Cutting-Edge Environmental Justice Research Compendium
Compiled Thursday, May 8, 2026 | For OEJE Staff Training Module Development | JJRconsulting
What this resource is and how to use it
This compendium captures the cutting edge of EJ research: innovative approaches, emerging technologies, groundbreaking reports, CBO partnership models, international frameworks and more. It was compiled to ensure OEJE staff training content reflects where the field is heading, not just where it has been.
💬Aware of emerging research, innovative tools or forward-looking EJ work that should be included? We welcome your input. Email us directly at ej-train-input@jjrconsulting.com. No forms, no gatekeeping.
A living resource, not a definitive source. The EJ field is evolving rapidly. This collection highlights research and innovation most relevant to OEJE training but is not comprehensive. Every entry includes live source links. This resource will be continually updated.
JEDICAB
JEDI-CAB Quality Framework
See how Justice, Equity, Dignity, Inclusion, Culture, Accessibility and Belonging shaped this resource
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Explore the full EJ training resource collection
EJ Glossary of Terms80+ terms with definitions, context and MA-specific guidance EJ Scholar Deep Profiles14 scholars shaping EJ policy, science and practice Founding Generation EJ Scholars8 pioneering scholars who built the field State EJ Landscape Research16 states with EJ programs, policies and models National EJ LandscapeFederal agencies, national organizations and resources Cutting-Edge EJ ResearchEmerging research, tools and innovative approaches EJ Training Curricula and ModelsTraining programs, toolkits and learning resources JEDI-CAB Quality FrameworkHow the framework shaped these resources1. Innovative EJ Approaches and Models 18
Emerging frameworks, methodologies, and paradigm shifts in environmental justice practice.
Cumulative Impact Assessment
EPA Interim Cumulative Impacts Framework ("Place Matters")
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | November 2024
EPA's first-ever whole-of-agency framework for considering cumulative impacts -- the totality of chemical and non-chemical stressor exposures across a person's lifetime. Sets cumulative impacts analysis as an Agency Priority Goal.
Why innovative: Shifts EPA from single-pollutant analysis to holistic, life-course exposure assessment. Represents a paradigm change in how federal environmental regulation considers harm.
Direct PDF
NEJAC Recommendations for Reducing Cumulative and Disproportionate Impacts
National Environmental Justice Advisory Council | November 2024
Advisory recommendations urging EPA to use cumulative impact assessments to reduce disproportionate exposures, prioritizing precaution over requiring high burden of proof of harm.
Why innovative: Advocates for precautionary principle in cumulative impacts -- a major shift from traditional risk-based regulation.
Direct PDF
Chicago Cumulative Impact Assessment
City of Chicago Department of Public Health | 2024
Chicago's first-ever citywide Cumulative Impact Assessment, developed over 15 months, providing data on how environmental factors cumulatively affect communities. Includes findings and recommendations.
Why innovative: First major U.S. city to complete a comprehensive cumulative impact assessment at the municipal level -- a model for local government action.
Website
Colorado HB24-1338: Cumulative Impacts and Environmental Justice Act
Colorado General Assembly | 2024
Creates an Office of Environmental Justice and requires development of Environmental Equity and Cumulative Impact Analyses (EECIAs) for specific geographic locations.
Why innovative: Codifies cumulative impact analysis into state law and mandates a dedicated EJ office -- a legislative model for other states.
Legislative page
Tackling Cumulative Impacts: EPA's Whole-of-Agency Approach
PMC/NIH | 2025
Peer-reviewed article examining how EPA is operationalizing cumulative impacts across all programs and offices, moving beyond siloed approaches.
Why innovative: Documents the institutional transformation required to embed cumulative thinking across a federal bureaucracy.
Article
EJ Mapping and Screening Tool Innovations
Environmental Justice Mapping Tools in the United States: A Review
ScienceDirect | January 2025
Comprehensive review identifying 25 EJ mapping tools (19 state-level, 6 national), systematically evaluating spatial resolution, indicator types, data sources, and functionality.
Why innovative: First systematic comparison of all U.S. EJ mapping tools -- essential for understanding the landscape and identifying gaps.
Article
CEJST Version 2.1 (Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool)
Council on Environmental Quality / Data Rescue Project | March 2026
Version 2.1 launched with new cumulative burden features. After removal from White House website in January 2025, the tool was archived and made available through alternative public sources.
Why innovative: The community-driven data rescue of a federal tool demonstrates the resilience of EJ data infrastructure and the importance of open data.
Archived access | EDGI mirror
Public Environmental Data Partners (PEDP)
Screening-tools.com | 2025
Coalition maintaining public access to federal EJ screening tools after government removal. Created new map displaying EPA environmental justice grants made through the Inflation Reduction Act since 2024.
Why innovative: Demonstrates civil society stepping in to preserve and expand public access to critical EJ data when government access is disrupted.
Website
EJ State by State Law Library and Database
Vermont Law School, American University, Taproot Earth, and partners
Comprehensive searchable database of state-level EJ legislation, regulations, policies, mapping tools, and definitions across all 50 states and territories.
Why innovative: First-of-its-kind comprehensive tracker enabling cross-state comparison of EJ law and policy -- essential for benchmarking.
Website
Restorative and Regenerative Justice for Environmental Harms
Environmental Restorative Justice Practice Guide
European Forum for Restorative Justice (EUFRJ) Working Group | 2025
Practice guide co-developed by practitioners, scholars, community organizations, environmental defenders, regulators, and policymakers. Covers principles, practical advice, tools, and real-world insights for restorative responses to environmental harm.
Why innovative: First comprehensive practice guide for applying restorative justice to environmental harms. Explores other-than-human perspectives, climate litigation by youth, eco-anxiety, and corporate accountability.
Website
Environmental Justice and Community-Based Reparations
Seattle University Law Review | 2024
Legal scholarship establishing the connection between environmental justice and reparations, proposing community-based reparations frameworks for environmental harms.
Why innovative: Bridges reparative justice and EJ in a legal framework, providing actionable models for addressing historical environmental racism.
Paper
ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Reparations
International Court of Justice | July 2025
The ICJ ruled that states must cooperate to reduce planet-heating pollution and that countries harmed by the climate crisis may be entitled to reparations on a case-by-case basis.
Why innovative: First international court ruling establishing potential legal basis for climate reparations -- a landmark in environmental justice jurisprudence.
CIEL analysis
Just Transition and Climate Justice Frameworks
Climate Justice Alliance Just Transition Principles
Climate Justice Alliance | Updated 2024
Vision-led, place-based principles for shifting from extractive to regenerative economies. Emphasizes that the transition itself must be just, including reparations. Trained 150 labor and EJ leaders in 2024.
Why innovative: Defines just transition as fundamentally about power-shifting and reparations, not just green jobs -- the most comprehensive grassroots framework available.
Website
Veris Just Transition Investment Framework
Veris Wealth Partners | 2024
Investment framework that integrates climate justice, environmental justice, and energy justice lenses for investors seeking to support just transition.
Why innovative: Translates EJ principles into actionable investment criteria -- bridges the gap between advocacy and capital allocation.
Website
Philadelphia Climate Justice Collective Framework
Drexel University Environmental Collaboratory / Philadelphia Justice Collective | December 2024
Community-driven framework for developing a local environmentally just climate transition plan. Built with four CBOs (Nueva Esperanza, Mantua Civic Association, Overbrook Environmental Education Center, SEAMAAC). Emphasizes data sovereignty and community ownership.
Why innovative: Model for true community-university partnership with data sovereignty agreements, self-advocacy training, and community-owned research outputs.
