At 350.org, we envision a world with a safe climate and a sustainable future; a just, prosperous, and equitable world built with people power. This requires us to inspire, train and mobilize people to take power back from the corporate elite and corrupt politicians and co-create a thriving, multiracial movement that works with allies for social justice.
We are committed to holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for the damages it has caused, driving our leaders to act and build the equitable and just climate solutions the world needs. This requires us to listen to, and work with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) frontline communities, supporting their leadership in charting a path towards effective and strategic solutions, and strive to do no harm.
We recognize that the climate crisis is a symptom of many types of past and present oppression including racism, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, militarism, patriarchy, white supremacy and more. These are historic injustices that are global in scope, and continue to intertwine and reinforce one another to this day.
We recognize that we cannot make progress combatting the harms caused by climate change without responding to these interconnected and systemic injustices. This understanding shapes our fight against the fossil fuel industry for a just, equitable, and renewable energy economy.
We also know that we still have much to learn about these injustices and the ways we can and must combat them. As an organization founded by white people from the US, and with a mostly-white base in the US, we at 350 recognize that our organization has benefited from these systems. We name that we have a responsibility to learn about and work to dismantle these global structures of oppression and their ongoing impacts, as a core part of addressing the climate crisis.
We commit ourselves to learning and acting in equitable, just and inclusive ways.
In all of our work we will seek to support BIPOC frontline1 communities, organizations and movements for justice, as they are central to the struggle for climate justice. This means leveraging our influence, technical, and financial resources while working alongside these communities, supporting their leadership, and implementing the Jemez Principles and the Black Lives Matter Platform which we have endorsed. It includes learning from, and working in coalition with other organizations and movements that are working towards a future that is more just, equitable, and livable for everyone.
We understand that all of this cannot be achieved without a culture shift in the way our campaigns, communications, digital, organizing, policy advocacy, fundraising,operations and programs work. This requires a transformation in the way we work. To achieve this we must put in place concrete efforts to center racial equity, diversity and inclusion in our program and campaign planning, internal and external policies, as well as structures across the organization. We pledge to continue to do the work of implementing these changes internally.
This also means a commitment to shifting our own staff internally, ensuring we have teams that reflect the multi-racial, multi-generational movement we want to be a part of, and uplifting leadership rooted in BIPOC frontline communities. This includes implementing our equity, diversity and inclusion policies in hiring through strategies founded in increasing representation, recruitment, retention and leadership development of BIPOC staff. It also means working in tandem with 350.org colleagues from around the world to shift 350.org’s board composition to reflect the global organization we are part of and uplift leadership rooted in BIPOC frontline communities from around the world.
We recognize that an intentional shift in our structures will be a lengthy process, and sometimes slow down our work in other areas, but we are committed to the longevity and intentionality required for sustainable structural change. For many among our ranks, internally at 350-US, and externally in the climate movement at-large, that means learning when to step back, making space for, sharing resources with, and uplifting voices of leadership from BIPOC frontline communities in the fight for climate justice; and when to step up, using all the power we have to change everything we can.
When working within largely-white communities, we commit ourselves to helping them understand and dismantle the systems of oppression in their communities and regions, and to support BIPOC frontline communities by leveraging their own power and influence. To this end, we commit to incorporating a racial and economic justice analysis into all our organizing work and programs.
Amidst and against climate change, we dedicate ourselves and our organization to this collective process.
1. Guided by communities on the frontline of climate change 350.org draws its definition of Frontline Communities from how these communities describe themselves. Frontline Communities are communities that are the least protected from fossil fuel extraction, pollution and climate change due to intersecting inequalities. They are also hit first and worst by fossil fuel pollution, extraction, as well as climate change. These communities are overwhelmingly represented by Indigenous Peoples, Black/African Americans, People of Color ,Refugees and Immigrants, Asian and Pacific Islander peoples who are from low income, poor and from peasant/farming communities in the U.S. and around the world. Frontline communities, whose very survival is most directly impacted by climate change, have been facing the reality of the climate crisis for decades. Their air and water are being poisoned by fossil fuel extraction, their lives and livelihoods are threatened by floods and drought, their communities are the hardest hit and the least protected in extreme weather events. These communities — as always — will be the battlegrounds, and these communities are prepared to fight. Their demands for their survival and for the rights of future generations are pushing local, national, and global leaders towards real solutions to the climate crisis.