ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
We seek to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment by advancing environmental justice.
Environmental justice refers to the ability of all people to live in a safe and healthy environment. It is a direct response to past and ongoing environmental racism, which disproportionately impacts and harms low-income, working class, and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities across our region. Many Pittsburgh-area communities have been subjected for years to poor air and water quality from a range of industrial pollutants. Public health research makes clear that chronic exposure to pollution negatively impacts people's health across the lifecycle and economic prospects for the region. Chronic pollution creates disparities in health outcomes that disproportionally burden low-income, Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities. In addition, the region has already begun to experience the impact of climate change on health and local infrastructure. Climate change will continue to exacerbate existing health and social inequities. Interventions that recognize and act on systemic causes and foster energy transition activities can most effectively address both climate change and health inequities. Energy transition refers to the global energy sector's shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption — including oil, natural gas and coal — to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as well as lithium-ion batteries.
Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We seek to strengthen community resilience and adaptation in response to a changing climate. We also recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.
To learn more about our areas of interest related to Environmental Action, select one of the following:
EQUITABLE ACCESS TO LAND, WATER AND AIRTo promote equitable access to land, air and water, we seek to support community-centered conservation and stewardship of natural resources. |
LEARNING AND ACTIONAs a direct response to past and ongoing environmental racism, which disproportionately impacts and harms low-income, working class and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities across our region, we seek to address these harms and mitigate future impacts, translate research into action to protect the health of communities and their environments and build power in communities to advance environmental justice. |
Learn about other foundation-directed grantmaking focus areas:
