land. With as many projects as he is working on, he still values curiosity and expansion as he makes building a resilient, sustainable home for his family and community his top priority.

“[My favorite part of my work] is every time I get to walk out here at Jalama Canyon Ranch, and walk the land with a new perspective with a new group of people who bring their own questions and queries, when I get to share with my daughters and my wife, where we get to invest in a landscape that has so many downstream beneficiaries,” Smith explains with excitement. “I wake up every day, excited to be able to go out to this landscape, and share this landscape with a larger community.”

Fifteen years ago, when Swati Srivastava and Mark Bartosik, expats from India and England, looked out at their “typical American lawn” in Bayshore, New York, they felt they had two options: water, water, water to dispel those pesky yellow patches of dying grass or transform the space entirely.

Planting to Problem Solve

Srivastava and Bartosik share a love of life and an abhorrence of waste. Their Climate Victory Garden appears the perfect manifestation of those values as a fruitful solution for green living.

What started as planting a few shade trees to preserve their Long Island lawn has flourished into a fruit orchard that surrounds three vegetable plots (of about 350 square feet), an herb garden, a gazebo woven with grape vines, and a compost pile—all of which contribute to their no-spray butterfly habitat. When summer comes, Srivastava and Bartosik live almost exclusively off what they grow in the backyard.

“It was a very slow thing,” Srivastava says. “We were just doing what seemed right: let’s not waste water. Let’s not waste electricity. Let’s not waste peelings and food scraps.”

Gardening allowed Srivastava and Bartosik to create a waste-free oasis: grass is well-shaded and allowed to grow longer to reduce irrigation, which then reduces electricity; all organic scraps from their kitchen become part of the compost pile which they use as fertilizer for the vegetable plots and fruit trees.

“Before bringing any new plant life to our property, we ask ourselves, ‘how is it going to earn its keep?’” Bartosik explains. Whether by providing shade or sustenance, each plant has a job to do, which makes for a garden teeming with sustainable and symbiotic life.

“We’re okay with every year being different,” adds Srivastava. “Some years we have so much of one thing and something else completely dies and doesn’t work.”

There is nothing that compares with the taste of fresh food when it comes from your garden with zero food miles. The taste of the food from your garden...it gives you joy.

—Swati Srivastava, Climate Victory Gardener

This resilient kind of approach makes the gardening process feel more like an interactive adventure, where each plant has a mind of its own. Even the compost pile fights to be seen and contribute, like when a few discarded butternut squash seeds took root and suddenly produced an unplanned “monster plant” that took over the garden, yielding 40 incidental butternut squashes amongst the other vegetables.

Fruits and Vegetables Galore

“The first thing that comes to life are the berries,” Srivastava explains, excitedly. Summer blueberries, blackberries, red currants, and raspberries are followed by a cornucopia of root vegetables, sweet peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Not to mention the cherry, peach, apple, pear, and nectarine trees.

When discussing their garden, Srivastava and Bartosik speak with euphoric passion. They describe a turnip harvest that smelled so good, they couldn’t help but wipe off the dirt and take a bite right there in the garden. They explain how the best jam comes from collecting warm blueberries on a summer morning and squishing them directly onto toast.

“There is nothing that compares with the taste of fresh food when it comes from your garden with zero food miles. To walk out on a hot, sunny day and pick off warm tomatoes and put them in your mouth where they pop,” says Srivastava, cradling her hands around an imaginary tomato.

“The taste of the food that comes from your garden… it gives you joy.”

To Potential Gardeners: Get Your Hands Dirty, Now

For those who might be considering a Climate Victory Garden but are holding back for one reason or another, Mark Bartosik has an encouraging response that is so logical and simple, it might get you over the hump—don’t wait:

“Yes, it may take some five years for a blueberry bush to get really big and give you a big harvest… so you had better plant it sooner, hadn’t you?”

Despite not growing up with green thumbs—Srivastava’s family in India had an occasional pot of basil and Bartosik liked to climb the apple trees of his grandparents’ orchard—they are both insistent that their garden has not been an overwhelming challenge. They recommend starting with berry bushes, because they come back year after year, and to never underestimate community. They have learned lessons from local farmers and even given back, like when their local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) had a bad rosemary harvest, so the couple shared their abundance.

Srivastava and Bartosik own a net-zero energy home on Long Island, where technologies such as geo-thermal and solar energy generate as much (or more) energy than they consume. In the past they have opened their home to over 200 people as part of an Environmental Defense Fund program called The Solar Tour, inspiring others to go solar or work to lower their footprints. They hope to engage with similar events in the future and connect with like-minded people in their area and beyond:

“We need more community events for Climate Victory Gardens, for living net zero-energy life, so people in the neighborhood can meet each other and learn from each other.”

