For Immediate Release: November 12, 2020
Contact: Daniel Herrera, dherrera@rabengroup.com, 213-694-3353
Audubon Society Allegations Are a Moment for Aggressive Introspection in the Environmental Movement
Washington, D.C — The Executive Director of Green 2.0, Andrés Jimenez, issued the following statement after news reports detailed allegations of “a culture of retaliation, fear and antagonism toward women and people of color” within the leadership ranks of the National Audubon Society. Audubon is one of the oldest environmental organizations dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats.
“Audubon is not the first environmental organization to face allegations of racial inequity and most likely will not be the last,” Jimenez said. “The responsibility of creating a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion falls on the leadership of every organization. It should never be the burden of employees of color to have to fight uphill battles and face intimidation or harassment in order to accomplish something as fundamental as equal treatment and transparent processes for accountability.”
“Other environmental organizations should take this moment to reflect on their current hiring practices and internal work culture. Organizational change is often inspired from the bottom-up, but it is not successful unless the C-suites and boardrooms buy into that vision and agree to power-sharing and accountability. We hope to see continued progress and concrete actions from these organizations to represent all the communities they serve through their own leadership.”
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Green 2.0 is a 501(c)3 independent advocacy campaign to increase racial diversity among environmental organizations. Green 2.0 believes in a powerful, winning environmental movement grounded in equity and inclusion. Follow Green 2.0. on Twitter and Facebook.