Groundtruth: Valuing Lived Experience and Fostering Meaningful Community Engagement

The Biden-Harris administration has placed an unprecedented federal focus on environmental justice using a whole of government approach, including issuing executive orders demanding accountability and action from a broad list of federal agencies and requiring input from impacted communities. In the 12th episode of "Groundtruth," Associate Hilary Jacobs (Washington, DC) meets with Ebony Griffin, an Environmental Justice Advocate with Earthjustice, for a focused conversation about environmental justice and community engagement. They also discuss how regulators and companies can meaningfully engage with impacted communities to address environmental justice concerns. 

"It's so important that we get to a point where we collectively understand that there's a need to protect the environment and public health, and there is a need for advancement in industrialization, and we have to figure out a way to do those things together in a way that's protective of all the things we need to be protective of.

— Ebony Griffin

“Groundtruth” is a podcast series, produced in partnership with the Environmental Law Institute’s People Places Planet Podcast, that explores EJ trends and developments. Listen to other “Groundtruth” episodes:

• Episode 1: “New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law”
• Episode 2: “State Stories – Passing Environmental Justice Legislation”
• Episode 3: “All of Industry – Corporate Approaches to Advancing Environmental Justice”
• Episode 4: “Operationalizing Environmental Justice”
• Episode 5: "Environmental Justice in 2022 - Perspectives From EPA"
• Episode 6: "Meet EJ Leader & Advocate, Ben Wilson"
• Episode 7: "EJ & ESG, Intersected"
• Episode 8: "17 Principles of Environmental Justice—30 Years Later"
• Episode 9: "Environmental Justice in the International Arena"
• Episode 10: "Implementing New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law"
• Episode 11: "Cultural Burns as Tools for Wildfire Prevention and Indigenous Healing"

Beveridge & Diamond Associate Hilary Jacobs (Washington, DC) also led the content development for this episode. Follow The Environmental Law Podcast on Spotify or your preferred podcast app. To receive B&D’s updates on EJ developments and trends, subscribe to our email list here or follow us on LinkedIn at #bdlawEJ.