President Joe Biden’s commitment to direct at least 40 percent of his administration’s climate and infrastructure investment benefits to disadvantaged communities marks a turning point in the fight for justice. The president solidified this commitment by launching the Justice40 Initiative through the landmark climate executive order he signed in 2021. This initiative aims to begin to redress the high levels of pollution, chronic disinvestment, and lack of access to capital in communities of color and low-income areas—driven by discriminatory environmental, housing, infrastructure, and economic policies. Achieving the Justice40 goal would set the country on a course to correcting persistent injustice by mobilizing substantial new investments in legacy pollution cleanup, pollution-free energy and transportation, workforce development, quality affordable housing, and critical clean water infrastructure in communities that need it the most.

The purpose of this resource guide and companion funding finder is to help share information with communities, environmental justice and climate advocates, state and local governments, and others who would like to learn more about: 1) the Justice 40 Initiative; 2) which federal agency programs fall under the initiative, including programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law; 3) how to access funding from Justice40 programs; and 4) how to direct advocacy efforts to improve Justice40 outcomes.

The authors of this resource guide are members of the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform (EJNCP), a coalition of environmental justice and national environmental groups. The platform calls for national climate action that confronts racial, economic, and environmental injustice as it enacts deep cuts in climate pollution and accelerates a pollution-free energy future that benefits all communities.

Justice40 Initiative overview

The Justice40 Initiative is a whole-of-government effort to ensure that federal agencies work with states and communities to make good on President Biden’s promise to deliver at least “40 percent of the overall benefits” from relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities. According to the White House’s interim guidance, the initiative aims to direct investment benefits to disadvantaged communities from agency programs that fall into one or more of the following seven Justice40 investment areas:

1. Climate change
2. Clean energy and energy efficiency
3. Clean transportation
4. Affordable and sustainable housing
5. Training and workforce development related to the six other Justice40 investment areas
6. Remediation and reduction of legacy pollution
7. Critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure

FAQ

What are investment benefits? What types of investment benefits will Justice40 deliver?

By setting a goal to deliver investment benefits, rather than direct investments, the administration has placed an emphasis on ensuring that federal agencies strengthen their programs to maximize community benefits and avoid harms. As described in the EJNCP Justice40 recommendations, the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) report, and the White House Justice40 interim guidance, the Justice40 Initiative has the potential to deliver, among others, the following types of investment benefits:

• Reduced exposure to harmful emissions related to transportation pollution in communities experiencing high volumes of bus and truck traffic
• Improved access to clean, reliable, and high-frequency transportation
• Reduced legacy pollution in environmental justice communities
• Increased availability of clean energy and energy efficiency programs for low-income households experiencing high energy costs and reduced energy burden
• Greenhouse gas emissions reductions
• Creation of community resilience plans
• Home weatherization, including flood and extreme-heat mitigation
• Availability and access to affordable climate-resilient and sustainable housing and reduced housing cost burden
• Increased participation in good job training programs
• Access to technical assistance
• Improved public health
• Safe drinking water and wastewater infrastructure
• Community wealth and ownership
• Living wages, good jobs, and worker protections
• Increased access to job training programs and apprenticeship and mentorship opportunities among communities of color
• Development without displacement
• Green community infrastructure
• Community farming

What is a disadvantaged community?

In November 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in partnership with the U.S. Digital Service, released the “version 1.0" of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST 1.0) to assist federal agencies in identifying disadvantaged communities. Agencies will use the tool to identify disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution to inform Justice40 decision-making.

The CEQ released the beta version of this tool for public input in February 2022. The CEQ used the public input gathered to refine the tool to accurately identify and steer federal investment to disadvantaged communities. The CEJST 1.0 identifies communities as disadvantaged:

• If they are in census tracts that meet the thresholds for at least one of the tool’s categories of burden, such as climate change, energy, health, housing, and legacy pollution, among others
• If they are on land within the boundaries of federally recognized Tribes

Some federal agencies have developed and are using agency-specific screening tools to identify disadvantaged communities.

The U.S. Department of Transportation utilizes the "Transportation Disadvantaged Census Tracts" mapping tool to inform program applicants if their project is located in a disadvantaged community.

