Our Values:
- We believe in intergenerational people power. We know that the source of our power is the grassroots, and the only way we can win a livable future for all is if we build a social movement strong enough to overpower the most profitable and influential companies the world has ever seen. And we know that we can best tackle this multi-generational challenge if we engage multi-generational leadership. When we combine the passion, perspective, and energy of our youth leaders with the wisdom, connections, and experience of our community leaders, we have a winning formula for change.
- We believe in partnerships. We know that we are not in this fight alone and cannot win this fight alone. We seek to build powerful coalitions of climate groups and other progressive organizations that collectively work toward common goals related to climate, jobs, and justice. This ultimately will build a broader network of relationships and support for our climate and clean energy priorities, and advance the goals of justice and equity that are essential to lasting democratic change.
- We believe in equity and justice. We know that climate change is an issue that intersects with ecological, social, racial, economic, indigenous, and immigrant justice. As we seek to address climate change and the impacts of fossil fuels, we seek to advance equity and justice in our campaigns and in our internal operations and show up in solidarity for these other movements’ priorities as our capacity allows.
- We believe in science. We know that there are people who have dedicated their careers to studying the impacts of climate pollution, and we think that policies that address pollution reduction and advance clean energy should be driven by our best understanding of the latest climate science. We also believe it is our responsibility to speak to, and advocate for, policies and goals based on this science, whether or not such actions are seen as politically realistic in the short-term. We are also committed to transparency when, in the interest of setting a precedent or achieving an interim victory, we support bills or policies that fall short of these standards.
Our Principles:
- We are persistent, nonviolent, and principled. We do not shy away from confronting the powers that be in support of our mission, but we do so in ethical ways that affirm our values and reflect the world we want to see.
- We follow norms of democratic accountability. We know that for a people-powered movement to succeed, we have to invest in and believe in our base, and use democratic principles and processes to guide our big decisions. We ensure that all of our volunteer networks have internal systems for democratic accountability, and we make sure that all major decisions for each network are deliberated and approved by elected volunteer leadership. We also make sure that volunteer and student leaders are represented on our board, are involved in staff hiring decisions, and have opportunities to provide feedback on staff performance.
- We invest in building power and empowering new leaders. We cannot win this fight without activating and engaging more people to fight climate change and its effects. Knowing this, we invest in our people-powered movement through deliberate recruitment, storytelling, trainings, mentorship, authentic leadership opportunities, and the creation of new structures for volunteer engagement.
- We listen to and lift up frontline leadership. We recognize that those most impacted by climate pollution and other harmful activities of the fossil fuel industry are often able to share the most powerful and compelling stories around its harms, and have unique wisdom around the necessary structure of solutions. As a result, we seek to build relationships with organizations that represent and are led by these constituencies so that we can seek out their guidance and opinions and lift up their voices, and where possible, partner with them to design and execute campaigns. We also recognize the need to invite frontline participation at the earliest possible stage of the campaign-development process to ensure that feedback can be authentically addressed and incorporated.
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