Equity Project Spotlight: Sustainable CT

Jessica LeClair, Program Manager, Community Engagement and Outreach, Sustainable CT

At Sustainable CT we believe that our communities can thrive and truly be sustainable only when social equity is achieved; when people’s race, gender, zip code, etc. does not dictate their life outcome. Working toward social equity is a core tenet of the program, and in our ever-growing menu of sustainability best practices, it is our only required action. We’ve created an Equity Toolkit that walks communities through a process of intentional inclusion, to meaningfully engage those not usually at the table in municipal decision-making, and to co-create a solution that benefits all.  

 In late 2016, one-year before the launch of Sustainable CT, program staff were able to sit down with Sustainable State Network members at their annual convening in Racine, WI. The Sustainable CT framework was skeletal at that point, and we were eager for advice from the well-established programs of the Network. After three days together, the resounding answer to the question, “What would you do differently if you were starting your program today?” was to build in equity considerations into the actions asked of municipalities. So that’s what we did.  

 In 2017 we brought together an Equity Working Group to do a scan of all proposed actions in our program (for example, Implementing Complete Streets, Developing an Open Space Plan, and more). We built in text that encouraged equitable outcomes in our actions. We also drafted a separate action, Optimize for Equity. This action asks communities to use the Equity Toolkit to complete any other action in our program. For instance, a community may choose to apply the equity process as they assess their climate vulnerability, or run a community energy campaign, etc. Upon completion of the Equity Toolkit, we ask towns for a description of the process, who they connected with in the community, how they connected, what they learned, how they used what they learned to shape the outcome, and how they plan to use the Equity Toolkit in the future.  

 We have learned that this action, Optimize for Equity, is the most challenging in our program. By asking for a completion of a process, rather than an outcome, we’re asking municipalities to enter into the unknown. To help communities participating in Sustainable CT, we offer intensive training workshops and one-on-one equity coaching (generously supported by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation). Over the years many towns have utilized these supports, and some discuss their experiences during this short video.  

 We continue to listen and learn from towns as they complete this action. We continue to refine our messaging and support tools to better assist communities as they take on this important work. We are forever grateful to the SSN members who encouraged us to consider building equity into our program at the outset. We are a part of the shared learning journey within out state and within the Sustainable States Network itself. Any questions about Sustainable CT and our equity programming can be directed to Jessica LeClair (leclairj@easternct.edu).