WE ACT for Environmental Justice

Our 2024-2025 Impact Report is here. Last year, we saved New Yorkers $200 million annually by repealing the 100-foot gas rule, won a landmark lawsuit to enforce NY’s Climate Act, passed a statewide ban on PFAS and toxic chemicals in menstrual products, and secured a $20 million increase in LIHEAP funding — despite federal efforts to eliminate the program entirely. And that’s just the beginning. Read the full report to see the full scope of our work at the city, state, federal, and global levels. Download the full report by clicking the link in our bio!

The fight for environmental justice starts right here in our own backyard. We are proud to share our 2026 Policy Agenda, a strategic roadmap designed to protect the health and environment of Northern Manhattan. From Uptown to the heights, we are advocating for policies that ensure our community —leads the transition to a greener, fairer future. This agenda addresses critical local issues, from improving air quality to advancing healthy housing. Our advocacy is only as strong as the community behind it. We need you to help us defend our neighborhoods and hold decision-makers accountable. 🔗 Read the full agenda and join our advocacy efforts at the link in our bio! #NorthernManhattan #EnvironmentalJustice #WEACT #PolicyAgenda2026 #UptownCollective #CommunityPower #ClimateJustice

This Spring, CAC student leaders attended the HBCU climate conference, “Legacy Rising: Charting our Future at the Crossroads of Climate and Justice,” where we heard from students about the importance of protecting our climate and what #EnvironmentalJustice means to them. #climatechange #studentactivism #environmentalism

East Harlem, come through this Saturday! Join us at our membership meeting as we go over the EJNYC report and plan our next moves for environmental justice in our community. From flooding to transportation to utility costs — your voice shapes the work. See you there! 📅 May 16 | 9:30 AM 📍 P.S. 007 Samuel Stern School, 160 E 120th St, Manhattan #EnvironmentalJustice #EastHarlem #WEACTforEJ #CommunityPower

Energy bills didn't spike by accident. Across the country, 1 in 6 households have fallen behind on their energy bills — and for low-income families and communities of color, that burden nearly doubles. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is gutting the very programs designed to help. Our #HealthyHomesFirst campaign believes every person deserves a home that is safe, healthy, affordable, and resilient — and that starts with tackling the energy affordability crisis head-on. 🏠💡 Read our latest blog to understand what's driving the surge in costs and what we're doing about it. Link in bio. #EnergyJustice #ClimateJustice #HealthyHomes #EnvironmentalJustice #EnergyAffordability #WEACTforEJ

🗣️WE #DARETOBREATHE! This is about justice: After years of advocacy by Clean Air for the Long Haul and thousands across the U.S., the Trump administration is rolling back hard-earned public health progress, and putting polluter profits over our lives. Learn more and take action at our NEW website: or LINK IN BIO! #DIDYOUKNOW: Air pollution kills almost 3,000 people in #Massachusetts every year, and causes higher rates of disease, illness, and death in communities of color and lower income? ❌ WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR, THEY’RE TRYING TO UNDO: - Trump’s @epagov is trying to weaken clean air protections that could prevent an estimated 30,000 deaths and save $275 billion each year they are in effect. (AP, 2025) Clean air isn’t a privilege, it’s a human right. In #Boston, organizations like Alternatives for Community and Environment @ace_ejtv won’t stop working to protect our health, our families, and our future. EPA: DO YOUR JOB. ➡️ WHAT YOU CAN DO: - Like and share this post - Tell your reps you want to protect EPA clean air standards This cohort is a part of the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum @ejforum , hosted by WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Organizations include @drcc_org , @greenlatinos , @greendoorinitiative , @poder.austin , @rise4ej , West End Revitalization Association (WERA) WE ACT, and @wigreenmuslims . #CleanAirMonth

More than 1 in 6 hair products that Sally Beauty markets to Black and Latinx women contain chemicals linked to cancer. A new independent analysis by Toxic-Free Future reviewed 550+ products and found dangerous ingredients — including formaldehyde-releasing chemicals and siloxanes — in products specifically marketed to women with textured hair. This is a beauty justice issue. Black and Latinx women should never have to choose between their hair care and their health. WE ACT and Toxic-Free Future are urging Sally Beauty to remove toxic chemicals from ALL of its products nationwide — not just where the law requires it. ➡️ Learn more and take action at the link in our bio.