Under expansive blue skies and rolling grass plains in Chester, Montana, a certain farm is modeling healthy relationships among the producers, distributors, and land. Tyler Streit is a fifth-generation farmer, who used to monocrop wheat across his family’s 20,000 acres, about the size of Manhattan. Today, with his wife Jill Streit, they grow 19 different crop varieties, follow regenerative agriculture practices, and model communicative relationships throughout the agricultural supply chain.

The Regenerative Transition

Historically, the Streits farm followed industrial agriculture norms: applying synthetic fertilizers, spraying chemicals to keep out weeds and pests, and plowing fields every year. They didn’t realize that this process killed nearly all the microorganisms in the soil—only leaving about half a percent, Tyler estimates. Organic matter is important for moisture retention, nutrients, and carbon sequestration. Healthy soil has roughly 2-8% organic matter, according to the University of Minnesota, as well as abundant underground biological activity, such as from fungi and earthworms.

“We’ve built some of that organic matter up to 3%. Our goal is to have it at 5%,” says Tyler.

In the early 90s, Tyler’s father Leonard decided to try a no-till program and Tyler and Jill started diversifying their crops in the early 2000s. Adding pulses to their crop rotation—chickpeas, peas, and lentils—helped to create healthier soil. These plants fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, which is an essential nutrient for plants to grow, and thus reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers.

The farm has been using primarily its own saved seeds for years. Sowing seeds from previous generations is crucial to climate resiliency since each generation becomes coded with important environmental information to survive the next year and the year after that. In the last few years, the Streit farm has also eliminated synthetic seed treatments (treated seeds have chemicals or other synthetic materials applied to the outside to boost their ability to grow) and fungicides from all their fields.

The farm is totally different today than how it was when Tyler’s parents and grandparents ran it, he says.
“Now it’s a transition of the mindset to not just producing, but how we produce,” Jill adds. “Our challenge is to figure out the best way to work within the ecosystem, to regenerate the soil and be able to produce things that have more nutrition.”

A Network to Promote the Producers

When the Streits started growing pulses, a type of legume, they realized quickly that the markets to sell these plants were small in Montana, so they decided to create a place to process and sell locally. They took a leap of faith and started a pulse-processing facility in 2014 with the Wicks family, creating a new business called Stricks Ag.

“We risked a lot and started working in that space where we were actually buying products, not only from ourselves, but from other producers, packaging them and selling them out into the market space,” says Jill.
The presence of the facility has given local farmers the opportunity to add pulses to their field rotations and plug into the Streits’ network to sell their products. Altogether, the Streits have influenced 300 producers to add pulses to their farms.

While the facility has helped farmers diversify their crops, it’s also given Jill and Tyler the opportunity to share what they’ve learned about regenerative farming. They host weekly growers meetings in the winter, as well as additional meetings and field days throughout the year to teach other farmers their knowledge.

The pulse-processing facility opened lots of doors for Tyler and Jill as communicators and network-builders among chickpea farmers and buyers, including Banza, a company that makes products like pasta, pizza, and mac & cheese out of chickpeas, and is part of Green America Soil Carbon Initiative’s Go-To-Market Pilot. Tyler and Jill are also part of the Pilot, which gives them a place to tout the benefits of regenerative farming and prove the value of regenerative food with the SCI label.

Genuine Connection

Banza was introduced to Tyler in 2017 through the Redwood Group, which is a commodity supply chain partner with a large network of farmers. Banza representatives immediately recognized that the Streits were unlike other farmers: committed to soil health and the well-being of producers.

The relationship that Banza and the Streits have formed is unlike many in the industry, where farmers often don’t get to have a relationship with the end manufacturer or customer. Tyler and Jill spend a lot of time communicating with manufacturers like Banza so companies are aware of the state of the farms and the ebbs and flows of chickpea yields and prices.

Sophie Rifkin, senior director of sustainability at Banza, says that Banza values the hard work and partnership of growers like Jill and Tyler who are open to improving soil health because it supports their focus to improve sustainability in their supply chain.

“What it has done is created more stability in their manufacturing, [because Banza is prepared for low yield years,] and it has created more stability in our ability to produce the products, knowing that we have a marketplace to go to,” says Jill. “Every time I see a box of Banza on the shelf, I have pride. As a producer, that’s great to know that our products are in that box feeding the world a healthier product.”