Through the "Disadvantaged Communities Reporter," the U.S. Department of Energy allows users to explore and produce reports on census tracts that it has identified as disadvantaged communities.

How is the federal government implementing Justice40?

Implementing Justice40 involves restructuring how the federal government operates to ensure that federal funding equitably benefits communities, as well as prioritizing disadvantaged communities for investment benefits through hundreds of existing and new federal programs.

There are many federal programs focused on clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, sustainable and affordable housing, workforce training, pollution reduction and remediation, and water infrastructure that are expected to support implementation of the Justice40 Initiative. The federal programs that may fall under the Justice40 Initiative provide funding through a variety of ways, including direct grant programs, grants to states and local governments, loans, direct services, and research and development.

Federal agencies have reviewed their programs to evaluate which ones fall under the Justice40 Initiative and how they can strengthen these programs to maximize benefits to disadvantaged communities. Many agencies have hosted webinars and virtual public meetings and listening sessions to inform their Justice40 efforts. The CEQ has not yet made agency methodologies for calculating and measuring benefits public. The CEQ is expected to release an Environmental Justice Scorecard in early 2023 that will account how benefits are being delivered to disadvantaged communities.

Justice40 timeline

January 2021	President Biden issues an executive order that establishes the Justice40 Initiative.
March 2021	The CEQ establishes the WHEJAC, as directed by the president.
May 2021	The WHEJAC submits recommendations on Justice40, the CEJST, and executive order 12898 revisions to the chair of the CEQ.
July 2021	The White House releases Justice40 interim implementation guidance directing federal agencies to assess how existing and new federal programs can deliver at least 40 percent of their overall benefits to disadvantaged communities. The guidance also identifies 21 federal programs that will be part of a pilot program and undergo focused review and changes to maximize benefits to communities. These programs will then share best practices to support effective Justice40 implementation across the federal government.
August 2021	Federal agencies develop Justice40 stakeholder engagement plans to engrain consultation with disadvantaged communities into the foundation of their 21 pilot programs and more broadly.
September 2021	Federal agencies submit plans for the 21 pilot programs to the CEQ on how they will maximize benefits to disadvantaged communities.
December 2021	Federal agencies submit methodologies to the CEQ and the Office of Management and Budget for calculating and tracking Justice40 benefits for the hundreds of programs that fall under the Justice40 Initiative. The CEQ has not yet published agency methodologies for calculating and tracking Justice40 benefits.
February–May 2022	The CEQ publishes the beta version of the CEJST and invites comments on the tool from communities, climate and environmental justice experts, and the public. The CEQ also holds training and listening sessions on the tool.
May 2022	The White House launches the Justice 40 Week of Action, which highlights hundreds of federal programs representing billions of dollars in annual investment that fall under the Justice 40 initiative—including programs that were funded or created in the bipartisan infrastructure law.
August 2022	The White House publishes an updated list of federal programs covered by the Justice 40 Initiative. The CEQ issues a request for information to solicit feedback on the vision, framework, and outcomes of an Environmental Justice Scorecard.
November 2022	The CEQ launches the CEJST 1.0. Based on public input, the CEJST 1.0 includes new data sets, indicators, methods, and improvements to the site experience.
Estimated in winter 2023	The CEQ releases the Environmental Justice Scorecard to ensure agency accountability on Justice40 implementation.

How will the federal government deliver on Justice40?

Rather than create a single Justice40 fund, the administration will meet the Justice40 goal by reorienting federal agency programs to deliver resources, including technical assistance, grants, loans, rebates, and federal agency staff capacity, that support projects in the seven Justice40 categories. In July 2021, the White House directed agencies through the Justice40 interim guidance to identify their programs covered by the Justice40 Initiative and to consider ways to strengthen those programs to maximize the benefits to communities and avoid potential harms.

In July 2021, the White House directed agencies through the Justice40 interim guidance to identify their programs covered by the Justice40 Initiative and to consider ways to strengthen those programs to maximize the benefits to communities and avoid potential harms.

