groundWork, an environmental justice NPO (est 1999), seeks to improve the quality of life of vulnerable people through a just transition to open democracy and energy sovereignty towards its vision of people living well with each other and the earth. Established in 1999, groundWork Friends of the Earth South Africa is a principles driven non-profit environmental justice organisation working towards a just transition and open democracy in South Africa and beyond. To realise this vision, groundWork partners with affected communities to resist dirty energy and toxic production, building solidarity and local alliances that advocate for open debate and democratic control over resources such as energy, waste and health towards a viable future. Working with community organisations, peoples’ movements, and other civil society actors to hold government and corporates to account, groundWork challenges environmental racism and injustice on the ground. It seeks to ensure that the constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to people’s health and well-being is realised and that their livelihoods are secured. groundWork does this work through five key campaigns including Climate and Energy Justice, the end of Coal and fossil fuel extraction, Zero Waste, Healthy Hospitals and Environmental Health. Over the past 10 years groundWork has run an annual Environmental Justice Activist School for our constituent communities from across South Africa and Africa.
