University of Arizona
IN-39: Sustainability Office Diversity Program

At the Office, we uphold the University’s commitment to creating an inclusive work environment and refute all forms of inequity and discrimination in our workplace. We value all campus and community partners and their contributions to promoting diversity, innovative problem-solving, and the development of sustainability broadly. We recognize the interconnections between social and environmental justice, and how Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are disproportionately affected by systemic racism and the climate crisis. Historically, BIPOC have not had equitable access to environmental resources or sustainability spaces and have been excluded from environmental decision-making.

To foster diversity and ensure accessibility in our programs, when recruiting new talents, we do not require prior experience or knowledge in sustainability and commit to providing all the background required to each new hire that joins our team. We also promote the respect of personal boundaries and understand that every step in the right direction is the right step. Activism takes many forms. We do not judge or castigate. Instead, we choose to focus on small, positive actions that people can take in their own lives right now. We focus on solutions and messaging that are equitable and accessible to all. We encourage people to take baby steps and never shut anyone down because they have done something “unsustainable”. Keeping in mind that not everyone can purchase “green” items, follow a plant-based diet, or become bike commuters/public-transit users.

Finally, to improve pay equity and competitive wages, as well as to increase retention of our talents and mitigate inflation, in FY22 we implemented a $15 internal minimum wage for all new student employees and a $20 internal minimum wage for all new part- or full-time staff members.

https://arizona.box.com/s/t4qdle7wtofoq07gms5p1186v46q4gx3. 

Preventing Harassment and Discrimination training: "prepares learners to cultivate and maintain a workplace culture resistant to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Employees will be equipped with the information and skills that promote intervention, empathy, and allyship"

Introduction to Environmental and Social Sustainability: Videos from The Breakdown: Episode 1-5 (~45 minutes) Playlist: https://www.earthrise.studio/earthrise-originals/the-breakdown  ‍

• Episode 1 – Climate Change: How We Got Here - 7 min.
• Episode 2 – Climate Denial: 50 Years of Lies & Misinformation – 10 min.
• Episode 3 – Climate Crisis: Nine Years Left To Avoid Disaster – 9 min.
• Episode 4 – Climate Justice: An Unequal World – 9 min.
• Episode 5 – Climate Solutions: What You Can Do – 8 min.

Videos from Project Drawdown: Units 1-6 (~1.5 hours) Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwYnpej4pQF7UPnt0nkZEa8sxR9TmWR1B 

• Unit 1 – Setting the Stage – 13 min.
• Unit 2 – Stopping Climate Change – 16 min.
• Unit 3 – Reducing Sources – 23 min.
• Unit 4 – Supporting Sinks and Improving Society – 13 min.
• Unit 5 – Putting it all Together – 9 min.
• Unit 6 – Making it Happen – 14 min.

Supplemental Resources (not required but educational) 

• • Climate Change Glossary https://www.npws.net/blog/climate-change-glossary 
  • Climate change in the Sonoran Desert https://www.nps.gov/articles/climate-change-in-the-sonoran-desert.htm
  • Social justice and climate crisis https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2022/09/21/how-colonialism-spawned-and-continues-to-exacerbate-the-climate-crisis/ 

This onboarding document also shows some DEI training allocated to our employees: https://arizona.box.com/s/2btcp6th6ub57m3ewe7ovnwrjj8hwigw 

The Office of Sustainability supports many programs in collaboration with programs and organizations that support underrepresented groups. The Campus Sustainability Fund has two grants of 5,000 each that are reserved for indigenous focused projects. This is done in collaboration with the Agnese Nelms Haury program (https://www.haury.arizona.edu/): "the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice supports people and innovative collaborations between the University of Arizona and community organizations that improve water resilience, with particular emphasis on the water access and quality challenges that face Native American and Indigenous people" 

The Office of Sustainability also helped to coordinate and fund the ExtraVAGanza Project (https://sustainability.arizona.edu/projects/extravaganza-project) that provides menstrual cups and washable cloth menstrual pads for free to students on campus. This is done in collaboration with the Agnese Nelms Haury program and the Campus Pantry which provides free food and hygiene products to students on campus.

Similarly, the Office of Sustainability works with the Women and Gender Resources Center (https://wgrc.arizona.edu/) to provide a "Feminist Pharmacy". This is a program that provides tampons, pads, liners, various condoms, lube, and pregnancy tests for free.