编者注意：本篇文章中出现的意见和结论不一定代表英特尔的位置。
2020年成为美国文化的清算through the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the ominous storms in the east and the apocalyptic wildfires of the west. We are inherently linked through our biology, ecology, economy, the legacy of white supremacy and oppression. Now is the time to shake the foundation of how we operate as a society. Systemic racism infiltrates every aspect of who we are and how we interact with each other.
Sustainability centers around leaving the world a better place for the next generation. This implicitly covers all people with no qualifiers. However, sustainability practices have notoriously catered to the wants and needs of the wealthier majority, while excluding the most vulnerable communities by lack of engagement and practice. Sustainability must become synonymous with racial equity.
But how?
First, say the words.“种族司法。”“种族股权。”“歧视”。感到不舒服。谴责白色至上。如果你不认为它存在，educate yourself。Noted author贝弗利丹尼尔塔姆reminds us, "It is important to understand that the system of advantage is perpetuated when we do not acknowledge its existence." A recent example from the New York Times includes a biracial couple living in an affluent neighborhood who received asubstantially lower home appraisal— until they removed their family photos of the Black wife and white husband. On Oct. 7, the Chicago Times reported that a Black resident experienced a$60,000 difference in an appraisalbecause of her race. This discrimination extends to healthcare and environmental harm. AJune medical studylinks air pollution and extreme heat from climate change to pregnancy risk that disproportionately affects Black women.
现在是我们为更环保，可居住的未来进行这种愿景的基石。
第二，问谁受到影响，什么可能出错？We need to dismantle the standard paradigm that designs sustainable products and services only for the top 1 percent. "Intent isn’t as important as impact," explain diversity experts项目墨迹。例如，designers made medical grade face masks for white menand many don’t fit women very well. The nursing profession isdominated by 91 percent women。掩码问题说明了清晰的设计断开连接。另一个例子是2017年研究Naacp和清洁空中工作组that showed that African-American citizens are 75 percent more likely to live in a "fence-line" community that borders a toxic industrial facility. Companies must consider these types of impacts moving forward and minimize harm toBlack, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC)社区。以时尚，有处理几十年来批判批评可怕的工作条件，我们需要更多品牌，不仅提供可持续的采购服装（从回收的材料到公平的劳动力），而且还以经济实惠的价格销售。
Third,act on the input from BIPOC communities.All aspects of sustainability including community development, building design and product engineering require user input. Urban planners need to have affected communities at the table, not simply to "approve" projects, but also to advocate for their needs. Manufacturers of green products must serve BIPOC communities and affirmatively reach out to ask how they can be better partners. It’s not enough to hear feedback; sustainability leaders need to act on the on BIPOC communities’ advice, needs and requests. And then they need to repeat steps 1 through 3 and keep learning. More voices in sustainability and more awareness on how to support racial equity will translate into better design, services and products. With this in mind, we can heed the words of Maya Angelou: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
现在是我们为更环保，可居住的未来进行这种愿景的基石。当一个人认为对环境威胁的文献进行了审查的文献时，原因变得清晰。大多数人口是黑色，土着和颜色人民的社区遭受更多的环境伤害，而不是白人社区yet tend to be excluded from reforms. Yes, economics plays an important role,but race is a stronger factor。Similar to the impacts of COVID-19, pollution disproportionately affects BIPOC communities. This reality iswhy poll after poll shows that BIPOC communities care moreabout climate change and strongly support action.
Talking about racial equity in sustainability is easy, but implementing it requires more than a perspective change。Business leaders, elected officials and educators must commit to a different way of working. From selling green cosmetics in local drugstores to building energy efficient structures in BIPOC neighborhoods, we must intentionally advance racial equity. If we get it right, this new movement for equity in sustainability can snowball by not only providing a "cooling effect" for climate change but also resulting in thriving, healthy, equitable communities.
