“The environmental sector suffers from an alarming amount of whiteness,” says Patrick King, the sustainability education manager of local nonprofit Urban Green Lab. “There’s a perception that it’s a space only for affluent white folks, when in reality, when you look at the numbers, the overwhelming majority of people who believe in climate change and believe that things have to be done around climate change are Black and brown.”

Voting with our dollar and buying into eco-friendly companies may become even more important in Nashville, as many of our landfills are set to fill up and close in the next few years. Todd Lawrence, executive director of nonprofit Urban Green Lab, says the organization educates residents about Metro’s priorities, like the current Solid Waste Master Plan, which “will serve as a roadmap to achieving Zero Waste over the next 30 years,” according to Metro’s website.

Patrick King believes that sustainability is directly tied to issues of inequity. He’s the sustainability education manager with Urban Green Lab, and he’s working to implement a new Environmental Justice Initiative which will focus on helping distressed communities improve their health and lives.

Metro Public Works (MPW) and Urban Green Lab (UGL), a nonprofit that teaches communities how to live sustainably, are partnering on a new educational series titled “Sustainable in the City: Thinking Upstream” focused on how Nashvillians can better reduce, reuse, and recycle, and live a more sustainable lifestyle.

The local community level is where many companies can make the biggest impact, as shown by Certified B Corporations that include community as one of their stakeholders and prioritize local ties and the strength they can provide, especially in times of challenge like they’ve seen in 2020.

Urban Green Lab’s Diana Andrew was interviewed by a local news station about food assistance for Metro Nashville Public Schools students and families.