At Grades of Green, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are central to our mission of inspiring students and the broader community to care for the environment. We understand that any solutions to an environmental crisis can only be truly sustainable when all individuals are valued, supported and empowered. Our students, staff and the greater Grades of Green community represent a diverse set of voices and experiences and we’re dedicated to creating programs that value their unique contributions. We are committed to continually learning and expanding our perspectives in order to create a more equitable and just organization for every student and community we serve.

At Grades of Green, We are Working to Ensure:

  • Our staff and leadership reflect the diversity of the students and communities in which we work
  • Equity and environmental justice are integrated through all aspects of our student programming and leadership training
  • Resources and program offerings reach students and schools from underrepresented communities
  • We stay accountable to our commitments on DEI through continuous research, data collection and reporting

We Are Achieving This By:

  • Actively recruiting, hiring, and maintaining a diverse staff, board of directors and advisory committee, comprising individuals with a variety of skills, perspectives, backgrounds, races, and resources
  • Incorporating monthly, paid diversity, equity and inclusion and unconscious bias trainings for our staff to increase our workplace’s racial, cultural, different diversity type awareness, knowledge, and communication
  • Continually developing subject-specific environmental justice education modules geared towards students and embedding them throughout our program framework
  • Conducting analysis using environmental health and school district data to identify opportunities to reach new communities where there is the most opportunity to counteract environmental injustice

Recent Actions

  • LAUNCH Project Tookits – Student Environmental Justice Training
    In our new LAUNCH Project Toolkits program, every Eco-Toolkit includes a detailed explanation of the project’s relationship to and impact on environmental justice.
  • Climate Solutions Campaign – Student Environmental Justice Training
    In our Climate Solutions Campaign, students are required to learn about the environmental justice issues central to the topic areas that they’re focusing on: food, energy, waste, transportation and trees and deforestation.
  • Targeted Student Recruitment
    We commissioned a team of volunteer consultants to determine the areas in California that are most in need of environmental justice and have targeted our student recruiting efforts in those areas.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy

To fully outline our dedication for these values and efforts towards realizing them in our organization, Grades of Green’s Board of Directors has passed a Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy. To learn more, please read our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy.