Community Agreements

Last updated: December 16, 2021

Thank you for your interest in being part of the Sierra Club community! We strive to create a welcoming environment where everyone can participate and be heard. We believe people are our most vital resource and that everyone deserves equitable access to opportunity, benefits, and the great outdoors.

The Massachusetts Chapter of Sierra Club’s values grows from our commitment to make equity, anti-racism, inclusion, and justice integral to every part of our organization and our work. The purpose of this document is to build an understanding and practice of the conduct we expect from our staff, volunteers, and everyone who is involved with Sierra Club in Massachusetts.

Please read and review this web page. You can direct any questions to chapter@massachusetts.sierraclub.org. Failure to comply with the following agreements may result in termination of volunteer status, membership, and/or suspension of privileges (campfire login required).

Our vision for Sierra Club is an organization where no one feels like an outsider; where everyone in our community feels like an ally working for global change as part of a team of people who value equity, justice and democracy. We want it to be a place where every volunteer, staff member, and leader feels a deep personal commitment and responsibility for breaking down inequities, building up justice, learning from the experiences of others and creating welcoming spaces for everyone to become involved. We strive to create a community made up of people who are empowered to draw on their personal backgrounds and unique experiences to make our organization more inclusive. This Sierra Club aims to work harmoniously together with partners and communities to lift up successes—not on a single organization’s contributions to a particular goal. Through this internal transformation process, we will become an organization that has close partnerships—built on mutual trust, accountability and goals—with grassroots and community led organizations across the globe, working to achieve equitable and just outcomes together. [1]

As such, we are asking all new and current volunteers to read through and commit to the following community agreements, standards of conduct, and expectations. The goal of these agreements is to help foster a community of trust, set a baseline of expectations that is in line with our principles and values, and hold ourselves accountable to those same principles.

 

Standards of Conduct

The National Sierra Club organization has Affirmative Standards of Conduct that provide pathways for accountability in instances where disputes cannot be resolved at the local level. One purpose of these standards is to clearly communicate how we can reduce harm to the volunteers, staff and partners who are disproportionately impacted by social and environmental injustices as we work towards creating a more equitable, inclusive and just Sierra Club and world. To achieve this, it is critical to consider how society and institutions grant you privileges and/or target and marginalize you. Practicing these equity values will help assure a better Sierra Club and a better world for all of us.

 

Expectations for Volunteers and Staff

We expect that NEW volunteers will: [2]

  • Play an active role in welcoming and including people in our work,
  • Understand what it means to represent the Sierra Club,
  • Act in ways that raise up the voices of those most impacted by environmental injustice,
  • And learn what we expect of ourselves and one another, as we work together to improve the world (see affirmative standards of conduct above).

Additionally, we expect that FREQUENT and RECURRING volunteers will:

Finally, we expect volunteers in LEADERSHIP roles (e.g. committee chairs, ExCom members) and STAFF will adhere to all of the above and read the following:

 

Club Policies

We further expect that all volunteers and staff be aware of and adhere to the following official Sierra Club policies:

 

Values

Additionally, at Sierra Club, we seek to adhere to the following values. If you have any questions about any of the following statements, please reach out to a staff member or volunteer. We’re all growing and learning (see “self-transformation” below) and welcome these conversations. [3]

1. Anti-Racism

We commit to shifting power away from white supremacy, repairing harm, and ending structural racism. Racism is the single most critical barrier to building effective coalitions for social change. Racism has been consciously and systematically erected, and it can be undone only if people understand what it is, where it comes from, how it functions, and why it is perpetuated. 

Because we value anti-racism, Sierra Club staff and volunteers practice:

  • Sustained Action: Anti-racism is focused and sustained action—which includes dialogue and engagement with intercultural, interfaith, multilingual, and inter-labeled communities—with the intent to change systems, institutional policies, practices, or procedures that have racist effects.
  • Maintaining Accountability: To practice anti-racism we must constantly and consistently be accountable to the communities struggling with racist oppression.
  • Committing Ourselves: Recognizing, naming, and rejecting the norms of internalized racial oppression in ourselves, our work, our organization, and our communities. Individual acts of racism are supported by institutions and are nurtured by the societal practices that reinforce and perpetuate racism.

