At Ecosphere+, our values underlie everything we do. We promote a model of environmental conservation focused on inclusivity and equality by supporting marginalized communities in tropical regions around the world. As a proudly certified BCorp, we join an alliance that believes positive action from business can help to tackle our largest global challenges. “By harnessing the power of business, B Corps use profits and growth as a means to a greater end: positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment.”
We by no means think this is the end of the road for Ecosphere+, but the start of a conversation. Being part of this community helps us to ask the tough questions, holds us accountable to best practice guidance on corporate governance and emboldens us to be a part of building a diverse, fair and sustainable economy. For every business, not just BCorps, the B Lab ‘Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Best Practice Guides’ is a great resource to make meaningful progress on building an equitable, diverse and inclusive workforce.
While this matters to us as individuals, its fundamental to our business: environmental justice cannot be achieved without social justice. We cannot talk about sustainability, climate change and resilience, without talking about race. It is an overwhelming fact that minority communities across the globe are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation, from race being the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in the US, to small island developing states in the Caribbean and Pacific sitting at the forefront of climate impacts such as hurricanes and sea level rise. Globally, colonialism and subsequent capitalism driven resource extraction has predominately been at the expense of indigenous people and racial minorities. To tackle issues of climate change and environmental degradation, we must first dismantle systemic racism and marginalisation. This starts with all of us, in our personal and professional lives.
While there’s so much we will never fully understand, we know that any movement to a sustainable economy must be equitable, and that solutions crafted from just one point of view are far from resilient. At Ecosphere+, we will continue to champion this message throughout all our work, publicly and in the moments in between. Reflecting on a field so lacking in ethnic diversity, we will use our platform to amplify black voices. We have a unique opportunity and responsibility to promote minority expertise, stories and ideas. There is so much to be said, and a lot of listening to do.
