Diverse environmentalism and inclusivity in Toronto’s Green Economy

Green economy and green jobs continue to be contested discourses that privilege stakeholders, such as green businesses and policy makers. However, less consideration has been given to how those seeking green economy employment contribute to the environmental knowledge about the green economy and green jobs. As part of the regard for social inclusion in the green economy, scholars and policy makers have given less consideration to how marginalized workers (such as racialized immigrants) seeking employment in the green economy in developed countries negotiate their understandings of the environment. In an effort to address this gap in the framing of green economy discourses, this paper uses an environmental justice framework to examine how racialized immigrants perceive environmentalism and how it aligns with the green economy labor market. Drawing on the findings of ‘The Green Gap: Toward Inclusivity in Toronto’s Green Economy’ study, this paper addresses the consequences of shared or different understandings of environmental knowledge in terms of the impact for the green economy labor market and recommendations for how to move toward social inclusion in green economy discourses by including diverse approaches to environmental knowledge.