Report
Participatory Budgeting for Environmental Programs
Washington State DOH Environmental Justice Participatory Budgeting
Washington State Department of Health | 2024-2025
Selected 6 geographically diverse, overburdened communities for participatory budgeting to develop and prioritize decarbonization and climate resilience projects. Piloted with youth in Spokane, Yakima County, and Tacoma.
Why innovative: First state health department to formally embed participatory budgeting in environmental justice programming. Youth-led design component is groundbreaking.
Website
Participatory Budgeting for Environmental Justice (UW SMEA Analysis)
University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
Research analysis examining how participatory budgeting can offer engagement to groups underrepresented in conventional decision-making: BIPOC communities, working class, immigrant communities, teenagers, and people with criminal records.
Why innovative: Makes the explicit connection between PB and EJ, demonstrating how democratic budgeting processes can address environmental inequity.
Article
2. EJ and Technology 14
AI risks and opportunities, community monitoring, GIS innovations, and digital equity in environmental decision-making.
AI and Environmental Justice
Mozilla Technology Fund: Open-Source AI for Environmental Justice (2024 Cohort)
Mozilla Foundation | 2024
$500,000 distributed to 10 projects across 6 countries using open-source AI for EJ. Projects include MethaneMapper (AI-powered methane detection), AI-generated SMS for Indigenous forest conservation in Kenya, and community air quality tools.
Why innovative: Largest dedicated funding program for open-source AI applied to environmental justice. Demonstrates concrete, community-controlled AI applications.
Announcement | GitHub details
Harnessing AI for Environmental Justice
Friends of the Earth UK | February 2025
Report with principles and practical guidelines for responsible AI use by climate justice and digital rights campaigners. Developed through interviews and roundtable with EJ advocates. Recommends mandatory independent audits of AI systems and full lifecycle impact disclosure.
Why innovative: First comprehensive guide specifically for EJ advocates on responsible AI adoption, with concrete policy recommendations.
Report
AI and Climate Justice: Balancing Risk With Opportunity
Columbia University Climate School | July 2025
Analysis of dual nature of AI for climate justice: potential for illuminating climate data patterns vs. environmental burdens from data centers disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income families.
Why innovative: Highlights that Massachusetts neighborhoods see families spending 31% of income on energy bills due to AI-driven electricity demand -- directly relevant to MA EJ context.
Article
The U.S. Must Balance Climate Justice Challenges in the Era of AI
Brookings Institution | 2024
Policy analysis of how AI development intensifies greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and natural resource extraction, with disproportionate impacts on EJ communities.
Why innovative: Major think tank framing AI infrastructure as an environmental justice issue -- shifts the conversation from AI-as-tool to AI-as-burden.
Article
Principles for Environmental Justice in Technology (EJIT)
Rooted Futures Lab / arXiv | August 2025
Academic paper introducing EJIT Principles: a framework extending the 1991 EJ principles into the technological domain. Emphasizes interdependence, repair, community self-determination, open-source requirements, and regenerative futures.
Why innovative: First formal extension of foundational EJ principles to technology -- creates an actionable framework for evaluating any technology through an EJ lens.
Paper | EJIT Principles
Climate Resilience Requires Digital Justice
The Regulatory Review (Penn) | May 2025
Analysis arguing that environmental regulators should treat digital access as a factor in environmental justice reviews, particularly in climate-vulnerable areas with limited internet access.
Why innovative: Makes the case for digital access as an environmental justice variable -- critical for ensuring equitable participation in environmental decision-making.
Article
EJ, Climate Justice, and the Space of Digital Rights
Open Environmental Data Project | 2024
Issue brief exploring intersections between environmental justice, climate justice, and digital rights, including data sovereignty, open data, and community data governance.
Why innovative: Maps the emerging intersection of digital rights and EJ -- essential reading for understanding data governance in EJ contexts.
