Social Impact
We believe that every person deserves access to healthy food, clean air, and clean water. We are committed to our work with social impact including racial justice, equality, equity, inclusion, a celebration of Pride, and diversity a central part of our focus, our work, our communications, and our conversations. We understand that this requires consistent and sustained effort, and we know and acknowledge that we have not been doing enough to achieve real change. We are elevating our efforts to broaden representation in our work and to ensure that we are inclusive.
Social Impact Work
ESMC strives to be an inclusive, equitable, and diverse organization that values belonging, a balance of opinions and backgrounds, and the strength that comes from diverse constituents and employees. We will incorporate our diversity, equity, and inclusion values into our planning and actions. In alignment with the USDA’s definition of Historically Underserved Farmers and Ranchers, ESMC is dedicated to ensuring that equitable access to all programming, employment, and contractual opportunities is rendered to the following producer groups:
- Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
- American Indians and Alaskan Natives
- Asians
- Blacks and African Americans
- Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders
- Hispanics
- Veteran Farmers and Ranchers
- Limited Resource Farmers and Ranchers
- Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
Current Work
ESMC hosts a Social Impact Working Group to help guide its work. The Working Group developed the governing themes and key milestones listed below to assess progress towards real change through ESMC’s work, both in the short term and beyond. These governing themes and key milestones were developed in alignment with ESMC’s current strategic and business priorities and are considered iterative and will thus be updated regularly.
Governing Themes
- CAPACITY BUILDING – Build programmatic efforts that assess capacity needs, provide access to information, facilitation, and empowerment, and foster technical advancement for Historically Underserved producer communities.
- FINANCIAL SUPPORT – Broaden Historically Underserved producer communities’ access to adequate and equitable financing.
- OUTREACH – Ensure equitable ESMC outreach efforts to Historically Underserved producer communities via grassroots efforts and key partnerships.
- RESEARCH – Conduct social science research designed to understand challenges and develop solutions to increase engagement and program enrollment opportunities for Historically Underserved producer communities.
- PARTICIPATION – Increase Historically Underserved producer communities’ participation in EcoHarvest.
- ENABLEMENT – Train Historically Underserved producer communities to engage in EcoHarvest, including as channel partners to identify, enroll and provide appropriate technical assistance for scaled program participation.
Key Milestones
- Increase historically underserved producer participation in EcoHarvest by developing targeted outreach to these populations.
- Broaden BIPOC producer access to necessary and equitable financing by:
- Increasing capacity building to support and engage Historically Underserved producers in ecosystem service market programs.
- Increasing market and buyer access to goods and services from Historically Underserved producers.
- Facilitating premium payments for ecosystem service outcomes generated by Historically Underserved producers.
- Developing opportunities to finance the upfront costs of implementing agricultural conservation practices for Historically Underserved BIPOC producers.
- Increase BIPOC representation in ESMC’s membership and decision-making by:
- Identifying and recommending two additional ESMC Founding Circle members from BIPOC-led or -serving organizations to serve as voting members. These members are responsible for approving a multi-year, multi-million-dollar research program to develop ecosystem services markets.
- Ensure equitable ESMC outreach efforts to underserved producers, vendors, partners, and stakeholders by:
- Posting all ESMC jobs and RFPs on boards that market to BIPOC candidates and contractors in the agriculture and food sectors.
- Continuing cross-collaboration with other ESMC member and stakeholder groups committed to racial justice and inclusion.
- Amplifying the voices of underserved-led and -serving organizations by supporting at least one mainstage agriculture sector event each year.
- Routinely communicating with ESMC stakeholders our support and commitment to open, inclusive dialogue to better hear and understand the lived experiences and realities of those who are and have been oppressed, and for whom equality is not and has never been a reality in the U.S. agriculture sector.
