EJ Scorecard and EPA
On January 2021, President Biden’s Executive Order 14008 – Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad stated agencies must make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by developing programs, policies, and activities to address the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related, and other cumulative impacts on disadvantaged communities, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts.
As outlined in the Executive Order, the Environmental Justice Scorecard was developed in collaboration with the Executive Office of the President and with the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council (IAC) and guided by recommendations by the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), with input by environmental justice stakeholders.
On this page:
Overview
The Environmental Justice Scorecard is the first government-wide assessment of Federal agencies' efforts to advance environmental justice. The Environmental Justice Scorecard will evolve over time, with the goal of creating a robust and comprehensive assessment of the Federal Government's efforts to secure environmental justice for all.
The first version of the Scorecard, known as Phase One, was released in April 2023. It established a baseline for the federal government's efforts to secure environmental justice, including efforts to advance the Justice40 Initiative. The Environmental Justice Scorecard was updated to Phase Two in July 2024. Over time, it will show how the Administration’s actions are making meaningful changes in communities.
Environmental Justice Scorecard for EPA
The Environmental Justice Scorecard for EPA provides transparency and accountability as the Agency continues to advance equity and justice efforts, over time, as a central focus for EPA’s mission. It focuses on the following areas:
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Progress on Advancing Environmental Justice
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Environmental and Civil Rights Protection
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Centering Environmental Justice in Decision-Making
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Institutionalizing Environmental Justice
The Environmental Justice Scorecard is not comprehensive of all of EPA’s efforts but rather provides an introduction to the Agency’s ongoing work and commitment to advance equity and justice.
Resources
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Sign up for EPA EJ Listserv by sending a blank email to: join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov
Environmental Justice at EPA
EPA’s efforts on environmental justice go beyond Justice40. Examples of how we continue to advance environmental justice include:
- EPA updated the 2003 Public Involvement Policy with the 2024 Achieving Health and Environmental Protection through EPA's Meaningful Engagement Policy, shared for public comment in November 2023.
- Per Executive Order 14096, the EPA developed the EJ Clearinghouse, a online database comprised of culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible materials, developed in FY 2023 and published November 2023.
- For the first time, EPA’s final Strategic Plan includes a new strategic goal focused solely on addressing climate change and an unprecedented goal to advance environmental justice and external civil rights compliance. EPA’s Strategic Plan deepens the agency's commitment to protecting human health and the environment for all people, with an emphasis on historically overburdened and underserved communities. Through all of these environmental justice efforts, we will continue working with our federal, state, tribal, local and community partners to deliver more benefits to communities that need them the most.
- EPA’s Equity Action Plan fulfills President Biden’s Executive Order 13985 directing EPA, along with other federal agencies, to assess whether underserved communities and their members face systemic barriers in accessing benefits and opportunities through the federal government. EPA addressed barriers of access to information and resources affecting rural communities, protecting children from exposure to environmental contaminants, removing barriers of access and addressing disparities affecting people with disabilities, and building capacity to assess equity and remove barriers faced by communities with environmental justice concerns.