Brief
Community Air Monitoring Networks
EPA Community Air Monitoring Grants ($53.4M, 132 Projects)
U.S. EPA | 2022-2024
$53.4 million across 37 states to 132 projects in EJ communities for air quality monitoring. Addresses finding that PurpleAir sensors disproportionately deployed in whiter, higher-income census tracts.
Why innovative: Largest federal investment in community-controlled air monitoring, explicitly designed to address equity gaps in existing monitoring networks.
Research
CARB Community Air Grants (AB 617)
California Air Resources Board
Community Air Grants empower CBOs and California Native American tribes to lead air quality monitoring projects as part of the Community Air Protection Program. Includes community-designed monitoring networks.
Why innovative: CBO-led monitoring model with community control over sensor placement and data interpretation -- a national model.
Website
Community Data Sovereignty and Mapping
MAPEO: Offline-First Community Mapping Tool
Digital Democracy
Open-source, offline-first mapping application co-developed with Indigenous peoples worldwide. Uses peer-to-peer database on OpenStreetMap, enabling communities to map lands, document environmental violations, and own their data without internet connection.
Why innovative: Democratizes GIS technology for frontline communities. Peer-to-peer architecture ensures community data sovereignty by design.
Website
Indigenous Environmental Data Justice
SAGE Journals | 2025
Research on confronting colonial data practices and activating Indigenous sovereignty over environmental data, including CARE principles and data governance frameworks.
Why innovative: Establishes theoretical and practical foundation for decolonizing environmental data -- applicable to tribal consultation in Massachusetts.
Article
Data Sovereignty in Community-Based Environmental Monitoring
BioScience / Oxford Academic | 2022
Framework for equitable environmental data governance, including examples like the Prey Lang Network (Cambodia) where communities control what data is collected, owned, and shared.
Why innovative: Establishes data sovereignty principles specifically for environmental monitoring -- directly applicable to community science programs.
Article
GIS and Spatial Analysis Innovations
EcoGIS: Mapping Environmental Justice and Beyond
Afterschool Alliance | November 2024
Program teaching high school students to design geospatial tools for social change, combining GIS education with environmental justice awareness.
Why innovative: Next-generation workforce development that combines technical GIS skills with EJ consciousness.
Article
Understanding the Impact of Geospatial Data in Social and Climate Justice
The Engine Room | 2024
Research on how cloud-based GIS, drones, and IoT sensors have reduced barriers to geospatial technology for social and environmental justice sectors.
Why innovative: Documents the democratization of spatial analysis technology and its implications for EJ communities.
Report
3. EJ Publications and Thought Leadership 10
Recent thought leadership from major academic institutions, media outlets, and advocacy organizations.
Grist: "Misplaced Trust" Investigation
Grist | 2024-2025 (Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism, 2025)
Award-winning investigation revealing how land-grant universities profit from 8.3+ million acres taken from 123 Indigenous nations, tracing legacy and ongoing environmental justice impacts.
Why innovative: Landmark investigative journalism connecting historical land theft to present-day environmental injustice. Winner of top journalism award.
Grist.org
Grist Rural Reporting Grants for Climate and EJ
Grist | 2025
Grants to newsrooms for impactful rural climate and EJ stories. Previously backed 50+ stories; expanding in 2025. Also leads Indigenous News Alliance pooled coverage.
Why innovative: Addresses critical gap in rural EJ coverage and Indigenous news collaboration.
Details
Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program: Federal EJ Tracker
Harvard Law School | Ongoing
Tracks all federal environmental justice policy changes, including EJScreen removal, CEJST status, Justice40 termination, and agency actions under shifting administrations.
Why innovative: Most comprehensive real-time tracker of federal EJ policy changes -- essential for understanding the current landscape.
Tracker
Harvard Business School: Policy Drivers for Environmental Justice -- What Businesses Need to Know
Harvard Business School Environment Initiative
Analysis of how EJ policy creates both risks and opportunities for business, connecting regulatory landscape to corporate strategy.
Why innovative: Bridges EJ advocacy and business strategy -- useful for engaging private sector partners in EJ implementation.
