Spark Northwest accelerates the shift to clean energy one community at a time. Our programs make affordable, locally-controlled clean energy more accessible for all.

Equitable Clean Energy

At Spark Northwest we believe creating communities powered by locally controlled clean energy is interconnected to promoting a just society. Through distributed energy projects that allow for community-level participation and equitable ownership, we can reduce the energy burden while aspiring to build wealth for frontline communities.

We are actively working to shift our internal culture so that racial equity values are centered and deeply embedded within our policies and programs. Our goal is for Spark Northwest to emerge as a trusted ally and for frontline communities to directly benefit from our work. We are learning the importance of developing deep relationships with environmental and social justice partners, prioritizing intentionality over haste, and transferring power and resources to frontline communities to develop their own solutions. Unlearning biases and upending structural practices is challenging and we invite communities to hold us accountable and help us see our blind spots.

Our Equity Values

At Spark Northwest, we believe equity is an outcome where the benefits from clean energy are rooted in justice and fairness. We approach our work with the following guiding principles:

• Justice: we recognize the history of oppression and imbalance of power and resources and act to correct that imbalance
• Fairness: we understand inequities exist and want to ensure that our actions do not propagate inequity
• Opportunity: we co-create solutions with indigenous, low-income, people of color, and other marginalized communities that allow for direct access to the benefits of clean energy
• Power through process: we invite those who will be affected by our work to shape it and define outcomes
• Racial equity and anti-racism: we strive to have people of color on our board of directors, on staff, and among the people we serve, and we affirm through practice the injustices experience by people of color
• Economic equity: we seek outcomes that protect the economic interests of individuals on fixed, moderate, or low-incomes and strive for outcomes that create opportunities for economic benefits
• Transparency: we ensure credibility through honest and authentic engagement with internal and external stakeholders
• Accountability: we commit to transparency among staff, board, and stakeholders to ensure continuous improvement toward equity goals

Read a recent statement on equity from our Executive Director, Andrea Axel.

Read our Board equity resolution adopted in September 2020.

To learn more about our commitment to equity, please contact us at: connect@sparknorthwest.org