2. Balance

Our effectiveness comes from committing to caring for ourselves and others. Our success depends upon our creativity, imagination, commitment, and sense of the possible. These require rest, rejuvenation, and work-life balance. As a species on this planet, we strive for balance with nature. As an organization, we strive for balance between chapters and the national organization, and between volunteers and staff.

Because we value balance, Sierra Club staff and volunteers practice:

  • Striving & Achieving: While we work on things big and small, we need to also make sure how we do so respects work-life balance. We commit to care for ourselves and each other, for a healthy and thriving people, organization, and planet.
  • Effectiveness: We work collectively toward our shared mission and vision. We are changemakers. As a result of our work, we are helping to realize a just, equitable, and sustainable future where every person benefits from, and contributes to, a healthy thriving planet.
  • Building a Movement: We make an impact through our talents and commitment to the cause. We build power to win. We use a power and movement-building approach and strategy. We hold ourselves accountable for evaluating effectiveness, and we strive to continuously improve, adapt, and innovate.

3. Collaboration

We believe in just relationships that support collective work. We are powerful together and value collaboration over individual success. We believe that real collaboration requires a commitment to authentic engagements and just relationships where we develop and maintain deep partnerships over time—built on a foundation of trust, justice and respect. We work to match intent and impact in interactions, proactively resolve conflicts and misunderstandings (especially across differences), and regularly give and receive feedback in productive and thoughtful ways. We work together in solidarity and mutuality. We work with colleagues and partners to establish and follow-through on shared commitments and consult and share resources, relationships, and opportunities.

Because we value collaboration, Sierra Club staff and volunteers practice:

  • Making Decisions Democratically: The loudest or most powerful person doesn’t get to decide things on their own. We share power, listen, and decide inclusively.
  • Slowing Down: It can often seem like everything is urgent, but slowing down can lead to more collaborative, stronger decisions.
  • Just Relationships: Developing and maintaining these relationships over time, built on a foundation of trust, justice, and respect. Just relationships are transformational as opposed to transactional—they support individual and collective ability to grow, thrive, and work effectively together beyond immediate needs.

4. Empathy

Empathy is seeking to understand another person’s experience, perspective and feelings. The focus is not on how you would feel in the same situation, but is on relating to the other person’s experience and feelings to the best of your ability—recognizing that your own experiences, assumptions, biases and judgments impact your understanding.

Because we value empathy, Sierra Club staff and volunteers practice:

  • Humility: Listen deeply to, and show respect for people with identities, expressions, behaviors and ways of being and doing that are different than your own. Challenge any biases you have that prevent you from believing another person’s experience.
  • Reflecting back what you hear: When others communicate their experiences and feelings, communicate what you hear back to them, validate their responses and determine together what you can offer to meet expressed needs.
  • Recognizing each other’s humanity: Communicate in ways that honor each person’s inherent dignity and agency, including your own, and lead with respect and compassion. Contribute to an organizational culture in which each person's full humanity is recognized and affirmed.
  • Considering and responding to impact: Be aware of the impact of oppression on the people around you and the impact your actions can have, and shift behaviors to reduce harm.

5. Just Relationships

Just relationships are developed and maintained over time and built on a foundation of trust, justice, and respect. Just relationships are transformational as opposed to transactional—they support individual and collective ability to grow, thrive, and work effectively together beyond immediate needs.