Article
Stanford Environmental Justice and Sustainability Conference
Stanford Graduate School of Business / Doerr School of Sustainability | March 2024
Conference on how EJ scholarship creates just, ethical, and resilient sustainability solutions. Hosted four EJ changemakers for residency during winter/spring 2024.
Why innovative: Integration of EJ into top business school curriculum and sustainability research agenda.
Conference
Nonprofit Quarterly: Why Climate Justice Requires Community-Owned Renewable Energy
Nonprofit Quarterly | 2024-2025
Coverage of community-owned renewable energy as a climate justice imperative, and analysis of coalition lawsuit against EPA to restore EJ funding.
Why innovative: Connects community ownership models to climate justice framework in accessible format for nonprofit leaders.
Article
Access to Data: The "Under-the-Radar" EJ Issue
American Bar Association | October 2024
Legal analysis of how access to government environmental data is a critical but under-discussed environmental justice issue, particularly in the context of data removal by federal agencies.
Why innovative: Frames data access as a legal right and EJ issue -- directly relevant to the current political context.
Article
NRDC: Environmental Justice at Risk Under Project 2025
Natural Resources Defense Council | 2024
Analysis of how Project 2025 policy proposals would undermine environmental justice programs, federal EJ offices, and community protections.
Why innovative: Critical context for understanding threats to EJ infrastructure under current federal administration.
Analysis
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility: Environmental Justice and Corporate Accountability
ICCR | 2024-2025
Investor-led initiative noting that perpetuation of environmental injustice through business operations creates material financial risk. Establishes expectations for corporate EJ risk assessment.
Why innovative: Translates EJ concerns into investor language, creating financial accountability for environmental justice.
Website
MIT Climate Justice Instructional Toolkit
MIT OpenCourseWare | Spring 2025
Open educational module on climate justice and environmental data, including discipline-specific materials on data justice, digital rights, and community data sovereignty.
Why innovative: Free, open-access curriculum from MIT -- adaptable for government staff training on climate and data justice.
Module PDF
4. Groundbreaking EJ Reports (2022-2026) 10
Major reports from federal agencies, international organizations, and research institutions.
White House Environmental Justice Scorecard (Phase Two)
OMB, CEQ, U.S. Digital Service | July 2024
Second phase reporting actions by 24 federal agencies to advance EJ in FY2023. EPA received ~$83.4 billion for EJ-focused programs FY2022-2027. Website no longer accessible as of May 2025.
Why groundbreaking: First-ever comprehensive federal accountability mechanism for EJ across all agencies. Its removal underscores the importance of data preservation.
Fact Sheet (archived)
GAO Report: Agency Actions to Implement Past Justice40 Initiative
U.S. Government Accountability Office | GAO-25-107516, September 2025
Examination of how agencies implemented Justice40 before its termination in January 2025. Finds that with termination, overall results of agency actions remain unknown.
Why groundbreaking: Definitive post-mortem on Justice40 implementation -- critical documentation of what was achieved and what remains unfinished.
Report
GAO Report: Justice40 -- Use of Leading Practices Would Strengthen Efforts
U.S. Government Accountability Office | GAO-24-105869
Analysis finding that Justice40 lacked consistent leading practices, with recommendations for strengthening future EJ initiatives.
Why groundbreaking: Identifies specific implementation failures that can inform state-level EJ program design.
Report
OECD Environmental Justice: Context, Challenges, and National Approaches
OECD | May 2024
First-ever international policy stocktake of how governments address EJ, based on survey of 26 countries. Compares legal, policy, safeguard, and rights-based approaches across OECD and beyond.
Why groundbreaking: First comprehensive international comparison of EJ approaches -- positions U.S. and state efforts in global context.
Report
EPA Environmental Justice Strategic Plan FY2024-2025
U.S. EPA | December 2024
EPA's comprehensive EJ goals, objectives, priority actions, and metrics. Includes whole-of-agency approach to cumulative impacts and EJ Clearinghouse launch.
