






































CSWRFINAL_4.1.13


Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV     36 

Environmental Justice and Social Work: A Call to Expand 
the Social Work Profession to Include Environmental Justice 

 
Dominoe Jarvis 
 
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror re-
flection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” 
— Mahatma Gandhi 

 
 Concern for environmental justice has increased in recent 
decades. Although the environmental justice field is closely linked 
to social justice, the social work profession has yet to gain a sub-
stantive involvement in environmental justice efforts. This article 
is a call to action for the social work profession and explains why 
the profession is ideally suited to address issues of environmental 
justice. It examines how issues of environmental injustice, such as 
the location of industrial waste facilities in predominantly minor-
ity communities, often affect those people who are most afflicted 
by other forms of injustice. A review of recent literature explains 
how the social work profession can shift its framework and make 
important connections to environmental justice. This article also 
discusses three recommendations for the social work profession 
to become involved in environmental justice.  

 
The Critical Need for Social Workers in the Environmental  

Justice Field 
 

In recent decades, there has been a growing concern for 
environmental justice. The U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency’s (EPA) definition of environmental justice establishes it 
as a social justice issue: environmental justice is “the fair treat-
ment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of 
race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the de-
velopment, implementation, and enforcement of environmental 
laws, regulations, and policies” (U.S. EPA). Social work has a 
realistic and evidence-based understanding of social justice as 
well as a commitment to serve society’s most vulnerable popula-
tions; however, the profession has yet to gain a substantive in-



Environmental Justice and Social Work 

37        Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV 

volvement in environmental justice efforts. The social work pro-
fession has been slow to respond to environmental concerns and 
to the devastating effects of environmental injustice on the health 
of individuals and communities served by social workers, specifi-
cally minority and poor communities. 

Environmental destruction and devastation are carried dis-
proportionately by disadvantaged and marginalized groups (Gray 
& Coates, 2012). In failing to gain a considerable presence in the 
environmental justice field, and by not taking advantage of the 
opportunity to grasp environmental justice as a legitimate profes-
sional identity (Kemp, 2011), the social work profession is ne-
glecting its ethical responsibility to the individuals it serves. As 
part of the profession’s ethical principles, social work is responsi-
ble for helping those in need, addressing social problems, and 
confronting social injustice (National Association of Social 
Workers [NASW], 2008). It is imperative and relevant for the 
principles of social work to extend to environmental justice 
through social work’s commitment to vulnerable individuals and 
communities.  

Forming multidisciplinary partnerships is an important 
and effective step toward achieving environmental justice. A di-
verse group of professionals—such as engineers, scientists, busi-
ness people, urban planners, and those in the legal profession—
has focused heavily on environmental concerns within its prac-
tice. Mainstream social work, however, has concentrated acutely 
on social issues and has been disconnected from topics concern-
ing the natural and physical environment (Coates, 2005). Social 
work often involves inclusive, multidisciplinary efforts to solve 
problems within communities and to address social justice and, as 
a result, is well suited to take on a participatory role in the envi-
ronmental justice movement (Freisthler & Crampton, 2009; 
Schmitz, Matyok, Sloan, & James, 2011). Yet, the social work 
profession is missing an important opportunity to close the gap 
between social and environmental justice concerns and to be rec-
ognized as a profession that is nondiscriminatory when it comes 
to the social justice issues it supports and pursues. Social workers 
can lend critical support to environmental justice work and the 
time has come for the social work profession to realize its poten-



Jarvis 

Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV      38 

tial to make a significant difference in the environmental justice 
field. Social work education must contribute to the available 
scholarly research and connect social work’s long-established so-
cial justice values and commitments with environmental justice 
issues (Jones, 2006). 

This article explains why the social work profession is 
ideally suited to address issues of environmental justice. First, it 
will examine how issues of environmental injustice, such as the 
location of industrial waste facilities in predominantly minority 
communities, often affect those most afflicted by other forms of 
injustice. Second, the article will review recent literature that ex-
plains how the social work profession can shift its framework and 
make important connections to environmental justice. Lastly, as a 
means of incorporating environmental justice into the field of so-
cial work, the article offers three recommendations for current 
and future social workers. 
 

