Environmental justice is an important area of advocacy, and there are several organizations dedicated to environmental justice in Virginia. It focuses on ensuring that people, regardless of race, income, national origin, or disability, are involved in agency decisions affecting the environment. Involvement of all people in these decisions is crucial to ensuring that everyone (i) can be protected from disproportionate and adverse health and environmental effects and (ii) that everyone has equitable access to a healthy environment in which to live, work, and play. 

Various state organizations advocate for environmental justice, working hard to ensure that everyone in their community enjoys the protections they deserve along with access to healthy environments in which to enjoy their lives. Some of the organizations in Virginia fighting for environmental justice include RVA Green, the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, the Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative, the Southern Environmental Law Center, and the Environmental Justice Collective at the University of Virginia. 

RVA Green operates in Richmond and has a planning initiative called RVAgreen 2050. Spearheaded by the Office of Sustainablity, RVAgreen 2050 is the city’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. RVA Green wants to ensure that the community will be able to adapt to the challenges emerging in Richmond’s climate including extreme heat, precipitation, and flooding. The organization prioritizes climate equity, acknowledging that those in poverty are most vulnerable to climate change with fewer resources and less support at their disposal. Low income communities and communities of color are more likely to have little access to greenspaces, are more vulnerable to respiratory health issues, lack access to energy efficient housing, are more consistently exposed to pollution and airborne allergens, and live in neighborhoods that lack convenient access to transit. These are all aspects of environmental justice RVA Green works to rectify by centering environmental equity in their RVAgreen 2050 plan. 

Working throughout Virginia and other south-eastern states, headquartered in Charlottesville, is the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). SELC’s founder began the organization because he felt the South was viewed as a lost cause in terms of environmental advocacy because of its conservative tendencies, despite its iconic natural landscapes. SELC acknowledges that the region they serve has an extensive history of racism and inequity, and because of this is deeply motivated to fight for environmental justice in the communities they serve. Their work includes fighting dangerous pipelines and destructive highway expansions, fighting pollution, and revitalizing communities to uplift local voices. They focus on the policy involved in environmental justice, and want to make sure people have the chance to be involved in the decisions that affect their environments, regardless of their background.

Also in Charlottesville, at the University of Virginia, students have established an Environmental Justice Collective. Four students came together in 2020 to form the Environmental Justice Collective at UVA when they noticed that many of the other environmental organizations at the University were heavily white-dominated. They wanted to create an organization focused on the intersection of environmental advocacy and the experiences of BIPOC communities. They wanted to create a safe space for students of color to engage in environmental advocacy, and to create a true collective. They’ve established an organizational culture of equality, with a “logistics team” rather than an executive board in an attempt to avoid the sense of hierarchy often present in University student groups. The Environmental Justice Collective provides a welcoming and supportive environment for students of color to learn more about environmental justice and advocate for environmental equity. 

The Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative (VEJC) is another important advocacy organization. VEJC’s mission is to “build the health and wealth of communities of color, low-income communities, and communities overburdened by pollution in Virginia byu reducing the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards.” They want to build an alliance among Virginia communities through empowering and educating people, as well as mobilizing grassroots organizations and encouraging individuals to speak out against harmful policies and practices. They’ve worked with another organization called Mapping for Environmental Justice to create a map of environmental justice in Virginia, showing exactly which areas of the state are most impacted by environmental injustices. Take a look at the map here!

The Virginia Council on Environmental Justice (VCEJ) has been an important addition to state government, established by Governor Northam in 2019. VCEJ is tasked with creating a framework to address environmental injustices and make recommendations from this focus. There have been various state agencies implementing policy to correct environmental injustice, but before VCEJ there was no consistent review process for these policies to establish consistency in their practices. VCEJ’s presence allows for evaluation of environmental justice policy throughout the state, and creates an organization dedicated to monitoring environmental justice issues and considering responses to those problems at the government level. 

Environmental justice is a prominent issue in Virginia, particularly in the City of Richmond in addition to other rural communities that are exploited, but the emergence of environmental advocacy groups that focus on advocating for environmentally disadvantaged communities creates growing awareness. Visit these organizations’ websites linked throughout this blog post to learn more about environmental justice and the initiatives these groups are pushing forward to create environmental equity in Virginia.