Why groundbreaking: Most comprehensive EPA EJ strategy ever published, representing the culmination of decades of EJ advocacy within the agency.
Strategic Plan PDF
White House NSTC Environmental Justice Science, Data, and Research Plan
National Science and Technology Council | July 2024
Federal plan addressing community and citizen science, Indigenous Knowledge, and health research on environmental stressors and cumulative impacts.
Why groundbreaking: First federal plan integrating citizen science and Indigenous Knowledge into EJ research methodology.
Plan PDF
European Environment Agency: Just Sustainability Transitions -- From Concept to Practice
European Environment Agency | November 2024
Report on ensuring fairness in European Green Deal transitions, addressing regressive effects of climate policies, unequal environmental risks, and inclusive decision-making.
Why groundbreaking: Most comprehensive European framework for justice in sustainability transitions -- provides international benchmarks for state policy.
Report
Massachusetts 2024 Environmental Justice Strategy
MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs | February 2024
Massachusetts' inaugural EJ Strategy: comprehensive initiatives including EJ liaisons in every agency, public training, MEPA review training, and three-year update cycle with annual progress reports.
Why groundbreaking: This is the foundational document for the OEJE training project -- the strategy that staff training must operationalize.
Strategy PDF
Massachusetts 2024 Climate Report Card -- Environmental Justice
Mass.gov | 2024
Annual assessment of Massachusetts' progress on EJ within climate action, including metrics and accountability measures.
Why groundbreaking: Provides measurable EJ metrics for Massachusetts -- directly relevant to training content on accountability.
Report Card
WHEJAC Recommendations on CEJST
White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council | January 2024
Advisory council recommendations for improving the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, including addressing gaps in cumulative burden analysis.
Why groundbreaking: Documents the expert consensus on how to improve federal EJ screening -- applicable to state-level tool development.
Recommendations PDF
5. CBO Partnership Models (Module 3 Content) 9
Models for government-CBO partnerships, capacity building, and compensating community expertise.
EPA Community Change Grants Program ($2 Billion)
U.S. EPA | 2024-2025
Largest EJ investment in history: $2 billion, with $1.6 billion to 105 applicants by December 2024. Requires CBO-led partnerships. Includes dedicated capacity building and technical assistance for CBOs. Applicants must demonstrate pre-existing partnerships.
Why innovative: National model for CBO capacity building: technical assistance for application writing, project planning, and implementation. Pre-existing partnership requirement prevents extractive relationships.
NRDC summary
CARB Community Engagement Model and Community Expert Compensation
California Air Resources Board | Updated January 2025
CARB contracted 19 community experts to co-develop engagement model. Experts compensated $5,000 each for subject matter expertise. AB 617 Community Air Grants empower CBOs to lead monitoring projects.
Why innovative: National best practice for compensating community expertise in government decision-making. Explicitly values lived experience alongside professional credentials.
Expert solicitation | Model PDF
WE ACT M.O.D.E.L. for Empowering Communities
WE ACT for Environmental Justice / Columbia Law School Sabin Center | 2024
Suite of model state and local EJ bills with legislative language, fact sheets, memos, and regulatory briefing information across 5 topic areas: cumulative impacts, source permits, permit renewals, environmental advisory boards, and zoning.
Why innovative: Provides ready-to-use legislative templates for any jurisdiction. Demonstrates CBO-academic partnership that produces directly actionable policy tools.
M.O.D.E.L. website | Sabin Center
EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Program
U.S. EPA
Cooperative agreement program funding community-based organizations to work collaboratively with other stakeholders to develop solutions to local environmental and public health issues.
Why innovative: Long-running model (since 2003) demonstrating sustained CBO-government collaboration at the local level.
