Tackling environmental justice and taking steps toward a sustainable future can no longer be siloed into separate conversations. In fact, environmental justice (EJ) plays a pivotal role in corporate sustainability programs. Holistic approaches which include environmental justice are able to optimize cost, risk management, and climate resilience both for employees and neighboring communities.

Why Do Organizations Need to Consider Environmental Justice?

Increasingly, companies are required to address environmental justice considerations and assess the resulting socioeconomic impacts of decarbonization efforts when accessing various forms of public climate funding.

For example, in the United States, landmark legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) mandated the Justice40 initiative, ensuring that at least 40% of the overall climate and social benefits of federal investments flow directly to disadvantaged communities (DACs). Critically, for applicants to access either funding pool, they must detail actionable and measurable efforts to equitably engage communities and labor, advance DEIA, and invest in the domestic workforce. In response, companies are beginning to integrate community perspectives within technical decarbonization project life cycles, from strategy development to implementation.

Similarly, Europe’s mandatory ESG Reporting Standard, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, will require subject companies to disclose impacts of business activities on environmental, social, human rights, and governance considerations. This follows a growing global sentiment to action climate solutions which benefit those who are disproportionately affected.

Why Partner with ENGIE Impact to Establish an Environmental Justice Program?

At ENGIE Impact, we partner with companies, governments, and other organizations to advance both environmental sustainability and social equity through decarbonization efforts and Net Zero strategies. Our approach to decarbonization aims to holistically integrate the opportunities, expectations and regulations around environmental justice.