350PDX exists to address capitalist and political systems where profits trump people, false climate solutions are written by those protected from climate chaos, and the climate movement is steeped in white supremacy culture. We solve these problems by centering the needs of frontline communities in our campaigns and programs, while being co-conspirators in the fight for social and racial justice.
350PDX is made up of several hundred active volunteers, thousands of action-takers and supporters, as well as a team of staff members and a Board of Directors (you can learn more about staff and board members here). We do much of our work through coalition and partnership with local, regional, and national groups, and aim for all our work to be by and for the community.
Our staff operate within a Staff Collective, non-hierarchical model. This means we have no executive director or inherent hierarchy within staff, and we use a process of collective decision-making and collaboration that engages norms for proactive communication and healthy, respectful conflict.
Our Values
350PDX is made up of a handful of staff and a few hundred volunteers who work collaboratively together to lead our teams and enact our values through our campaigns, programs, operations, and organizational culture. The following values were crafted intentionally, with care for our organization and community, and the intention to reflect lessons learned. Together we share the following values, upholding.
- Centering the Frontlines – Frontline communities are those that experience the climate crisis “first and worst.” The causes (racism, systemic oppression, fossil fuel extraction, runaway capitalism, etc.) and impacts (heat islands, air/water/soil pollution, rising sea levels, wildfires, intensified storms, etc.) of the climate crisis are usually experienced by people with marginalized identities like Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color (BIPOC), poor and low-income people, LGBTQ2SIA+ people, people with disabilities, rural communities, and migrants.The lived experiences of individuals and communities on the frontlines hold the best expertise to create solutions. Those that live at the intersections of the frontlines and other marginalized identities, are valued and included in decision-making spaces in the climate movement and 350PDX. Historically, the mainstream environmental movement, including 350PDX, has fallen short in its efforts to center the leadership of frontline communities. Moving forward, we commit to upholding this as our most important value in our campaigns and operations as we continue to progress in the movement.
- Radical Transparency – Often in organizing spaces and the non-profit industrial complex, leadership excludes those affected by decisions from the decision-making process. This can be used as a way to create power over others. In 350PDX’s past, we have seen a lack of transparency lead to high staff and volunteer turnover and burnt bridges. Moving forward, 350PDX will act in ways that make it easy for others to understand and engage in our work, and create collaborative and honest partnerships. Creating systems to dismantle hierarchical structures leads to more strategic campaigns, greater buy-in, and an open and inclusive movement.
- Accountability – We hold each other and our processes accountable to our mission, vision, and values. We know we will make mistakes, and when that happens we will listen, welcome conflict and critical feedback, and turn our mistakes into learning opportunities.
- Rest – Fighting injustice and challenging structures of oppression is emotionally difficult work. We will need one another for the long haul, so we take care of ourselves and those around us. To ensure a resilient movement we prioritize taking rest, making space to process our emotions, and knowing when to say no, so we can be fully present when we say yes. In a capitalist society where our self-worth is defined by our capacity to put productivity above all else, taking rest is a radical act that allows us space to heal, imagine and invent.
- Anti-Racism –We cannot fully address the climate crisis without fighting against racial injustice. Racism and oppression are key pillars that uphold the extractive economy causing the climate crisis, therefore 350PDX and our climate justice campaigns can only be successful if we actively work to dismantle racial oppression and white supremacy. We recognize that anti-racism work is a lifelong journey; we take this to be core to climate justice and embed it into everything we do.“Anti-racism is the active process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies and practices and attitudes, so that power is redistributed and shared equitably.” – NAC International Perspectives: Women and Global Solidarity
“Anti-racism is the active, on-going process of dismantling systems of racial inequity and creating new systems of racial equity. Anti-racism demands that this work be done at internal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels in order to effectively address systemic racism.” – CommunityWise Resource Centre
- Creativity & Adaptability – We believe in creativity as a balm for despair. We’re flexible to the needs of the movement and the organization as times and situations rapidly change. Amidst periods of intensity, change, or urgency, we creatively adapt while remaining grounded in our values, always striving to choose the most sustainable and equitable path forward.
These values updated March 2021.
Our Goals
Stop the bad
Fossil fuel infrastructure is halted with/through a Just Transition lens
Build the good
Local and state governments support a Just Transition
Build the movement
Grassroots activism is widespread, accessible & cool
Broaden the movement
The climate justice movement is advanced in strong coalition with social justice groups & trade unions/labor
Climate justice education
Hearts & minds educated on just transition & racial justice
Healthy, welcoming organization
An inclusive, transparent, & compassionate organization
Our Vision
We envision a future where international agreements and public policies, at all levels of government, have kept most of the known fossil fuels reserves in the ground; where, by mid-century, emissions from the burning of fossil fuels have reached zero, allowing natural processes in soils and forests to absorb excess carbon from our atmosphere, bringing it steadily down to levels safe for our children, grandchildren and all life on earth.