The Inequitable Distribution of Environmental Burdens 

Various studies and literature indicate that environmental 
pollution disproportionately affects minority and low-income 
populations (Arora and Cason, 1999; Bullard, 1990; United 
Church of Christ, 1987). Minority and poor communities bear the 
burden of environmental problems that are forced upon them by 
decision makers and more empowered communities that sub-
scribe to the notion of ‘not in my back yard’. According to Best-
horn and Saleeby (2003), this inequality in healthy environments 
“results in the further marginalization of already disenfranchised 
people” (p. 9). A 2005 government research project concludes 
that African Americans are nearly 80% more likely to live in 
close proximity to hazardous pollution sites than white Americans 
(Associated Press, 2005). African Americans are not only ex-
posed to a disproportionate amount of pollutants from industrial 
facilities but also suffer from higher levels of lead poisoning, a 
by-product of living close to industrial facilities (Adeola, 1994; 
Jones & Rainey, 2006). Research has shown that exposure to 
these pollutants is connected to diseases such as asthma and can-
cer (Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). Locally 



Environmental Justice and Social Work 

39        Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV 

unwanted land uses (known as LULUs), such as waste facilities 
and industrial disposal sites, disproportionately affect minority 
and poor communities throughout the country (Mohai & Saha, 
2006). The locating of LULUs near minority and poor communi-
ties is evidence that land-use decisions favor those with more po-
litical and economic influence.  

An example of environmental injustice can be found in 
New York City within walking distance of the Columbia Univer-
sity School of Social Work. The North River Wastewater Treat-
ment Plant, located in a predominantly minority and low-income 
neighborhood in West Harlem, is a sewage treatment facility that 
was engrossed in controversy during its decades of planning and 
even after its completion in 1986. The sewage treatment facility 
was originally planned to be built near 72nd street, on the Upper 
West Side. Due to a decision by the New York City Planning 
Commission, the facility was relocated to 137th Street in West 
Harlem (Miller, 1993). The proposed site for the facility was relo-
cated from the affluent Upper West Side community to West Har-
lem because it was considered “incompatible” with development 
plans for the Upper West Side (Miller, 1993, p. 709). The coali-
tion that opposed the plant at 72nd Street was better funded and 
better able to lobby the city’s decision makers than those who op-
posed the plant in Harlem. The West Harlem community was out-
raged that a waste treatment facility would be located so close to 
their homes and schools, yet the facility would be built regardless 
of disapproval and protest. As a limited compromise, the City 
built Riverbank State Park, a twenty-eight acre park on top of the 
sewage facility (Miller, 1993).  

The Riverbank State Park was built as “a mitigation meas-
ure” (Miller, 1993, p. 711) to compensate residents for the waste-
water treatment facility being built in such close proximity to 
their homes. Residents soon began to experience foul odors com-
ing from the waste treatment site (Severo, 1989). While the resi-
dents of West Harlem received a new park, they were plagued by 
a waste treatment facility nearby that affected their daily lives. At 
72nd Street, the original proposed site for the facility, there are 
now thousands of units of additional luxury housing and acres of 
additional parkland. The more affluent community of the Upper 



Jarvis 

Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV      40 

West Side were presented with increased housing and improve-
ment to their parkland, while the poorer neighborhood of West 
Harlem received parkland in exchange for having an odorous fa-
cility in their neighborhood. In this particular case, social workers 
could have helped the West Harlem community mobilize and take 
action to amend this environmental injustice. Social workers can 
use their knowledge of advocacy and community organizing to 
help individuals and communities facing similar situations.  

A Shift in the Social Work Framework to Include  
Environmental Justice 

 
Social work has always been concerned with contempo-

rary social issues and has continually shifted to address and meet 
the needs of vulnerable people. Realizing that the profession 
needed to adapt to better serve clients, Mary Richmond pioneered 
the social work practice of visiting clients in their home environ-
ments. She recognized the physical environment as significant to 
social work, but only in connection to poverty (Richmond, 1922). 
The social work profession has evolved tremendously since Rich-
mond’s time and has adapted to address the current needs affect-
ing the many populations served. Richmond’s practice of visiting 
clients in their home environment can be viewed as an early ap-
proach to the person-in-environment perspective. Today, social 
work maintains a strong emphasis on the person-in-environment 
perspective, which considers individuals as active participants in 
a larger social system. Yet the perspective maintains a narrow 
definition of “environment” that includes the social but disregards 
the natural environment. Excluding the natural environment has 
perhaps contributed to the profession’s slow involvement in envi-
ronmental justice. In order to gain substantial involvement in the 
field of environmental justice, it is imperative that the profession 
broaden its definition of the person-in-environment perspective to 
encompass the physical and natural environments. 