Recipients of funding through agency programs can be states, local governments, nonprofits, educational institutions, and private businesses, among others, depending on the program. Some agency programs provide formula funding, meaning that the distribution of funds is set by a predetermined formula. States and localities are the primary recipients of formula funding. Federal agencies also provide grants and loans through various programs. For grant funding, applicants can apply directly to the federal agency or their state. For some formula funding and grant programs, agencies have cost-share requirements, which means that funding recipients must share a percentage of the cost. For example, the federal government may cover 75 percent of the project costs and require the recipient to cover the remaining 25 percent. Some federal programs waive cost-share requirements for low-income communities.

Please see the EJNCP’s Justice40 funding finder to learn more about which programs community-based organizations and nonprofits can apply for and which programs are intended for state and local governments.

What federal programs are covered under the Justice40 Initiative?

All federal programs that fall into one or more of the seven Justice40 categories should be part of the Justice40 Initiative. In its Justice40 interim guidance, the White House asked agencies to identify and report to the CEQ and the Office of Management and Budget which of their programs fall into the Justice40 Initiative.

In August 2022, the White House released a list of more than 450 federal programs that are covered by the Justice 40 Initiative.

To help community organizations and state and local governments identify sources of Justice40 funding, this resource guide and companion funding finder provide information on the approximately 450 federal programs covered by the Justice40 Initiative.

What is the Justice40 pilot program?

In its Justice40 interim guidance, the White House identified 21 existing federal programs as Justice40 “pilot programs.” The interim guidance requires agencies to carefully review and strengthen these pilot programs to increase community benefits and offer lessons learned and best practices that can be applied across the federal government. Pilot programs include the Brownfields Program, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, among others. The pilot program aims to expedite learning on the opportunities and challenges associated with Justice40 implementation. Pilot programs were selected to reflect a continuum of issues and barriers, with some requiring relatively minor modifications for implementation and others in need of more substantial changes.

How does the implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law affect the Justice40 Initiative?

In November 2021, Congress passed and President Biden enacted the bipartisan infrastructure law to invest more than $1 trillion in upgrading the nation’s infrastructure. The EJNCP estimates that roughly $400 billion of bipartisan infrastructure law funding falls under the Justice40 Initiative. While the law includes problematic provisions that aim to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act and investments in fossil fuel infrastructure, it will also deploy billions of dollars through federal programs that fall under the seven Justice40 Initiative investment areas. If federal agencies and state and local governments direct those investments to well-designed projects developed with input from communities, they have the potential to expand access to pollution-free energy and transportation; build affordable and sustainable housing; reduce pollution in disadvantaged communities; and provide other community benefits.

How does the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act affect the Justice40 Initiative?

The Inflation Reduction Act—which was signed into law in August 2022—makes an unprecedented investment of $369 billion in clean energy and pollution reductions over the next decade. The law includes more than $50 billion that will be targeted to disadvantaged communities to advance environmental justice and climate justice. In addition, in order to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 goal, federal agencies are required to implement the entire $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act package in ways that deliver at least 40 percent of the overall investments and benefits to disadvantaged communities.

However, it is important to note that the law also includes concessions that support fossil fuel production that could harm communities on the frontlines of that production. These concessions force the sale of leases for fossil fuel extraction on public lands and water and committed Congress to consider permitting reforms supported by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) that would limit environmental review and community input on infrastructure projects. The law also includes tax credits for carbon capture and storage at power plants and industrial facilities as well as fossil-fuel based hydrogen that could prolong the lifetime of polluting fossil fuel infrastructure. Lastly, the law includes tax credits for nuclear power, which requires long-term storage of nuclear waste—some of which can remain radioactive for thousands of years.

What is the WHEJAC?

The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council is a federal advisory committee. WHEJAC members are appointed by the president and are not federal employees. There are approximately 1,000 federal advisory committees with more than 60,000 members across the federal government, and all of these committees, including the WHEJAC, must comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972.

The function of all federal advisory committees, including the WHEJAC, is exclusively advisory. The CEQ and other federal offices and agencies consider WHEJAC recommendations as they draft, deliberate, develop, and implement policies and programs.

Please find additional information on the Justice40 Initiative on the White House website.