As a predominantly white organization in a historically white movement, we recognize that it will take time, dedicated learning, listening, relationship-building and transforming if we want to meaningfully shift the structural inequities inherent in the larger systems that drive the “throw-away society.”

So while we are committed to sparking sustainable and just solutions, we are also committed to the real work of meaningful change. This work includes public commitment, metrics and accountability toward our goals, and ongoing learning, relationship-building, and allyship. The following reflects these commitments, which are a work in progress, as this work and our learning is ever-evolving and never finished. 

Our Journey

The environmental movement has historically been a white movement, with an emphasis on developing policies that cater to white communities. As a new reuse movement launches within the broader environmental movement, it will be essential for reuse activists, organizations, and community groups to recognize the importance of embracing and incorporating equity and justice values into their work. Upstream is no exception. 

Upstream was founded by leaders in the US and Canadian Zero Waste movements who were inspiring, accomplished people, but they all came from similar backgrounds - white, college-educated, relatively affluent, politically progressive, and passionate about saving the environment. Oftentimes, Upstream found itself filling a position, contractor role, or board member position with a person that already looked a lot like everyone else in the organization, with all the same attributes. 

Once recognized, there was a strong desire to become a multicultural organization representing a diversity of people, background, and experiences - but, we didn’t have a plan. And we didn’t have the right policies or even a shared sense of “why” it was important to do so. 

So, in 2018, we hired a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultant to help with staff training, hiring and external policies. In 2019 and 2020, we began looking at white supremacy culture habits within our team as we also sought to widen the demographic and experiential diversity of our staff, board, consultants and project partners. For 2021, we codified our commitments into practices to which we hold ourselves accountable as part of our staff evaluation and strategic planning processes. 

Four years after beginning our equity and justice journey, Upstream has now prioritized reviewing and updating its existing policies to ensure we’re upholding our commitment of being a multicultural organization. In addition, we are reviewing our overall team culture to understand how we can foster a more inclusive and diverse environment for our employees and external stakeholders alike. This work has been spearheaded by the newly developed internal Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (JEDIA) Committee. Moving forward, the JEDIA Committee will be responsible for leading the strategic planning for all equity and justice work - with the long-term goal of becoming an anti-racist organization.