While social work’s practicing professionals are aware of 
the importance of environmental issues, this has not affected their 
practice. Marlow & Van Rooyen (2001) embarked on an explora-
tory study aimed at raising the awareness of environmental issues 



Environmental Justice and Social Work 

41        Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV 

with social workers and to begin to develop a framework for so-
cial work interventions that are environmentally related. The 
study asked participants, social workers in both the U.S. and 
South Africa, about their personal concern for the environment 
and the inclusion of environmental issues within their practices. 
The study found that 92.8% of respondents described environ-
mental issues as personally important, but only 43.2% actually 
addressed these issues in their practice (Marlow & Van Rooyen, 
2001). Perhaps it can be deduced from this study that social work-
ers are aware of environmental issues, but tend to concentrate on 
the social environment and may lack the training to include envi-
ronmental concerns into their professional identities. Social work-
ers are adept in responding to social justice issues and will be bet-
ter prepared to address issues of environmental justice after re-
ceiving specific training through social work curricula. Changes 
in social work curricula to include the natural environment are 
essential in establishing the social work profession in environ-
mental research, policy, and practice.  

It is necessary for the contemporary social work profes-
sion to acknowledge the consequences of environmental injustice 
on vulnerable populations (Miller, Hayward, & Shaw, 2011) and 
begin to engage in such work, which may lead to a better under-
standing of the disproportionate effect that environmental degra-
dation has on minority and poor communities. In building re-
search and knowledge about the need for social work’s involve-
ment in addressing environmental concerns, it is imperative that 
social workers “include an analysis of the tensions between ra-
cism, classism, environmentalism, and economic develop-
ment” (Furman & Gruenwald, 2004, p. 48). The question in im-
plementing this suggested change to the profession is whether 
social work will remain committed primarily to the social needs 
of marginalized populations or heed environmental justice consid-
erations to diversify its commitments and embrace issues that 
arise from environmental injustice (Gray & Coates, 2012). The 
challenge to include environmental justice as part of the profes-
sion’s social justice framework is necessary, overdue, and one 
that social workers should actively pursue in order to maintain 
relevancy within the field of social justice.  



Jarvis 

Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV      42 

Conclusion 
 

At present, there is a deficit in the current social work 
education and scholarship in addressing the nexus of environ-
mental justice, social work, and social justice. While there is a 
growth in awareness of environmental justice, the topic is still 
under-acknowledged in the social work profession, and there is a 
lack of available information on the important role and involve-
ment of social work in environmental concerns. It is therefore 
crucial for social workers, current and future, to start addressing 
environmental inequality endured by the individuals the profes-
sion serves. 

As a profession that is focused on social justice principles, 
it is necessary that social work include environmental concerns in 
its areas of practice. Through exploring and incorporating envi-
ronmental justice in their practices, social workers can begin to 
help the people they serve by broadening their understanding of 
environment to include not just the social, but also the natural and 
physical environment. First, it is important that social work 
courses and field education offer students the opportunity to study 
the nexus between environmental justice and social work 
(Dewane, 2011). This is necessary for the future of the profession 
if social work is to become involved as a serious participant or 
leader in environmental justice. Second, shifts in practice, train-
ing, and interventions will be necessary before implementing en-
vironmental justice content into graduate social work curricula 
(Freisthler & Crampton, 2009). Shifts can begin through collabo-
rating with other disciplines to achieve a clear understanding of 
environmental justice content and allowing the profession to in-
corporate multidisciplinary ideas. Third, further research into en-
vironmental justice, the effects it has on marginalized popula-
tions, and the beneficial involvement of social workers is neces-
sary.  

Environmental justice is an interdisciplinary field in 
which social work has been slow to enter. By acknowledging and 
engaging with the multidisciplinary culture of environmental jus-
tice, social work can become more substantial and comprehensive 
(Hoff, 2003). Social work research can also bring new ideas to the 



Environmental Justice and Social Work 

43        Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV 

field of environmental justice and, likewise, can learn from other 
disciplines that have already established themselves within the 
field. Incorporating knowledge from other disciplines will allow 
social work to evolve and determine responses to the present is-
sues pertaining to the environment and its effects on individuals. 
The profession’s responsibility remains to serve the interests of 
its clients, who are adversely affected by their environments. So-
cial work has the potential to shape and improve the environment 
and to become not only an active participant in discussions on 
environmental justice, but also a leader in the environmental jus-
tice movement.  
 

