Communities for a Better Environment

What Communities for a Better Environment does

Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental justice organization founded in 1978 and headquartered in California, operating through four field offices in Richmond, East Oakland, Huntington Park (Southeast Los Angeles), and Wilmington. The organization employs roughly 65 staff across legal, research, and organizing functions, and is led by Executive Director Darryl Molina Sarmiento, Legal Director Shana Lazerow, and Director of Research and Policy Bahram Fazeli.

CBE's mission is to build community power in low-income communities of color to achieve environmental health and justice by preventing and reducing pollution from refineries, oil drilling, warehouses, freeways, and industrial facilities. Its work combines three pillars: community organizing (engaging and educating residents to influence environmental decisions through public comments, regulatory hearings, and direct action); legal advocacy (litigating against refineries, oil-train operators, and state agencies, frequently with Earthjustice as co-counsel); and research (documenting pollution disparities, including cumulative impacts studies and the Crude Injustice on the Rails report). It serves as a core member of coalitions including STAND-L.A., the Last Chance Alliance, CEJA, and APEN.

CBE does not sell products or services. Its revenue model consists of charitable donations (individual giving via its website) and grant funding from foundations (e.g., Liberty Hill Foundation for four decades, Kaiser Permanente, EDF) and likely government sources. It has no proprietary technology platform; outreach is conducted through Instagram, email newsletters via Action Network, blogs, press releases, community meetings, and coalition channels. Its "distribution" is direct community engagement, public-interest legal work, and coalition-based advocacy across California's most pollution-burdened communities.

Name

Communities for a Better Environment

Legal name

Communities for a Better Environment

Website

https://cbecal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Communities for a Better Environment is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1978 that uses community organizing, legal advocacy, and research to advance environmental justice for low-income communities of color across California, with offices in Richmond, East Oakland, Southeast LA, and Wilmington.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Justice Advocacy Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Policy, Advocacy & Litigation (BPAGAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pollution Prevention & Toxics Reduction (BPAGAGAJ), State/Provincial Environmental Protection & Natural Resources Administration (BPAIABAL), Civil Society Strengthening & Civic Space (BPADAGAD)

Keywords

• Environmental justice advocacy
• Community organizing services
• Legal advocacy services
• Environmental health research
• Climate justice organizing

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CBE primarily relies on charitable donations and grant funding from foundations and government agencies to support environmental justice programs and operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) is a nonprofit environmental justice organization that uses three integrated strategies—grassroots community organizing, legal advocacy, and community-based participatory research—to build power in California's low-income communities of color. The organization engages residents in Richmond, East Oakland, Wilmington, and Southeast Los Angeles to fight pollution from refineries, oil drilling, warehouses, freeways, and industrial facilities, and to advance clean energy and climate justice outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Organizing
• Legal Advocacy
• Environmental Health Research Community-based participatory research documenting pollution exposure, cumulative impacts, oil train threats, and air quality disparities affecting low-income communities of color in California.

Quantifiable outcome

• LA City Council passed first vote to phase out oil drilling citywide - if passed, Los Angeles would become the largest city in the US to take this step
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and notable.

• Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2019CBE partnered with LACI to build a Mobility Hub with a solar-powered e-bike share and bike fix station in Huntington Park, part of LACI's Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund supporting underserved LA communities.
• STAND-L.A. CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE is a member of STAND-L.A. (Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling - Los Angeles), a coalition of environmental justice groups representing frontline communities in South Los Angeles and Wilmington fighting for over a decade to halt toxic oil extraction.
• Last Chance AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE participates in the Last Chance Alliance, a coalition of over 700 organizations waging a multi-year campaign calling on California to protect community health and phase out fossil fuel production.
• Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE collaborates with APEN on campaigns including Stop Oil Trains, fighting fossil fuel infrastructure, and building community-led alternatives to dirty energy.
• EarthjusticecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEarthjustice provides legal representation to CBE in major lawsuits including challenges to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Port of Long Beach oil storage expansion, and Oakland Airport expansion.
• Sierra ClubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE partners with Sierra Club on Right To Zero campaign, clean vehicle standards, and various environmental justice initiatives in California.
• California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE is a member of CEJA, a statewide coalition of environmental justice organizations working together on climate and environmental justice policy.
• Transform CaliforniamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE partners with Transform California on transit and transportation justice campaigns, including opposing oil train expansion.
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE collaborated with EDF on air quality mapping in East Oakland using Google Street View cars to document pollution disparities.
• Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los AngelesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBE partners with Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles on climate and health programs, including advocating for phase-out of oil drilling.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA): CEJA is a statewide coalition of California environmental justice organizations. CBE is a member of CEJA, and CEJA directly mirrors CBE's mission of advancing climate and environmental justice policy through community-led advocacy across California.
• Earthjustice: Earthjustice is a nonprofit environmental law organization that provides legal counsel to CBE on major cases (LCFS, Port of Long Beach, OAK expansion, EPA HF). Both organizations pursue environmental justice through impact litigation and regulatory advocacy, making Earthjustice a closely aligned peer.
• STAND-L.A. STAND-L.A. (Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling) is a coalition of EJ groups in South LA and Wilmington fighting oil drilling. CBE is a core coalition member, and STAND-L.A. just helped deliver the LA City Council first vote to phase out oil drilling citywide.
• GreenLatinos: GreenLatinos is a national EJ advocacy organization advancing Latino community priorities on conservation, climate, and pollution. CBE's Wilmington work centers on a majority Latine community, and both organizations share a Latino-led environmental justice mission and organizing approach.
• Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles: PSR-LA is a physician-led EJ organization that partners with CBE on climate-and-health advocacy, including oil drilling phase-out campaigns. Both operate at the intersection of public health and environmental justice in California, making their missions and constituents closely aligned.
• Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN): APEN is a California-based environmental justice organization building power in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities on energy, land, and pollution issues. APEN is a direct peer—CBE explicitly names APEN as a coalition partner on campaigns like Stop Oil Trains, and both organizations share the same organizing, advocacy, and frontline-community model.

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): EDF is a large national environmental organization that partnered with CBE on East Oakland air quality mapping. EDF's science-and-markets approach and broad policy portfolio position it as a broad incumbent relative to CBE's community-organizing-led EJ model.
• Sierra Club: Sierra Club is a large national environmental organization. CBE partners with Sierra Club on the Right To Zero campaign and clean vehicle standards, but Sierra Club's member-driven, conservation-focused mission is broader than CBE's environmental justice focus.
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): NRDC is a large national environmental advocacy organization that litigates and lobbies on climate, energy, and pollution issues. NRDC overlaps CBE's regulatory and policy work but operates at far greater scale and across a much broader portfolio of issues rather than frontline community organizing.

Others

• Liberty Hill Foundation: Liberty Hill Foundation is a Los Angeles-based community foundation that created the first EJ grantmaking program and has funded CBE for four decades. It is a funder/ecosystem participant rather than a peer, but its long-standing financial relationship makes it a relevant comparable for understanding CBE's funding base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cbe_cal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/communities-for-a-better-environment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Communities for a Better Environment