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CARB Racial Equity Inventory

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On October 22, 2020, CARB adopted Resolution 20-33, establishing an explicit commitment to advance racial equity and social justice measures in all CARB actions. This directive guides much of CARB’s racial equity work. It also supports CARB’s efforts to address Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-16-22, which requires state entities to embed racial equity strategies in their work, in part by developing or updating strategic plans to promote equity and respond to identified disparities. As described in CARB’s Racial Equity Framework and Model for Change, a crucial element of CARB’s racial equity work is identifying, developing, and using data to drive organizational change.  

To help fulfill this commitment, CARB has partnered with UCSC-IST scholars as well as with the University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute to conduct a RE Inventory.   

The RE Inventory will have the following four phases over the next few years (2025-2027):  

  1. Gather data, research, and design a methodology to measure CARB actions on racial equity and environmental justice.  
  2. Implement a pilot with selected CARB division(s); then analyze and refine the methodology.  
  3. Implement and analyze an CARB wide inventory with actionable recommendations.  
  4. Share information and build staff capacity on strategies to embed racial equity and environmental justice.  

This process aims to meaningfully incorporate community perspectives. So, UCSC-IST scholars (in collaboration with CARB staff) are convening a Community Partner Workgroup– comprised of community leaders and racial equity and environmental justice experts – to help design the methodologies used for conducting the RE Inventory and provide feedback on final RE Inventory report to inform CARB’s future work. 

Preliminary results after pilot implementation concludes, will be shared publicly. A public final RE inventory report will also be made available at the end.  

CARB Racial Equity Inventory Community Partner Workgroup Members

  • Angel S. Fernandez-Bou, Senior Climate Scientist at Union of Concerned Scientists and President of the Board of Socio Environmental and Education Network (Merced County)
  • Nile Malloy, Climate Justice Director at Climate Justice Director at California Environmental Justice Alliance (San Diego County)
  • Lea Murray, Executive Director at Collaborising (Contra Costa County)
  • Mariela (Mary) Nambo-Ramirez, Environmental Justice Project Manager at Madera Coalition for Community Justice (Madera County)
  • Sergio Ojeda, Lead Artist/Communications Strategist at Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition (Imperial County)
  • Eloy Ortiz, Special Projects Manager at Regeneracion Pajaro Valley (Monterey/Santa Cruz County)
  • Alejandro Pulido, Growing Futures Manager at 4th Second (Solano County)
  • Jesse Ramirez, Director of Urban Planning at City Heights CDC (San Diego County)
  • Daniel Ress, Senior Attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment (Kern County)