Environmental justice
As a school committed to global sustainability, we recognize the critical importance of ensuring that all people have equal access to the benefits of a clean and healthy environment.
Rodolfo Dirzo
Associate Dean for Integrative Initiatives on Environmental Justice
"Historically disenfranchised communities have been on the frontlines of the adverse consequences of the Anthropocene. On the one hand, global environmental change — the combined negative effects of land use change, over-exploitation, pollution, and climate change — has a disproportionately negative impact on the sectors of society that contribute the least to it. Furthermore, those communities that have historically been suppressed and marginalized also receive the lesser share of the once bountiful resources of Mother Earth's life-supporting systems. In this context, development of a strong environmental justice culture is imperative if we are to create ethical, just, and resilient solutions for local, regional, and global sustainability. Meeting this challenge is simultaneously an inescapable responsibility and the motivation that drives our mission."
Events
The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability hosts forums and co-hosts conferences to elevate awareness, broaden discourse, and inspire action on climate change solutions and environmental justice. Recent and upcoming programs include:
Environmental justice roundtable highlights energy and policy, health, and Indigenous Peoples issues
Part of the dean’s lecture series from the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, a recent event featured environmental justice experts in energy, environmental health, and Native environmental policy.
Haas Distinguished Visitors focus on environmental justice
A partnership between the Haas Center for Public Service and Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability is hosting four changemakers in sustainability and environmental justice for a residency during winter and spring 2024. On Jan. 25, the Distinguished Visitors shared about their work in a panel discussion.
The Duality of Environmental Justice Conference
On Mar. 18 and 19, 2024, this conference discussed how environmental justice scholarship is needed to create just, ethical, and resilient solutions for sustainability for the world’s most challenging social-environmental problems.
Arun Majumdar
Dean of the Doerr School of Sustainability
“Real change can not happen if we are not actively and deliberately working toward equitable access to environmental benefits and preventing the disproportionate effects of environmental harm.”
Student opportunities
Environmental justice minor
The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability offers a minor in environmental justice to current students.
Computer science major first to add minor in environmental justice
Evan Baldonado, ’23, one-time co-director of Students for a Sustainable Stanford, was the first undergraduate to adopt a minor in environmental justice offered through the Earth Systems Program.
Impactful research, lifelong skills
Claire Morton, ‘24, took the opportunity to experience methodological research through the Mentoring Undergraduates in Interdisciplinary Research (MUIR) program.
Funded projects and research
In its first round of funding in the summer of 2022, the Sustainability Accelerator supported eight projects focused on environmental justice:
Accelerator for environmental justice (EJ) at Stanford
Robert Jackson, Sibyl Diver, Emily Polk, Rodolfo Dirzo, Jane Willenbring, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi
Addressing blind spots in environmental justice: The Central Valley as a proof of concept
Jenny Suckale, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Jens Hainmueller, Daniel Ho
Biodiversity and people: Balancing socioeconomic development and conservation
Shripad Tuljapurkar, Gretchen Daily, Harman Jaggi, Wenyun Zuo, Alejandra Ochoa
Partnering with domestic and international players for more-effective energy-transition policies and financing in Indonesia and Vietnam
Thomas Heller and Jeff Ball
Achieving the human right to water in California
Sarah Fletcher, Jenna Davis, Khalid Osman, Barton Thompson
Western wildfire policy: From prescribed fire to public health
Chris Field, Marshall Burke, Michael Mastrandrea, Kari Nadeau, Deborah Sivas, Stefan Wager
A blue food transformation for the Pacific
Jim Leape, Fiorenza Micheli, Rosamond Naylor, Elizabeth Selig, Colette Wabnitz, Michelle Tigchelaar
Buildings in the energy transition
Adam Brandt, Ines Azevedo, Chris Field, Michael Mastrandrea, Deborah Sivas, Michael Wara
Stanford Sustainable Fertilizer Project
News
Learn more about research and activities focused on environmental justice.
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Stanford scientists discuss the social and environmental costs of mining sand from the ocean and sand’s role in climate adaptation.
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Negotiators met last week for a U.N. climate change conference marked by severe disagreement over how much wealthy nations owe developing nations to help decrease emissions and build climate resilience. Stanford experts discuss the conference’s outcome, how a potential Trump administration withdrawal from global climate talks might affect the U.S., and more.
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A new play combines science and art to raise awareness about overlooked climate impacts and spark conversations to identify solutions.
Environmental Justice Working Group
The Doerr School of Sustainability works in collaboration with the Environmental Justice Working Group. Learn more about the EJWG and their work to embed environmental justice into our research, teaching, and community-engagement at Stanford.