Initiatives
Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN)
The Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN) is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Compliance Assistance Center, administrated by the Environmental Law Institute. The center’s goal is to assist local governments in improving their compliance with federal environmental regulations, compiling and creating resources for local government officials, environmental managers, and community and environmental justice organizations. LGEAN’s online platform provides resources including reports, case studies, podcasts, and webinars on topics ranging from stormwater pollution and air quality to climate and sustainable communities. More information about LGEAN is available on the project webpage.
Nashville Food Waste Initiative
The Nashville Food Waste Initiative is a pilot project of the Natural Resources Defense Council to develop high-impact local policies and on-the-ground actions to address food waste. NRDC and Urban Green Lab, a local partner, run the Initiative, and ELI serves on the Initiative's leadership team. The Initiative's goal is to engage governments, consumers, restaurants, community institutions, and retailers to prevent food waste, rescue surplus food to direct to hungry people, and compost and digest what’s left to help build healthy soil. NFWI develops local and national strategies to prevent food from going to waste, rescue surplus food, and recycle food scraps, which in turn serve as models for cities around the country. More information about the Initiative is available on Urban Green Lab's project webpage.
Arctic Food Sovereignty and Self Governance
The Food Sovereignty and Self Governance project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of existing and emerging Inuit co-management frameworks in Alaska and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) of Canada. The 2.5-year project is a collaboration between the Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska, the Environmental Law Institute, and the University of Alaska. The FSSG project team is reviewing policy and institutional structures and processes related to Inuit self-governance of marine resources to better understand barriers to and opportunities for enhancing Inuit self-governance, based on both the legal system and existing practice. More information is available on the project webpage.