Without equality, there is no sustainability

Like so many, our team is horrified by the tragic deaths that have occurred at the hands of systemic racism. Today’s heartbreaking realities are flash-points igniting essential change. We’ve been taking time to thoughtfully listen and learn from people and organizations working to achieve much needed changes in our society.

Our work centres around sustainability and building a greener, cleaner and inclusive future for all. We’re learning how to best light the path forward and we know there’s more that we can do.

When we talk about sustainability and environmental issues, that conversation has to include the issues of systemic and racial discrimination that persist in our society. It means bringing out into the open the systemic problems and entrenched failings that have no place in a sustainable, prosperous future for all.

In Canada, marginalized groups have historically lived in areas without good public infrastructure, and as a result are disproportionately vulnerable to issues such as food security, water quality, transportation and electricity costs. These communities are also hit the hardest by the causes and impacts of pollution, environmental degradation, and climate change.

The climate crisis is deeply intertwined with racial inequality and issues of social justice. Without equality, there is no sustainability. Without sustainability, the future of our world continues to be at great risk.

We believe building back better means standing for change and leading through actions that deliver on inclusivity and remove barriers to equality and sustainability.

We firmly believe that sustainability must be rooted in inclusion, and that a just transition to a clean economy must protect both the planet, and all of its people. We stand in solidarity with Canada’s BIPOC communities, who are leading essential changes in the ways we think, act and relate to one another.

We’re learning about more ways that our business can act to address racial inequalities. For those that are speaking out, educating, and guiding us, we hear you and we thank you. We know that a post on its own is not action. We are scaling up our actions by:

• Using our platform to amplify the voices that need to be heard
• Helping our clients to understand issues of equality and sustainability, and how they relate to their business and the practical actions they can take to enact change
• Partnering with other organizations to promote dialogue and understanding on issues of social justice
• Ensuring our own business reflects the sustainable and inclusive world we want for our future through our policies, processes and actions

Some resources we have found helpful in learning about systemic racism and how to support BIPOC communities are:

• NB Media Co-op: There’s something in the water: meet four women combating environmental racism in Nova Scotia
• Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson : “I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet”
• GreenBiz: How racism manifests itself in clean energy
• Black Lives Matter at School
• The Coast Halifax: Where you can give money to support Black organizations and lives right now
• The Coast Halifax: Resources to start learning about racism in Halifax and beyond
• Futerra: (on instagram) A compilation of helpful resources, helpful no matter where you are in the world
• Josephine Mathias: Steps to fight anti-black racism
• Small History NS (on twitter): A non-comprehensive list of reading suggestions for recent scholarly work, mostly by Black authors, on Black history and anti-Black racism in this province

We know that learning about issues of social justice and taking action on them is a continuous process.

Please reach out to us with any questions, concerns, suggestions, or additional resources.