Because we value just relationships, Sierra Club staff and volunteers practice:

  • Solidarity with impacted stakeholders: Consult and share resources, relationships and opportunities with people who represent those most impacted by the issues being worked on. Seek to understand and redress past harms on individuals and communities caused by Sierra Club’s work.
  • Honoring the time and energy of others: Recognize, appreciate and value the time, energy and resources of volunteers, colleagues and partners through affirmation and, where appropriate, compensation.
  • Constructive feedback and generative conflict: Provide and openly receive constructive feedback and proactively attend to conflict as an opportunity for learning and growth.
  • Mutual accountability: In your work with colleagues and partners, establish and follow through on shared commitments regarding transparent communication and processes for decision-making, consultation and evaluation. When needed, adapt commitments to support changing needs of marginalized communities.
  • Using correct gender pronouns for each other (e.g. she/her/hers, he/him/his, or they/them/theirs): Gender is fluid and therefore we do not accept a gender binary world (male or female). Before assuming someone's pronouns based on their appearance, you should ask!

6. Justice

We are accountable for our actions, our work, and how we show up with trust and respect. A commitment to justice means doing what is just, even when it isn’t easy. A just world is one where all people are treated with dignity and respect, have their basic human needs met, and have the freedom and self-determination to make choices for themselves without fear of persecution, discrimination, or violence. Our commitment to justice means that we are creating goals for ourselves that are based on collective thinking and collaboration with those who share our values. We are working together actively every day to make that just world a reality, by examining the impacts and outcomes of our work through a justice lens. 

Because we value justice, Sierra Club volunteers and staff practice: 

  • Treating People with Compassion: We respect each other as people on this planet, and we advocate for each other’s rights and dignity.
  • Personal Accountability: We recognize that our actions and how we show up in our work and communities have consequences, and that we must take responsibility for the impact of our actions on others, rather than their intent.
  • Ownership: Ownership begins with accepting responsibility for ourselves, and our work, from inception to outcome. We commit ourselves to owning the outcome of our work, and making sure that we meet our goals, and do what we say we will do.
  • Clarity: We strive to make sure that all who work with us have a clear understanding of what we are trying to achieve, and what is expected. We agree on those expectations in a collaborative manner, respecting differences and working to amplify our individual talents and strengths.
  • Active Engagement: We normalize engagement with those who will be impacted by our decisions before we make them. We also commit to being clear about who is making what decisions, and then owning the decision.

7. Non-Violence

The Sierra Club practices non-violence in our activities. We also practice non-violence in our communications with each other. Non-violent communication is a beautiful tool we have to address conflict, speak our truth, and generally communicate in a kind, caring and compassionate way. Some of these communication skills may be counter to the way we are used to talking to each other, and about one another. We ask that every staff member and volunteer at the Massachusetts Chapter of Sierra Club make an effort to practice these communication skills, and learn to use them in every interaction. 

Because we value non-violence, Sierra Club staff and volunteers practice:

  • Speaking from personal experience: we cannot speak for others personal experience, we can only speak for ourselves. We should never assume another person’s experience is the same as our own. Therefore, we should not use generalizing statements or speak for others. A good way to begin this practice is to use ‘I’ statements. For example, one could say ‘I am frustrated this meeting is taking too long’, rather than ‘You’re taking up too much time’.
  • Making space, taking space: All of us have different levels of comfortability with taking up space. If you are someone who speaks a lot in group conversations, try to focus on listening. If you are someone who is quiet or shy, try out being more outspoken. This is a helpful practice in intentional conversations as well as informal spaces.
  • Meet people where they are and call each other “in”: We are an inclusive, learning environment. When someone makes a hurtful, racist, sexist, transphobic (or other) comment we must address it head on and call each other “in” to discuss how that comment or action was hurtful so we can learn from our actions and prevent them in the future.

8. Transformation

We commit to changing our relationships to power, privilege, and oppression—for ourselves and for the organization. Transformation is an ongoing process to strengthen understanding of our relationships as people and as an organization to power, privilege, and oppression—all in order to work toward equity and justice in ourselves, our actions, and our interactions. 