Additionally, Green America’s Soil Carbon Initiative opens new pathways for Banza and the Streits as they continue to grow sustainable and regenerative practices throughout their operations. “When Banza first learned about the SCI program and decided to join the pilot, we immediately thought of partnering with Jill and Tyler,” says Rifkin. “These types of collaborations are needed to help advance new ways of farming.”

With the network they’ve established, through SCI and in their community, the Streits hope to share their story so that buyers recognize the importance of regenerative chickpeas and inspire other farmers to adopt regenerative farming practices.

“If we can get growers to make a few little changes, we can make a big impact [on the environment],” says Jill. “An a-ha moment was not just that we could do it on our own farm, but that if we all did it, the difference it would make.”

You might have seen the green and white bumper sticker proclaiming, “No Farms, No Food.” It’s true—almost all of our food begins on the ground, from the grains that become bread to trees bearing fruit and the grasses and grains livestock eats. And that food starts on farms, from small, local businesses that sell into our farmers markets to massive operations with national brands in grocery stores.

We know healthy foods start with healthy soils and that healthy soils have the potential to cool the climate. That’s why Green America’s Center for Sustainability Solutions has been working with farmers and companies for 10 years to help them understand how much the soil beneath our feet and the crops grown to feed us can protect our climate, soil, and future.

Healthy soil, full of microorganisms, can draw down carbon dioxide, one of the potent gases that causes global warming, into the soil, where it stays, as long as the soil quality and health is maintained. Deep root structures within soil can hold water, making droughts less detrimental, while providing soil structure that protects from violent and fast storms arising from climate change. These healthier soils can also provide consumers with foods that are higher in vitamins and minerals, improving human health.

Green America’s Center for Sustainability Solutions houses our Soil and Climate Alliance (SCA), which brings together a network of farmers, food businesses, and soil scientists whose goal is to build an agricultural system that is resilient, equitable, and inclusive while also improving water quality, biodiversity, food security, and nutrition. All of these goals can be achieved by implementing regenerative agriculture* practices throughout the agricultural supply chain.

Another initiative at the Center for Sustainability Solutions is our Soil Carbon Initiative (SCI). This program, which specifically addresses soil health, sprouted from the work of the Soil and Climate Alliance, and was developed along with partners at major climate nonprofits and food companies, including The Carbon Underground, Danone North America, Ben & Jerry’s, MegaFood, and over 150 other stakeholders.

The Soil Carbon Initiative provides independent, third party verification of regenerative agriculture outcomes, including: soil health, soil carbon (the global-warming causing gas, carbon, being sequestered in the soil), biodiversity, improved water use and quality, climate resiliency and greater farm and rural prosperity. Within the next few years, you’ll see SCI’s “Soil and Climate Health Initiative Verified” label on products in markets near you!

SCI is made possible by the expertise and input of nearly 50 farmers across 18 states that have enrolled nearly 24,000 acres and counting in our 2022 Go-To-Market Pilot program—when fully implemented across their farms and farming networks, over 3 million acres will be involved in SCI. These farmers have raised their hands to put the SCI methodology to the test and prove its potential.

Now, Meet the Farmers

Many of us like to get to know our food well, choosing items carefully for recipes and reading labels on packaging. But, how well can we know our food and its impacts on the environment and our health if we don’t know our farmers or their practices?

In this issue, we get to know a few of the farmers from Green America’s SCA and SCI programs—from farmers who have transitioned their multi-generation, even multi-century family farms to regenerative management, to farmers who left big cities to try farming just a few years ago. These farmers live across the country and grow a variety of crops and livestock. Their farms are as varied as their stories.

We also tell the stories of gardeners who are part of our Climate Victory Gardens* program. Like SCA and SCI, these gardeners use regenerative principles to take care of their soils and grow healthy plants, but instead of managing hundreds of acres of crops, they use their home and community gardens to feed their families and neighbors. We invite you to get inspired by their stories, and if you haven’t, start your own garden. All of our Climate Victory gardeners said the same thing—it’s not important what you grow, what’s important is that you start. Just put the first plant in the ground and get going.

Small businesses aren’t just nice to support, they support local economies, fill needs, and create jobs. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses account for 44% of US economic activity. But starting a business, to fill a community need or support a family, has historically and systemically been unavailable to Native American people.

Native American and Alaskan Native are the highest unbanked households at 16.3%, according to a 2019 FDIC survey. Reservations are often far from banks and ATMs and many have limited access to stable internet connections, limiting access to online banking.

What’s more, Native Americans have fought for tribal sovereignty (the right to self-govern) throughout centuries of oppression and genocide. Tribal sovereignty is recognized in the Constitution, yet it has historically been used to prevent Native communities from accessing capital.

