ZEV Equity Task Force Draft Guiding Principles

CENTER EQUITY. Keep equity in mind when helping to strategize solutions to the barriers surrounding access to ZEVs and zero-emission mobility. Equity recognizes that advantages and barriers exist, and that, as a result, we do not start from the same place.
ACKNOWLEDGE HARM¹. Ensure that our work recognizes the past and present harms directed at people of color and other marginalized groups.
BUILD PARTNERSHIPS². Long-lasting and meaningful partnerships between residents and stakeholders of a community are key to building trust and power together. These partnerships are built on the foundation of welcoming environments, trusting relationships, overcoming differences of opinions, recognizing each partners’ equal expertise and ownership, and increasing input from diverse perspectives.
ENGAGE COMMUNITIES. Ensure that numerous types of stakeholders are engaged throughout every phase of project development. Communicating directly with the communities and providing a means for their input to inform decision outcomes is essential for meaningful engagement.
Use the ground truthing process to allow all participants to benefit from the expertise of community experts, develop and preserve relationships with community experts. Ground truthing informs the development of a project based on the lived and on-the-ground experiences from community experts.
MEANINGFUL BENEFITS. Ensure direct and meaningful benefits for low-income and disadvantaged communities.