Category: DEI

Who is at the Table? 2020 DEI Webinar Recording

WHO IS AT THE TABLE?

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
in Waste and Recycling
August 27, 2020

Presented by: The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA) in coordination with the NRC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council, the NCRA DEI Committee and the Ohio Recycling Coalition. Produced by Portia Sinnott, NCRA Vice President and Zero Waste USA Program Director.

Recording              Speaker Bios

This webinar’s objectives are to motivate the waste and recycling industry to actively explore and discuss DEI issues and initiatives, and inspire individuals and organizations to create their own mandates. We will address the issues via succinct introductory presentations with commentary, hold a robust intra-panel discussion and follow that with a lively Q&A session!

What does Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) mean in the Waste and Recycling Industry?

Are we leading the way or stumbling behind? Does anyone have a handle on the statistics? Has your business, agency or non-profit adopted DEI initiatives? Are they actively being implemented and tracked? Are the benefits clear to all involved? What factors are being addressed – age, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ability, language and/or cultural background? Does your actual workforce reflect these commitments – in front of the house: management/decision makers, as well as the back of the house: workforce/membership? Are there efforts underway to stimulate workforce training and advancement?

PANEL

  • INITIAL SLIDES
  • Moderator and Commentator, Arley Owens, Executive Director, Ohio Recycling Coalition, former NRC Board Member, organizing member of the NRC DEI Council, and former Chair of the NRC Communications Committee and the Minorities Recycling Council
  • DEI Introduction and Industry Situational Report, Sophia Huda, Vice President, Ohio Recycling Coalition, member of the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board and Adjunct Sustainability Professor, The New School, New York SLIDES
  • Developing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mandates, Faye Christoforo, Executive Director, Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) SLIDES
  • Sustainable And Safe Recycling, Alina Bekkerman, NCRA Board Member and San Francisco Conservation Corps, Program Manager and
    Felisia Castañeda, NCRA Member and Recology San Francisco
    Environmental Learning Center Supervisor SLIDES
  • Moving Forward Together, Abrilla Robinson, Vice President, Ohio Recycling Coalition’s and Chair of the Ohio Recycling Coalition’s newly created Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. Past President of the National Recycling Coalition Minorities Recycling Council and organizing member of the new NRC DEI Council.

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DEI Presentation Guidelines

NCRA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Presentation Guidelines
Developed in May 2020, updated in June 2022

The following guidelines are not intended to guarantee a product or piece of information is appropriate to all audiences. Rather, we hope that this document will serve as a point of reference and stimulate careful consideration by anyone preparing a presentation.

Some of them were gleaned from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), Cultural Considerations: Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Presentations. The article is well worth reading as are the resources presented there.

  1. Cross Cultural: Consider how different cultures may relate to your subject.
  2. Language and Literacy: Think about your audiences preferred languages – both spoken and signed, and literacy level.
  3. Diverse Perspectives: Use case studies, scenarios, or vignettes examples that reflect diverse perspectives.
  4. Build Connections: Aim to create a presentation that supports new or renewed connections and community-building.
  5. Positive Examples: Include positive examples from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Also include examples from urban, suburban, and rural frontier populations, as well as examples from U.S. territories and 
tribal communities.
  6. Diverse Data: Where available include statistics, demographic data or trends about racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse groups as appropriate or indicate where it is not available.
  7. Diverse Images: Portray images, graphics, and visual aids that both incorporate people with disabilities and reflect the culturally and ethnically diverse groups and communities in which they live. Avoid type casting.
  8. Resource Languages: Indicate whether the resources highlighted in your presentation are available in different languages.
  9. Honor Experience and Struggles: Recognize that many sustainable practices and norms today have been practiced for many generations and the roots of the Zero-Waste movement lie in the decades long experiences and struggles of communities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).
  10. Integrity: While giving your presentation, speak with integrity, avoid assumptions and generalizations.

NCRA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement

NCRA’s mission is to end waste, but our vision is broader. We strive for an equitable future that sustains ecosystems so they may provide benefits to all people – regardless of age, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ability, language, or cultural background. We know that climate and environmental justice are inherently tied to social justice and that systemic racism, and the resulting social, physical, and economic inequalities have significant impacts in the waste, reuse, and recycling industries. We seek to engage and elevate those most impacted by systemic racism as we cannot solve our most pressing environmental problems without listening to their voices, ideas and solutions.