Building a bridge over turbulent waters: An equality impact assessment co-production approach to developing an environmental justice framework for the UK and beyond

There is increasing recognition that the environmental crisis places disproportionate burdens on already marginalised communities. It is also increasingly clear that environmental sustainability policies can increase inequality if not accompanied by broader policy measures to address inequalities. To seek to address these environmental inequalities, it is vital that the communities most impacted are at the centre of providing just environmental solutions that don’t further disadvantage them. Thinking beyond the silos of disciplines and creating better nexus between inclusive approaches, equality legislation and the environment is key to addressing climate injustice and environmental inequalities. This paper details findings of research underpinned by an innovative interdisciplinary approach undertaken by the authors in 2023. This distinctive approach has provided an evidence base to develop a novel co-produced Environmental Justice Framework for the public and private sector across a sub-region of the UK. Underpinned by existing theory and practice around equality impact assessments (within the UK context), environmental justice and co-production principles, the authors present a Framework which encourages a new interdisciplinary justice centred approach to environmental sustainability decision making. It is argued that this approach (which encourages context based application) could be usefully developed to provide a globally accessible framework for environmental justice.