In this symposium we will discuss our work as community psychologists concerned for both environmental sustainability and social justice. Each of us will outline the possibilities and tensions we are grappling with and will then open for discussion from attendees.

As the chair of the session, Manuel Riemer will provide a brief introduction and overview of the link between environmental sustainability and social justice and how community psychology has been engaged in these issues. He will then reflect on the emerging concept of sustainability justice drawing from multiple examples in his work. This includes his involvement as an expert witness in an environmental justice legal case, in which members of an Indigenous community in Chemical Valley, Canada, fought for their right to clean air; a study in which the research team used an environmental justice framework as a way of engaging the youth in environmental action; and experiences in advocating for and promoting sustainability justice in local sustainability initiatives, such as creating a culture of sustainability within Canada’s first commercial net-positive energy multi-tenant office building.

Niki Harré will talk about her work on “the infinite game”, which suggests a unified approach to human and ecological flourishing. The infinite game concerns keeping what we most value in play and prefiguring the good society by simultaneously demonstrating positive relationships with people and respect for the natural world in all our practices. While this approach allows for the deep inclusion that is integral to social justice, it takes preparation, time and care. This is in tension with the “urgency” that underpins responses to environmental issues such as climate change.

Carlie Trott will discuss a collaborative research project focused on recycling engagement among lower-income residents and tenants of multi-unit buildings in Cincinnati. This work brings together university researchers and students, local policymakers, and a community-based organization to improve household recycling participation throughout the city. This research has identified a tension between residents' immediate daily concerns and the more distant benefits of recycling, both in terms of “who benefits” and when.

We will then facilitate a discussion on: 1) how “urgency” sits alongside the time it takes to bring together communities, especially when these are riddled with injustice, 2) how privilege and oppression intersect with sustainability challenges, and 3) the role of community psychologists in bringing a critical, justice-oriented lens to collaborative research for sustainability.

This symposium focuses most directly on “knowledge for sustainable futures” as we consider how to promote sustainability in conjunction with social justice. It also touches on “global dynamics in local expressions” as we discuss creative alliances to challenge the status quo and each of us “works the boundaries” between our universities and the communities we engage with.