Combating Environmental Impact
SCSJ’s Environmental Justice program supports communities — especially low-income communities and communities of color — as they fight pollution, harmful development, and the impacts of climate change.
Across the South, environmental injustice is pervasive and deeply rooted in history, causing long-lasting harm.
Our Work
Using a community-based lawyering approach, we provide long-term legal, research, and advocacy support that helps communities lead the fight for their health, environment, and future.
Advancing Community Health
We fight contamination and long-term pollution in water and air and from landfills to protect community health.
Building Climate Resilience
We help build resilience by promoting adaptive strategies and challenging false climate solutions.
Ensuring Energy Equity
We advocate for fair energy plans that take into account environmental justice issues and the hidden costs to these communities.
Zoning & Land Use
We work to promote equitable zoning practices and stop land use decisions that make inequalities worse.
Core Strategies
We strengthen community organizing by providing legal guides, toolkits, and resources that make complex systems easier to understand. Along with our legal expertise, we offer research and communications support to amplify community voices.
We give tailored guidance to communities facing environmental justice challenges, advise other advocacy organizations, and work with officials to find solutions without going to court when possible. We also advise decision-makers on how to meaningfully consider environmental justice concerns and input from impacted communities in policy decisions.
Litigation is sometimes the strongest way to enforce justice, set important precedents, and build momentum for future advocacy wins. SCSJ fills a critical gap by providing the expertise and capacity for rapid-response litigation when communities need it most.