Because we value self-transformation, Sierra Club volunteers and staff practice:

  • Self-awareness: We work continually to understand ourselves and how we are shaped by systems of power, privilege, and oppression; how we participate in these systems; how we may be both harmed by and benefit from inequity; and how we may contribute to inequity.
  • Allyship: We recognize when inequity is present, take immediate action to interrupt business-as-usual, and work for long-term solutions. We act in support of marginalized people, in accordance with their goals, and work to advance equity in our spheres of influence. 
  • Self-care and community-care: Be aware of the impact of inequities on health and wellbeing and support the development of structures for community care. Be considerate of and support others’ physical and emotional wellbeing, while communicating your own needs or boundaries.
  • Active anti-racism: Especially for white-identifying individuals, work to (1) identify racist policies, practices, and procedures and replace them with antiracist policies, practices, and procedures and (2) understand and own the racist ideas in which we have been socialized and the racist biases that these ideas have created within each of us. [4]
  • Questioning the Status Quo: Many systems in which we operate were built on harmful and outdated foundations that require us to question, challenge, and change. We are open to new ways of thinking and operating.

 

Data Confidentiality

Our data is the basis for much of our power at Sierra Club. It is vitally important, particularly in regard to our member and supporter data, that we are careful with how it is used and shared. Although not all volunteers will have access to privileged or confidential data, we ask that all members of the Sierra Club community be aware of how the data is used and adhere to the following data confidentiality agreements.

The Massachusetts Chapter shares member and supporter data with the national Sierra Club and local Sierra Club entities (e.g. chapter groups and teams) for the general purposes of furthering the organization’s mission and reach. This data may include confidential information, such as contact information, donation history, and records of volunteer activities. In instances where we share member and supporter data with local Sierra Club entities, the data is shared only for a pre-approved single purpose, must be destroyed or deleted, and cannot be reused for other purposes. Local entities must request member/supporter data for each usage. Sierra Club does not share member or supporter data with external organizations. However, we may invite our members and supporters to do so on their own terms.

For example, a Sierra Club volunteer or staff member may suggest that other members sign up to make phone calls for an endorsed candidate. Individual members then may willingly give their own personal information to the candidate’s campaign either by signing up online or in-person, but volunteers and staff are prohibited from sharing member lists in format. In rare exceptions, a staff member or volunteer may pass along an individual member or supporter’s contact information to an external organization or entity, but only with clear written or verbal consent from that individual.

All volunteers must agree to the following to the following: [5]

  • Volunteers will not, either during their involvement with the Sierra Club or after, share or allow the disclosure of confidential or private information acquired during their term at the Sierra Club. This includes insight into endorsement decisions, privileged member and volunteer data, and details of internal confidential planning conversations.
  • Volunteers understand and agree that all lists, reports, data, information and other works produced by the volunteer within the scope of their relationship/work, shall be the sole property of the Sierra Club and that volunteers shall have no title or rights therein.
  • The volunteer’s username and passwords to accounts to which data is shared (Google, Campfire, Salesforce, email, etc.) are for their use only and will not be shared with anyone. The volunteer will take reasonable means to keep their passwords secure.
  • If the volunteer notices or suspects a security breach, they will immediately notify a staff member or other volunteer leader.
  • The volunteer will only have access to the data they are directly in need of and only for the duration they need it for their work.
  • Upon termination of their relationship/work for whatever reason the volunteer’s access to all internal information sharing networks shall be removed.

 

Signature Form

(1) Adapted from Join Us in This Walk Through the World Together

(2) Adapted from Sierra Club Performance Hub - Setting Expectations

(3) The following value statements are partially adapted from the Sierra Club Washington Chapter’s code of Conduct, as well as from Sierra Club's Core Values

(4) Adapted from What Does it Mean to Be an Anti-Racist What Does it Mean to Be an Anti-Racist (National League of Cities, July 2020)

(5) Adapted from the Sunrise Boston 2020 data confidentiality agreement