Module 5: Advancing Health Equity with Environmental Justice

Effectively advancing health equity requires addressing the underlying social, economic, and environmental factors that drive cancer disparities. To this end, many states have health equity task forces, environmental quality commissions, environmental justice offices, and similar efforts to identify and remedy unjust environmental impacts. Central to these efforts are state-level policies designed to strengthen public participation in the regulatory, permitting, and compliance processes.

However, state cancer coalitions do not have to navigate complex policies and bureaucratic frameworks alone. Across the country, several key types of organizations are actively leading on-the-ground environmental health efforts and serve as invaluable partners for cancer risk reduction planning:

• Local Grassroots EJ Organizations: Often led by the frontline communities most affected by pollution, these organizations have deep-rooted trust, firsthand knowledge of local exposure sites, and active community outreach networks. Partnering with them ensures cancer prevention strategies are culturally relevant and directly address the community’s self-identified needs.
• Academic and University Research Centers: Many universities house specialized centers for environmental health, community-engaged research, or geospatial (GIS) mapping. These academic partners can provide coalitions with the scientific data, technical expertise, and local exposure mapping needed to back up state cancer plans.
• Independent Data Collaboratives: Non-partisan, independent initiatives (such as the Environmental & Health Data & Analysis Trust) are working to preserve, rescue, and rebuild critical environmental health screening tools outside of the federal government, keeping valuable mapping data accessible to local planners.

By bridging the gap between state policy, scientific research, and community organizing, your coalition can help build a future where a person’s zip code no longer determines their cancer risk.