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Author: Emerald Cities Collaborative Staff    Published: 4/9/2024    Emerald Cities Collaborative

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Hello EJ/CJ Community Members!

Originally launched in 2022, The People’s Justice40+ Community Benefit Playbook is an organizing tool that provides a framework for communities to leverage the Justice40 Initiative and federal investments within the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and now the Inflation Reduction Act to achieve community benefits.

In the Playbook, you’ll find a breakdown of the Justice40 Initiative, an analysis of the federal funding process, and an overview of federal climate, economic, and infrastructure investments. You’ll also find five justice centered infrastructure playbooks–energy justice, water justice, economic justice, environmental and climate justice, and transportation justice–that take a deeper dive into some of the major issues plaguing low income, frontline, and fenceline communities. Through these infrastructure playbooks, communities can explore potential strategies for addressing community priorities and identify federal programs and funding opportunities that could meet community needs. To round out the Playbook, you’ll find examples of Community Benefit Agreements, Community Workforce Agreements, and Project Labor Agreements, as well as a step-by-step guide to creating a Community Benefit Plan that can help build community power to advocate for government resources that support the needs of the people.

The 2nd Edition of the Playbook expands on the first edition by providing an updated analysis of the Justice40 Initiative, an overview of the Inflation Reduction Act, and additional information and resources that provide facts and data on the issues your community may be facing and offer potential solutions to address community needs.

Download Playbook Here

In this quarterly update you’ll also find:

  • The Department of Energy also announced the SOLVE IT Prize Competition.
  • The White House released an updated list of Justice40 Covered Programs.
  • The Environmental Protection Network released a Suggested 6-Step Application Guide to applying for the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants.
  •  Additional Resources as well as Community Engagement and Learning Opportunities.
  • Regional Environmental Justice Grantmakers will provide subgrants to community-based nonprofits and other eligible subrecipients for assessment, planning, and project development activities. Subgrants through the Grantmakers are expected to become available by Summer 2024. More information on how to apply for these subgrants will be available soon. For now, find more information about your Regional Environmental Justice Grantmaker HERE.
  • Interested in how the Administration’s Agencies have been implementing Justice40 and incorporating Equity and Environmental Justice concerns into their Agency missions? Check out ECC’s quick reference guide here.

pcoming Community Listening and Engagement Calls and Learning Opportunities

Department of Transportation: Advisory Committee on Transportation (ACTE)

The ACTE was reestablished to advise the Secretary of Transportation on equity issues that center on four equity objectives–expanding access (to affordable and multimodal transportation options), power of community (to have voice in the transportation decisions that impact community members), interventions (to ensure communities benefit from transportation investments), and wealth creation (for small and disadvantaged businesses). The ACTE meets on the first Friday of every other month. You can find committee and subcommittee meeting registration information and materials here.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Tools and Resources Webinar Series

The EPA: Office of Research and Development is hosting monthly public webinars to discuss EPA research and share resources and information that may be helpful to states, territories, Tribes, and other entities, like communities. You can find a list of upcoming webinars and access previous webinars here.