Analyze

New social and environmental obligations are now imposed on transnational companies. They are now responsible for the concrete implementation of these obligations and are developing a set of practices to measure, prevent and remedy their environmental impact. These “corporate transition policies” (Lhulier & Tenreira, 2023) are at the frontier of law, management and natural sciences (mapping, indicators, thresholds), thus constitutive of a new co-produced scientific-normative space. A qualitative Science & Technology (STS) analysis on the basis of corporate documents and other collective practices is useful in order to describe this “corporate assemblages” (Tenreira, 2023), especially using Jasanoff's four-tiered analysis. The case study analysis reveals that the firm Decathlon refers to the 9 planetary limits ("experts/identities" N°1). It also refers to "institutions" (N°2) such as Sciences Based Target. The analysis of the "discourses" (N°3) shows that Decathlon's commitment actually appears largely declarative. The firm falls short of adopting concrete methodologies for calculating its ecological footprint, thereby highlighting a gap between rhetoric and action. This discrepancy presents a unique "representation" (N°4) of science, which permits the company a considerable degree of latitude in employing or constructing scientific indicators according to its “discretion”. At this stage of the analysis, it is thus possible to “problematize” (Laurent, 2022) corporate objects as corporate assemblages. The next steps of the analysis would nevertheless require other methodological approaches to “assess reflexively” these assemblages regarding an “rhizomatic ecological reality”.

Image : Tomas Saraceno, "Galaxies Forming along Filaments, Like Droplets along the Strands of a Spider’s Web", 2009, in Bruno Latour

Tenreira, Luca. 2023. "The construction of an episteme of objectification of corporate practices in the field of transition." In 4S Paraconference X EiJ: Building a Global Record, curated by Misria Shaik Ali, Kim Fortun, Phillip Baum and Prerna Srigyan. Annual Meeting of the Society of Social Studies of Science. Honolulu, Hawai'i, Nov 8-11.

Favelas in RJ state are often located on hills, which served as refuge for enslaved people - after the abolition of slavery (1888) - and immigrants, who worked for downtown citizens. The Law of lands (1850) prevented unoccupied lands to be owned through labour and provided government subsidies for the arrival of foreign settlers to be hired in the country, further devaluing the work of black men and women. As a result, favelas today are mostly composed of a black population, surviving decades of persecutions and low incomes while defending, preserving and creating a unique culture rooted in African origins that reverberates into music and the arts. Children in favelas, due to social and economical inequality and racial discrimination, have less possibility of personal development and professional realization. They attend public schools where in 2021, according to SAEB, students do not reach a satisfactory level in Portuguese language (69%) and math (95%).

They hardly have access to after-school courses and do not tend to see themselves represented in the academic community. This produces a disadvantage in access to higher education and consequently in opportunities for decent employment. The project Closer to the Sky aims at co-producing scientific knowledge in collaboration between astronomers and artists/educators living in the favela of Cantagalo Pavão Pavdosinho (PPG, RJ, Brazil), for children, teenagers and young adults of the community. We will work in close collaboration with the social project Ninho das Aguias, where classes and night sky observations will be held.
Offering extracurricular courses and cultural experiences to students in the PPG, we wish to enrich their school curriculum and strengthen the chance they wish to stay in education after secondary school. A key element of the courses is providing positive role models of scientists from Afrodescendant backgrounds, reinforced by the presence of local artists and educators, thus endorsing their role within the academic community. The project also creates just work opportunities for local artists and educators, who will offer workshops rooted in favela culture, while at the same time creating novel, decolonial courseware based on contextualized science, i.e materials that use the context of marginalized societies as examples where we can understand, learn and make science. The material developed within the project will be shared as Open Educational Resources in several languages.

Barbosa Araujo, Claudio Alberto. 2023. "Closer to the Sky." In 4S Paraconference X EiJ: Building a Global Record, curated by Misria Shaik Ali, Kim Fortun, Phillip Baum and Prerna Srigyan. Annual Meeting of the Society of Social Studies of Science, Honolulu, Hawaii, Nov 8-11.

It would be great to interview current and former staff members of CBE to gain insight into what it is like to work on major campaigns and among a team who is victorious in practical issues. I would ask what are the most impactful strategies in community organizing that have proven effective in various campaigns facilitated by the CBE.

CBE’s mission focuses on the belief that everyone has the right to live in a healthy environment, free from the harmful effects of pollution and other environmental hazards. They also believe mobilizing community engagement leads to their empowerment and includes them in critical policy and decision-making conversations. Finally, by holding polluters accountable and promoting environmental regulatory laws, the CBE can ensure that polluters abide by necessary restrictions.

1. The CBE is regarded as one of California's most important and influential environmental justice organizations and the nation. Given the victories in critical cases throughout the years, it has a solid reputation for its advocacy work and is well respected by policymakers, environmental advocates, and community members. 

2. Within the media, CBE has been covered extensively in credible local and national media outlets. The organization is often quoted and featured as a credible and effective EiJ org. Its work has been recognized and celebrated.

1. Communities for a Better Environment functions within the nonprofit sector, specifically within social justice and advocacy subsectors. 

1.  Among the CBE’s board of directors sits Caroline Farrell, the Executive Director of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment (CRPE)

2. The CBE collaborates with other local, state, and national grassroots organizations. 

3. Additionally, the CBE has a history of working with labor unions representing workers closely tied to environmental issues, such as employees from refineries and power plants.

1. Climate Justice – CBE efforts are focused on the intersection of environmental issues, emphasizing the significance of the disproportionate impacts on low-income communities of color.

2. Racial Justice – The CBE is committed to amplifying the voices of Black and Brown communities in their work. Their work can be considered an effort to dismantle systems of oppression and inequality.

3. Corporate Power – CBE can be seen as a counterbalance to corporate interests and is proactive in holding polluters accountable by promoting policies that prioritize public health and environmental protection over corporate profits.

1. Community-led initiatives emphasize the importance of community members providing input central to their needs. 

2. Intersectionality is also key to describing the interconnectedness of environmental and social injustices.

3. At times they focus on narrow and specific issues such as air pollution or toxic waste disposal.

1. Given the difficulty in addressing environmental pollution and the health implications from exposure is often invisible and difficult to measure, it is challenging to identify the sources of pollution and, thus, hold polluters accountable. Working closely with predominantly low-income communities of color located near industrial facilities and other sources of pollution, they often lack the necessary political power and resources to advocate effectively against government and regulatory institutions.

2. As mentioned previously, applying an intersectional approach is also critical to the conversations concerning environmental justice. Often, these communities face a multitude of inequities that add complexity to the social, economic, and political factors contributing to environmental pollution and injustice.