Integrating Equity into the XPRIZE Carbon: Removal Helping Startups Center Environmental Justice from Day One
by Alayna Chuney (Carbon 180) … It’s been demonstrated across industries that sidelining equity and justice considerations leads to worse outcomes for developers and nearby communities — and as a budding industry, CDR can learn from and avoid these mistakes. In particular, a focus on equity and justice earlier in the development cycle of new solutions gives everyone a better chance to identify and address concerns well before project implementation. Here’s what we’ve been up to with XPRIZE.
Our Approach
Going in, we didn’t expect most competitors to be experts on environmental justice (EJ), so we used the Milestone Round (or “round one” of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal) as an opportunity to determine their current understanding of the topic — and how to improve the direction of their projects moving forward. To start, we primed potential teams with a set of must-read texts to help anchor their understanding of EJ as it relates to carbon removal. Next, we required all applicants to answer an EJ questionnaire (page 27). These questions examined the EJ dimensions of each team’s project — including how it could impact neighboring communities, anticipated community benefits, and whether a project might alleviate or worsen conditions in the communities near the project site.
With responses in hand, the next step was to review, look for trends, and develop overarching recommendations. To support this work, Carbon180 recruited a panel of four highly-experienced EJ practitioners, who are now analyzing responses from the “top 60” teams and providing constructive feedback on how to bolster their plans for EJ moving forward. The panel is also identifying common threads across responses — shared strengths and gaps in understanding, recurring challenges, and other broad insights that can be incorporated into research findings.
In the fall, a report on the panel’s findings will be published, drawing from the full cohort of 287 “qualified teams” who submitted for the Milestone Award. The report will provide specific recommendations for carbon removal developers on how they can think about and address EJ considerations in their projects. So, let’s meet our panel. READ MORE
