We are heartbroken and angered by the treatment of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in America and around the globe. Ecology Action opposes racism, discrimination, and violence. We are dedicated to creating a safe and equitable organization that supports building a more inclusive and just society. We are committed to supporting a thriving community and planet, and we know that we can only truly be successful in this goal if we work to achieve both racial and environmental justice. No one should have to live in fear of prejudice and brutality. Black Lives Matter. We are ready to serve, humbled by the enormity of the challenge, and inspired by those who have sacrificed so much before us.

We have been taking active steps to outline a plan for fighting racial injustice. This is only the beginning of our commitment to doing better, and we will continue to hold ourselves and each other accountable along the way.

Action Plan [Updated June 19th, 2020]:

• As we’ve done in response to the COVID-19 crisis, we will continue to support all of our staff members who need flexibility, PTO, or other help as a result of any personal problems they are navigating due to these difficult times.
• We will continue building an organizational culture that supports safe and open communication for Black and Indigenous People and People of Color (BIPOC). This will take shape through brown-bag open discussions of how racial inequality affects our staff and organization.
• We will expand the capacity of our human resources team in order to put more emphasis on affirmative action plans, and we will make other institutional investments to support the development of diversity and inclusion in our organization.
• In honor of Juneteenth, Ecology Action is extending an additional 8 hours of PTO to each of our employees to use in anti-racist action. This could be through volunteering, protesting, virtual action, letter writing, or other forms of support for the movement. We will share upcoming local and virtual events advancing these causes through our internal communication platforms.

We know that we don’t have all the answers, and we’re ready and available to listen to all perspectives. We are committed to doing our part to move our company, our community, and our country forward to true equity and justice. There is more that we can do, and we will do it.

 

Jim Murphy
Executive Director
Ecology Action