We envision a future with enlightened social, political and economic systems prioritizing renewable energy use and increasing energy efficiency while creating quality family-wage jobs in building a fossil-free economy; where low-income communities are no longer disproportionately suffering the effects of climate change; and where sustaining life and the needs of communities take precedence over corporate profits, leading to a healthy world with thriving and resilient communities.
A Deeper Dive
What a mission statement gains from being short and snappy, it loses in being able to dive deeper into the nuance and ideas behind the careful word choice. So here we’ve expanded out what we really mean by our mission statement:
Our mission is to build a diverse grassroots movement to address the causes of climate disruption through justice-based solutions by inspiring, training and mobilizing people to act.
Build a diverse, grassroots movement – Diverse cultural and social experiences give us a broader and better view and are essential for creating a just society. Recognizing this, our leadership is trained to create an inclusive and anti-oppressive organizing home, where your whole self will be appreciated. We know that solutions created by those impacted first and worst by the climate crisis are the only solutions that can truly stop the root of the crisis. Grassroots means people-power, or a bottom-up approach to organizing.
Grassroots = a people-powered, bottom-up approach to organizing where people come together to fight for a common cause, often against powerful interests, to win lasting change that directly improves people’s lives. The key tenet of grassroots organizing is that the people most affected by a problem are the ones who are best poised to solve that problem, and thus true grassroots organizing centers the leadership and expertise of those most impacted by the problem at hand.
To address the root causes of climate disruption – Historically, mainstream narratives around climate change were not about righting its root causes of racial, economic, or social injustice, but focused on greenhouse gas emissions broadly, and the preservation of land/species while maintaining inequitable power structures. The causes of climate disruption are the same root causes as other environmental, social, economic and racial injustices. It is the extractive economy that both extracts resources and exploits people (read our resources on our What is Climate Justice web page for more info, that includes this video]. We work on systemic change rather than individual behavior change. With just 90 companies causing 2/3rds of global greenhouse gas emissions, we put pressure on politicians, industries and businesses to change the systems people live in, so that the easiest choice (and perhaps the only choice) for everyone is the sustainable and equitable one.
Through justice-based solutions – We center the leadership of communities that are hit by the climate crisis first and worst – Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and low-income communities – as those on the front lines of climate change best understand justice-based solutions. We recognize the following as some examples of justice-based solutions:
- Portland Clean Energy Fund
- Oregon Just Transition Alliance’s Green New Deal
- Movement for Black Lives policy platform
- Cooperation Jackson’s Sustainable Communities Initiative
- PAALF’s People’s Plan
- Living Cully
- Standing Rock
By inspiring, training and mobilizing people to act – True power lies in the people. We are our greatest resource. 72% of Oregonians believe solving climate change requires us to change our way of life. We focus on mobilizing the masses who are concerned about the climate crisis and enraged over acts of injustice. We inspire each other to act, teach and learn together, and identify opportunities to engage in real, meaningful, effective action that will fully address the climate crisis, and bring about a just and equitable future for all.
Why 350?
350.org was founded in 2008 by a group of university friends along with author Bill McKibben, who wrote one of the first books on global warming for the general public, with the goal of building a global climate movement.
350PDX is a local group affiliated with 350.org (in other words, we’re friends), but we are a completely separate organization in that we make all of our own decisions, set our own campaign priorities and do all our own fundraising. We were founded in 2013.
The number 350 comes from the scientific safe upper limit of how many parts per million of carbon dioxide should be in the atmosphere (in other words, for every million particles of the oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, etc. that make up air, a maximum of 350 particles should be carbon dioxide). Before the industrial revolution that number was roughly 270. We are currently at around 415, meaning we are overstepping this important planetary boundary and need to stop emitting greenhouse gases and bring that number back down to 350 or below as fast as possible.
350PDX is a non-discriminatory organization that seeks to support and empower all those working within a diverse and inclusive climate justice movement. For that reason we adhere to both the letter and the spirit of applicable laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic prohibited by law. We actively strive to create a space of equity and trust for all who wish to contribute to our goals and welcome those who can teach us how to do this better. Any concerns about misconduct are received and dealt with seriously.
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