Acknowledgements 
 
I wish to thank Gideon Sorkin (M.S. Columbia SEAS ’12), an 
engineer, for bringing to my attention the North River Wastewa-
ter Treatment Plant. Our discussion of the subject is a clear illus-
tration of a multidisciplinary approach to environmental justice.  
 

References 
 
Adeola, F. O. (1994). Environmental hazards, health, and racial 

inequality in hazardous waste distribution. Environment 
and Behavior, 26, 99-126. 

Arora, S. & Cason, T. N. (1999). Do community characteristics 
influence environmental outcomes? Evidence from the 
toxics release inventory. Southern Economic Journal, 65
(4), 691-716.  

Associated Press. (2005). More Blacks live in unhealthy, polluted 
neighborhoods. Fox News. Retrieved from http://
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178672,00.html 

Besthorn, F. H. & Saleeby, D. (2003). Nature, genetics and the 
biophilia connection: Exploring the link with social work 
values and practice.  Advances in Social Work, 4(1), 1-18.  

Bullard, R. (1990). Dumping in Dixie: Race, class, and environ-
mental quality. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.  



Jarvis 

Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV      44 

Coates, J. (2005). The environmental crisis: Implications for wo-
cial work. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 16(1), 
25-49.  

Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). HHS Envi-
ronmental Justice Strategy. Retrieved from http://
www.hhs.gov/environmentaljustice/strategy.html 

Dewane, C. J. (2011). Environmentalism & social work: The ulti-
mate social justice issue. Social Work Today, 11(5), 20.  

Freisthler, B. & Crampton, D. (2009). Introduction to environ-
ment and child well-being. Children and Youth Services 
Review, 31(3), 346-348.  

Furman, G., and Gruenwald, D. (2004). Expanding the landscape 
of social justice: A critical ecological analysis. Education 
Administration Quarterly, 40(1), 47-76.  

Gray, M. & Coates, J. (2012). Environmental ethics for social 
work: Social work’s responsibility to the non-human 
world. International Journal of Social Welfare, 21(3), 
239-247.  

Hoff, M. D. (1993). Social dimensions of the environmental cri-
sis: Challenges for social work. Social Work, 38, 204-211. 

Jones, P. (2006). Considering the environment in social work 
education: Transformations for eco-social justice. Austra-
lian Journal of Adult Learning, 46(3), 364-382. 

Jones, R. E. & Rainey, S. A. (2006). Examining linkages between 
race, environmental concern, health, and justice in a high 
polluted community of color. Journal of Black Studies, 36
(4), 473-496. 

Kemp, S. (2011). Recentring environment in social work practice: 
Necessity, opportunity, challenge. British Journal of So-
cial Work, 41(6), 1198-1210.  

Marlow, C. & Van Rooyen, C. (2001). How green is the environ-
ment in social work? International Social Work, 44(2), 
241-254.  

Miller, S. E., Hayward, R. A., & Shaw, T. V. (2011). Environ-
mental shifts for social work: A principles approach. In-
ternational Journal of Social Welfare, 21(3), 270-277. 

Miller, V. D. (1993). Planning, power, and politics: A case study 
of the land use and siting history of the North River Water 



Environmental Justice and Social Work 

45        Columbia Social Work Review, Volume IV 

Pollution Control Plant. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 21
(3), 707-722. 

Mohai, P., & Saha, R. (2006). Reassessing racial and socioeco-
nomic disparities in environmental justice research. De-
mography, 43(2), 383-399. 

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of 
the National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved 
from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp 

Passmore, J. A. (1974). Man’s responsibility for nature: Ecologi-
cal problems and western traditions. New York: Charles 
Scribner’s Sons. 

Richmond, M. E. (1922). What is social case work? New York: 
Russell Sage Foundation.  

Schmitz, C. L., Matyok, T., Sloan, L. M., & James, C. (2011). 
The relationship between social work and environmental 
sustainability: Implications for interdisciplinary practice. 
International Journal of Social Welfare, 21(3), 278-286.  

Severo, R. (1989, November 30). Odors from plant anger many in 
Harlem. New York Times. Retrieved from http://
www.nytimes.com/1989/11/30/nyregion/odors-from-
plant-anger-many-in-harlem.html?src=pm 

United Church of Christ. (1987). Toxic wastes and race in the 
United States: A national report on the racial and socio-
economic characteristics of communities with hazardous 
waste sites. New York: Commission for Racial Justice, 
United Church of Christ.  

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. (n.d.). Environ-
mental Justice. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/
environmentaljustice/ 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




