“Our mission is to achieve environmental justice and healthy, sustainable communities through collective action and the law. CRPE is a national environmental justice organization providing legal, organizing, and technical assistance to grassroots groups in low-income communities and communities of color.”
Their work is constructed around four* major campaigns;
Sustainable Agriculture – Empowering grassroots groups to combat the adverse effects of the industrial agricultural industry
Climate Change And Energy – Addressing the disproportionate impact of climate change on low-income communities and communities of color
Community Investment And Infrastructure – Working with communities to hold public officials accountable for ensuring essential public services through community education and public policy advocacy training.
Toxics and The Environment – Fighting violation-prone toxic waste dumps and advocating for a just, state-wide policy to responsibly handle our waste while protecting civil rights and encouraging healthy communities.
Movement Building – CRPE is unique in how we carry out our mission of achieving environmental justice and sustainable health communities because of our model to develop community leaders.
CRPE believes in a “Theory of Change” where they operate with a mindset that “legal advocacy needs to be community based to be successful” CRPE represents the needs of the communities [they serve] and works directly with them to achieve their goals.
The Center on Race. Poverty and the Environment (CRPE) was founded in 1989 by Luke Cole and Ralph Abascal. Both attorneys represented predominantly low-income communities and clients from diverse backgrounds, such as farm workers, people of color, disabled persons, immigrants, and students.
Together, they created the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment “...to achieve environmental justice and healthy, sustainable communities through collective action and the law.”
Their service area is centralized in the California San Joaquin Valley, where there are heavily polluted communities due to the proximity of intense oil and gas production and the agricultural industry.
The counties in this region are ranked the lowest regarding income, education, and health outcomes.