Sustainability leaders look to address racial gaps in access, opportunity
Sustainability executives said Wednesday that the industry needs to address racial and economic gaps in access and employment as it expands in the years ahead.
“We’ve got to educate a lot more and also do better with paying people more so they have more to invest,” Jason Carney, the founder and CEO of Energy Electives, said at The Hill’s “The Sustainability Imperative: Cleaner, Sustainable Energy of Tomorrow” event.
Carney told The Hill’s Julia Manchester that Black Americans are often cut off from accessing more sustainable forms of energy because of wealth disparities.
“I’ll just say for the African American community both of those are a factor. You have the idea that there is a wealth disparity, and so people don’t have the disposable income to invest, and it truly is an investment, a very stable investment, a very good investment, but it’s an investment nonetheless,” Carney said.
Carney said it is also important to educate Black communities about how solar energy works.
“Even when you correct for income and home ownership, African Americans don’t adopt solar at the same rate, and some of that is that they just don’t know,” he said.
“When you add the complexities of connecting with utilities, we’ve got to educate around what that means to your investment,” he added.
Carney, who is Black, said firms in the sustainability industry must also commit to increasing diversity in their own hiring practices.
“I am trying to be an example of someone who is forging ahead in this industry, and I think it’s fairly proven that if we see someone that looks like us or comes from our culture or just familiar then it is encouraging,” he said.
Monique Figueiredo, co-owner and CEO of Compostable LA, a women- and BIPOC-owned organization that aims to educate people about composting in the city of Los Angeles, said the best way to make sustainable options more accessible is to cater them to each community.
“I think accessibility means something different to every community we serve, and so the importance is creating different options and different systems that can serve different people’s lifestyles,” Figueiredo said.
“What are different options we can provide for different communities so if somebody makes a little more money they can use this, if someone makes less money or has less time they can use this,” she added.
Wednesday’s event was sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund.
Ryan Smith, the CEO of Recyclops, which aims to make recycling more accessible, said recycling is currently more readily available to white Americans.
“When you look at who has access to sustainability initiatives, looking particularly at curbside recycling, who has access to curbside recycling and it’s pretty discouraging because when you look at the populations you’re like, ‘oh it’s mostly white suburban neighborhoods predominantly,’” Smith said.
Smith said Native American communities are particularly left out from access to recycling and other sustainable options.
“You look at the cultural heritage and the idea of using and not wasting and it’s something that’s deeply ingrained in the culture and yet the systems that have been brought into this community and the single use plastics, there’s not a place for it and it just isn’t right,” he said.
“Recycling deserves to be democratized. There is nothing about sustainability that is only desired by a certain subset of people. Everyone cares about the Earth and we all are living here,” Smith added.
“Everyone should have access to sustainability initiatives regardless of where they live.”
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