Letter from our CEO

December 2022

At Better World Group we have the great privilege of working on projects and campaigns that are setting us on the path toward a more just and sustainable clean energy future. 2022 was a banner year for advancing community-driven, equity-focused policy and planning. 

Take, for example, California’s landmark rule passed this year which bars the sale of new internal combustion-powered cars sold in the state by 2035. We led the Clean Cars Campaign, a relentless and committed coalition of advocates from community-based, science, environmental and business groups. Our coalition pushed for an aggressive transition away from fossil fuels that will also accelerate benefits for the most vulnerable communities who bear the brunt of health and climate impacts from a petroleum-based economy. Our advocacy efforts and ability to work inside and outside the state agencies making these decisions resulted in a groundbreaking policy that we hope will soon be adopted by more than a dozen other states. BWG is helping to lead coalition efforts across the country to accelerate the use and broaden the benefits of electric vehicles by communities of all income levels.

Better World Group has a storied history of shaping California’s most ambitious environmental legislation. We know from first-hand experience that truly transformative efforts usually start with a scrappy team of advocates driving to secure policies that match the urgency of the climate and public health threats facing our communities. This year we partnered with the Resources Legacy Fund to organize the first-of-its-kind working group of clean air, workers’ rights, tribal representatives, and public health experts to create a blueprint for wildfire resilience that sets policy goals and a structure for continued collective action. Some early wins include advocacy for increased wildfire funding in the state budget and media awareness about the value of prescribed tribal burns and the effects of wildfire on farm workers in English and Spanish press.   

We’ve had the good fortune to work with government agencies that realize community involvement is essential to making climate and environmental plans equitable and inclusive. We worked with the California Natural Resources Agency to engage community members in envisioning how future infrastructure and development plans for the Salton Sea can directly benefit local residents. After leading workshops and convening conversations across the region, we are helping to incorporate ideas from the community into tangible plans that state officials will use to revitalize the area and ensure that investments bring much-needed quality jobs, broadband access, and transportation infrastructure.

Our growing portfolio of racial and climate-justice based projects focus on ensuring that planning to address climate impacts is culturally appropriate and centers communities that have been historically overlooked. We are also celebrating the arrival of a new team member who will expand our work on energy, equity, and ensure our transition toward renewable energy conserves and preserves critical open space and habitat. In this season of gratitude and reflection, we are thankful to be on the frontlines with community and public sector leaders committed to our vision of a thriving democracy, and a free, just, and sustainable society worthy of future generations. We look forward to continuing to build a better world alongside our partners in the new year and beyond.