Overview
WRI: How Community-Based Organizations Are Driving Justice40 Forward
World Resources Institute | 2024
Analysis of how CBOs are operationalizing Justice40, including case studies of successful CBO-government partnerships and lessons learned.
Why innovative: Documents real-world CBO leadership in implementing federal EJ policy -- valuable for demonstrating CBO capacity to government staff.
Article
EPA Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers
U.S. EPA | 2024
$40 million for subgrants ($150K-$350K) to communities through intermediary organizations like Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Designed to build CBO capacity for accessing federal funding.
Why innovative: Intermediary model that builds CBO capacity rather than requiring CBOs to navigate complex federal processes alone.
EESI spotlight
Community Partner Compensation Best Practices
PMC/NIH Research Synthesis | 2021
Critical interpretive synthesis of participatory research for EJ, recommending: sharing indirect cost rate agreements with CBO partners, budgeting capacity building as primary aim, and involving community members in decisions about their own compensation.
Why innovative: Establishes evidence-based compensation principles: share IDC agreements, budget capacity building, and let communities decide their own compensation structures.
Synthesis
Earth Economics: Community-Based Organizations and Environmental Impact
Earth Economics
Research on how small CBOs working on environmental issues can create outsized impact, with frameworks for measuring and supporting CBO contributions.
Why innovative: Provides economic valuation methods for CBO contributions to environmental outcomes -- helps justify investment in CBO partnerships.
Website
Massachusetts AG Environmental Justice Fund (2025-2026)
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office | 2025
$475,000 awarded to 12 inaugural grantees addressing environmental health disparities in disadvantaged communities. Rolling applications for 2026 cycle.
Why innovative: Massachusetts-specific CBO funding model -- directly relevant to OEJE training on state-level CBO partnership and support.
Announcement
6. Conferences and Convenings 8
Major EJ conferences, summits, and convenings with published materials and proceedings.
Yale Global Environmental Justice Conference 2025: "Writing the Future"
Yale Center for Environmental Justice | October 31 - November 1, 2025
7th annual conference building on post-election 2024 conference. Centers joy and hope. Keynotes from White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council co-leaders. Interactive breakout sessions and art showcases.
Why notable: Premier academic EJ conference, explicitly designed to develop next-generation EJ tools and policies in current political context.
Conference | Agenda
National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program 2025
NEJC | March 25-27, 2025, Washington, D.C.
Three-day conference bringing together federal/state agencies, local governments, tribes, community groups, business, academia for exchange of EJ ideas and approaches.
Why notable: Longest-running national EJ conference -- the primary networking and knowledge-sharing venue for the EJ field.
Website
Global Environmental Justice Conference 2026
Center for Environmental Justice, Colorado State University | 2026
Major global conference with international partners, addressing EJ from academic and practitioner perspectives.
Why notable: Upcoming opportunity for Massachusetts staff to engage with global EJ scholarship and practice.
Website
11th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice / Bullard Center, Texas Southern University | March 18-22, 2026, New Orleans
HBCU-centered climate conference founded by Dr. Robert Bullard, connecting historically Black colleges with climate and EJ research and advocacy.
Why notable: Centers HBCU scholarship in climate/EJ work -- important for understanding the racial justice foundations of EJ.
Website
Environmental Justice and Climate Protection Conference 2026
Science for Georgia | June 11-12, 2026, Atlanta, GA
Conference bringing together community leaders, elected officials, academics, and industry experts to break information silos through cross-sector information sharing.
Why notable: Southern regional focus on bridging the gap between community knowledge and institutional decision-making.
Website
International Transdisciplinary Conference on Environmental Justice 2026
Lassalle-Institut, Switzerland | August 19-23, 2026
Biennial conference exploring transdisciplinary, action-oriented collaboration on climate change, biodiversity loss, global injustice, and migration.
Why notable: Premier international EJ conference with transdisciplinary focus -- connects U.S. EJ work to global movements.
Website
Columbia/CCNY Environmental Justice Summit 2025
Columbia University / City College of New York | April 22, 2025
Student-centered summit on local climate justice wins, campus and community EJ activities in Harlem.
Why notable: Model for community-university EJ partnership in an urban environmental justice neighborhood.
Website
OECD Conference on Environmental Justice
OECD | May 2024
International conference accompanying the release of the OECD's first EJ report, bringing together national approaches and best practices from across OECD member states.
Why notable: First OECD-hosted EJ conference -- signals that EJ is now a mainstream international policy concern.
Conference
7. International EJ Leaders and Applicable Models 8
International frameworks and models applicable to Massachusetts state government practice.
Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice
UNECE | 1998 (ongoing implementation)
Leading international agreement on environmental democracy with three pillars: access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice. Includes a Compliance Committee that individuals can petition to hold states accountable.
Why applicable: Gold standard for procedural environmental justice rights. The three-pillar framework is directly applicable to structuring Massachusetts staff training on public participation and information access.
Overview
Escazu Agreement: Access Rights in Latin America and Caribbean
UN ECLAC | 2018 (entered force 2021, 18 ratifying countries)
World's first treaty with specific provisions protecting environmental human rights defenders. Ratified by 18 countries. 2024 Action Plan includes gender perspective and individual complaint mechanism. Includes protection for environmental defenders.
Why applicable: Most progressive international EJ treaty. Its defender protection provisions and gender perspective offer models for inclusive EJ policy design.
Treaty page
Canada's National Strategy on Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice (Bill C-226)
Government of Canada | Became law June 20, 2024
Requires development of national strategy to address environmental racism and advance EJ within two years. Complements CEPA's recognition of the right to a healthy environment. Progress reporting every five years.
Why applicable: Newest national EJ legislation in any country. Explicitly names environmental racism -- a model for how governments can formally acknowledge and address race-based environmental harm.
Announcement
Canada's Right to a Healthy Environment Framework (under CEPA)
Government of Canada | Draft expected Fall 2024
Implementation framework for the right to a healthy environment recognized in the modernized Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Developed through engagement with Indigenous peoples, stakeholders, and public.
Why applicable: Model for codifying the right to a healthy environment -- a concept Massachusetts could operationalize through agency practice.
Details
UK Environment Agency and Friends of the Earth EJ Work
UK Government / Friends of the Earth UK | Ongoing
UK implements Aarhus Convention through Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Friends of the Earth UK leads on AI+EJ research and advocacy. England explicitly identified by OECD as using "added protection and safeguards" approach.
Why applicable: UK model demonstrates how EJ can be advanced through environmental information rights and regulatory safeguards without a dedicated EJ law.
FoE UK EJ+AI
IUCN Just Restoration Technical Note
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas | 2025
Technical note on integrating justice into ecological restoration practice, emphasizing that prioritizing justice enhances both ecological and social outcomes.
Why applicable: Provides evidence that justice-centered approaches improve environmental outcomes -- a powerful argument for EJ integration in agency work.
Technical Note PDF
European Environment Agency: Delivering Justice in Sustainability Transitions
European Environment Agency | February 2024
Briefing on how to identify and correct regressive effects of climate policies, address unequal environmental burdens, ensure inclusive participation, and recognize different values and capacities across society.
Why applicable: Practical guidance for ensuring green transition policies do not create new injustices -- directly relevant to MA climate policy implementation.
Briefing
Sensor.Community: Citizen-Led Air Quality Monitoring (Europe)
Sensor.Community | Ongoing
Over 10,000 active citizen-operated air pollution sensors across Europe. The Netherlands has formally incorporated citizen-science data into its official national air quality network -- the first country to do so.
Why applicable: Demonstrates how citizen science data can be formally integrated into government monitoring -- a model Massachusetts agencies could adopt.
Overview
Total resources cataloged: 67 | Compiled for JJRconsulting OEJE Staff Training Project | Sources verified May 2026