The proposed Trump EPA budget would be cut in half from last year — and our communities will pay the price. This isn't just a budget cut. It's an attack on the health and safety of our communities. Here are the facts: 🔹 The EPA has a legal responsibility to protect our air, water, and health — but it can't do that without the funding and staff to carry out its mission. 🔹 We're already facing some of the worst air quality in a decade. A person of color is nearly 3x more likely than a white person to live in a community with dirty air. 🔹 The FY27 EPA budget proposal is half of what was allocated in FY26. If passed by Congress, this would bring EPA funding to its lowest levels since the 1980s. 🔹 The funds being stripped away support community air and water quality monitoring, lead poisoning reduction in homes and schools, lower energy bills, and cleanup of contaminated sites in our neighborhoods. 🔹 Combined with the billionaire tax break bill and sweeping rollbacks of environmental protections and EJ grants, this is an unprecedented giveaway to corporate polluters — at the direct expense of our health, our lives, and our future. ➡️ You can do something about it. ✅ Spread the word ✅ Contact your representatives and demand that EPA funding and environmental justice protections be preserved We the people deserve clean air, water, and land. Our tax dollars should protect our communities — not polluters. 💚

RALLY FOR GREEN HEALTHY SCHOOLS! Our kids deserve a learning environment that is healthy, not harmful. But too many of our public school buildings are plagued with mold, leaks, asbestos, and poor ventilation. Students and teachers lack temperature control, leading to classrooms that are stuffy and difficult to breathe in, too hot, or too cold. And, public schools create 1/3 of the city’s building pollution, making our city more unhealthy and worsening our climate crisis. How can anyone learn or work in this environment? On May 20th at 12PM at City Hall, we’re rallying to demand that Mayor Mamdani and the City Council invest in Green, Healthy Schools, to improve our public school infrastructure and deliver clean air, safe work, and healthy learning for our communities Green, Healthy Schools are an investment in NYC’s economy, creating union jobs and cutting overspending on energy. Retrofits and solar projects can create more than 320,000 jobs each year. That’s 5x the amount of jobs created by Hudson Yards. We need schools that work for New Yorkers, not hurt them. It’s time for our public schools to be Green, Healthy Schools — community havens of clean air, safe work, and healthy learning.

Personal care products – everything from cosmetics to soaps to chemical hair straighteners and dyes – are largely unregulated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual cosmetic products or their ingredients before products go on store shelves. Far too many of these products can contain toxic ingredients that have been linked to cancer, infertility, miscarriage, poor infant and maternal health outcomes, obesity, asthma, and many other serious health concerns. And it’s an environmental justice issue because research shows that women of color are disproportionately exposed to these toxic ingredients. That is why we are asking you to urge Speaker of the New York State Assembly Carl Heastie and Committee on Ways and Means Chair Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow to pass the New York State Beauty Justice Act (A.2054B), which will stop companies from being allowed to sell personal care or cosmetic products in New York State that have intentionally added some of the most dangerous toxic ingredients. These toxic ingredients include lead, mercury, formaldehyde, PFAS, parabens, and asbestos. The bill does not ban products, only ingredients. And the Senate has already passed the bill, for the second year in a row, so we now need the Assembly to do the same. Take Action We also encourage you to Take Action through our colleagues at Consumer Reports, as they will be taking their signatories as a petition to the State Assembly on Friday. Click the link in our bio to take action! 🔗

TONIGHT!!! Join us for a free film screening of Sacrifice Zone. A Documentary about how communities are sacrificed on the alter for corporate profits and how we can fight back!!

Schools should be a safe place for children to learn. But the crumbling infrastructure in many of New York City’s public schools is affecting the health and safety of both students and teachers. Issues like poor air and water quality, a lack of green spaces and temperature control, and the presence of mold, asbestos, and lead have no place in the classroom. Health hazards like these are proven to lower test scores, increase absences, and impact staff retention. That is why we’re rallying on Wednesday, May 20th at 12:00 PM on the steps of City Hall to demand that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council invest in Green, Healthy Schools to improve our public school infrastructure and deliver a clean and health learning and working environment. RSVP link in our bio!