Some banks and credit unions, especially those designated as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) for serving economically marginalized communities, are working towards improving these circumstances. They are offering financial products that create jobs, build businesses, and grow wealth for Native American communities.

Challenges to Conventional Lending

Shannon Ward [Northern Arapaho Tribe], senior vice president and chief lending officer of Native American Bank in Denver, Colorado, explains that tribes experience unique challenges to getting loans because of their land status. Native American Bank was started by ten tribes in 2001 and presently has 36 shareholders, 31 of which are tribes, tribal enterprises, or Alaskan Native corporations.

Using property as collateral is a common way to get a loan, but on some reservations, there is no private land ownership and some land is held in trusts by the Department of the Interior. Without being able to mortgage property for a loan, it is significantly harder to start a business.

Additionally, many conventional banks are ill-equipped to handle the nuances of tribal land policies as well, creating painstakingly long processes for both parties. These obstacles to getting capital are a contributing factor to why Native Americans have the highest poverty rate among US demographics at 25.4%, according to the 2018 US Census.

However, tribal nations that do manage to get past these challenges and bring pen to paper on a loan agreement, may also face the choice of whether to waive sovereign immunity.

Sovereignty vs. Lending

Ward explains that waiving sovereign immunity is another reason why tribes may be reluctant to enter lending agreements with conventional banks. This is a unique circumstance for Native American tribes—because reservation land is federally designated as “permanent tribal homelands,” a waiver is needed to grant permission for land to be used for other purposes.

Ward explains that big banks and conventional lenders typically require borrowers to waive their sovereign immunity across the board. With Native American Bank, paperwork is personalized to each situation, which means it only requires limited waivers of immunity for that transaction.

“[Native American Bank] was established with the specific intent to address those unique challenges that tribes, tribal enterprises, and individual business owners face when they’re trying to access capital,” she says. “Not only are we Native-owned, we are Native-led.”

Specificity and cultural competence are what make Native American Bank successful with its clients. Similarly, the CDFI Fund, a government agency that exists to grow historically underserved economies and communities, is working to make loans more accessible to Native financial institutions.

Making Capital Accessible to Native Communities

In 2022, the CDFI Fund announced a new focus to help Native lending institutions lend to their own communities, which will give tribes more power over their projects, instead of outside lenders having the power to choose what projects get funded.

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) was established in 2000 to attract investment in low-income communities by providing tax credits to CDFIs and other mission-driven banks. The CDFI Fund handles distributing these tax credits. Between 2004 and 2020, the CDFI Fund recorded NMTC investments totaling $1.6 billion in Native American tribal lands and communities. These investments bolstered healthcare, education, infrastructure, and more.

The CDFI’s new plan is to refocus NMTCs from low-income communities to Native communities specifically, which will provide Native CDFIs and tribal entities with resources and training to release NMTC funds to their own communities.

Directing the resources and power of NMTCs to Native-owned and -led financial institutions is a step in the right direction for bridging the wealth and community development gap for businesses and tribal nations.

Funding for Community Health

Historically, Native American Bank has financed housing, hotels, and casinos for tribal nations. But the new trend is towards health and wellness clinics for reservation communities.

The federal government has an obligation to provide health services to reservations per treaty stipulations, but Congress has consistently underfunded the Indian Health Service (IHS) agency. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Navajo Nation had the third-highest per capita rate of Covid-19 in the country, with only 12 healthcare centers, serving over 244,000 Native Americans across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Because Native communities are consistently underserved by US federal health care, communities take care into their own hands.

“We were really happy to close on a [behavioral health facility] project in North Dakota,” says Ward, adding that it will help address the opioid crisis in the community. “It’s a really unique project because it couples both New Market Tax Credits with a USDA guarantee.”

Health services are an investment in community health. Many clinics the bank has invested in are not on reservations, but are Native-led and -operated, such as clinics in Salt Lake City and childcare facilities in Denver.

Supporting Native Communities

Can you support Indigenous financial institutions if you are not Native American? Ward says “yes.”
Native American Bank serves clients across the country, both Native and non-Native.

“During the time of the Dakota Access Pipeline, we were approached by bank customers from all over the country because they didn’t want to bank at one of the big banks that supported the pipeline,” says Ward.

Whether your interest is in social and economic change or simply breaking up with a big bank, Green America’s Get a Better Bank tool can help you find a new financial institution. Many small financial institutions, including Native American Bank, have banking options, where you can set up an account, make deposits, withdrawals, and more, all digitally.

“Deposits allow us to continue to make loans that serve underserved communities,” says Ward. “As an individual or an organization, you can bank somewhere where your money does good.”