**1. Introduction**

This chapter seeks to present the practices and the knowledge of socio-environmental organizations have developed and acquired relating to environmental justice. This can be connected to social work in general and specifically to sustainable leadership and organizations in social work. In this chapter, the research methodology is presented first, followed by a brief contextualization that includes shows legislative and institutional advances in both Chile and Colombia that address sustainability, environmental justice, and socio-environmental problems. The findings are based on the thoughts and opinions of the leaders of socio-environmental organizations and movements, and they are organized into the following two categories: (i) the purposes of the socio-environmental organizations and movements, and (ii) the beliefs that support their action. Finally, there is a discussion and the conclusions are presented. The conclusions show that the organizations are a collective social force against environmental inequality and discover

that the information that emerges from the practices and knowledge of socio-environmental movements should be included in social work education considering its connections with sustainable leadership and organizations.

The attention to environmental social work began at the origin of the profession with Jane Addams and the Hull House [1–4]. In addition, it is important to consider the work of Mason *et al*. [5] and Krings *et al.* [6] because of their analyzes related to the history and scope of environmental social work scholarship. Importantly for this chapter, the Krings study found that no papers were published in social work English-language journals related to environmental topics in South America between 1991 and 2015.

In Germany, the Information sdienst Sozialarbeit [Social Work Information Service] [7], a socialist magazine that incorporated the views of various left and alternative movements, organized the first debate that explicitly highlighted the connection between ecology and social work. In addition, this gave rise to the idea of a paradigm shift toward an ecosocial approach in social policy and social work by transforming the social question into an ecosocial question ([8–10]; cited by [3]). In North America, the debate on whether to incorporate an ecosocial approach began later. In this tradition, academics, such as Soine [11], Berger and Kelly [12], Hoff and Pollack [13], and Hoff and McNutt [14], took the position that the critical application of the ecosocial approach highlights the importance of considering the natural environment and the finite nature of natural resources as fundamental pillars for social policy formulation [3].

Dewane [15] states that the first mention of the importance of the natural environment in the social work practice can be found in the 1995 *Social Work* article by Berger and Kalley entitled *Habitat Destruction Syndrome*. In 1996, Park discussed the role of social workers in the environmental movement in the *Social Work* article *The Person is Ecological: Environmentalism of Social Work* [15]. Besthorn and Saleebey (2003 cited by Dewane, [15]) assert that social work "has always had an ambivalent understanding of its relationship with the natural world" (p. 20). Since social workers know that context is a prime determinant of quality of life, the deteriorating natural world must become an integral part of the practice of social work.

Kemp [16] indicates that the focus on person and environment has been a defining element of social work's professional identity. The code of ethics of the International Federation of Social (2005) states that social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. The code of ethics of the International Federation of Social Workers [17] states that social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environment. In addition, McKinnon highlights, (2008) the codes of ethics for the social work profession in countries, such as India, Chile, and El Salvador, also make the links between environmentalism and social work practice clear. Since the earliest formal beginnings of the profession, social workers have understood that the place *where* people live profoundly influences *how* they live and it also has implications for equity, social justice, and health. Translating this understanding into practice, however, has proven to be difficult. Moreover, as Saleebey [18] has noted, "the person-environment perspective is part of the axiological structure of the profession." (p. 8) Since the profession's earliest formal beginnings, social workers have understood that the place where people live profoundly influences how they live and has profound implications for equity, social justice, and health.

In addition, international associations have created various working groups to develop, promote, and strengthen environmental justice. The European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW), for example, created a special interest group called Ecosocial Work in Social Work Education. Likewise, one of the four pillars

#### *Experiences of Socio-Environmental Organizations and Movements in the Framework… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106282*

set out by the International Federation of Social Work in their Global Agenda for 2010–2020-namely, "working toward environmental and community sustainability" specifically identifies environmental issues and has generated numerous conferences, congress workshops, symposiums, and events that expand and develop on this theme.

Social work academics should renew existing social work models and perspectives to take environmental problems into account, particularly their consequences on the most vulnerable people. This will improve the capacity of social workers to tackle environmental injustices by proposing collaborative solutions to address them. Due to the extent of the environmental crisis, it is important to act immediately. Leff (cited in Cantú [19–21]), makes explicit that it is indispensable "to begin through education as a total and integral process that allows for the development of every human being and the discovery of mechanisms to reexamine the behavior and social practices that threaten the ecological and cultural conditions of environmental sustainability" (p. 40). Translating this understanding into practice, however, has proven to be difficult.

Addressing this challenge must begin with comparative research to identify curricular experiences that incorporate an environmental justice perspective and have previously been successful. This will require activating processes of exchange and dialog among academic communities on the best ways to respond to this common challenge. Specifically, sharing experiences and relevant data will help academics to save considerable time, and thus, initiate the necessary adjustments and transformations in social worker training programs. Ideally, these processes of exchange and dialog should focus on two key topics: first, course content and pedagogical strategies and, second, routes to institutionalize an academic culture that promotes environmental justice in the curriculum.

The academic literature concerning environmental issues and education in social work reveals a small but significant flow of work seeking to link ecology and sustainability with the traditional social justice concerns of the profession. This type of literature, however, is only used peripherally in social worker training programs compared to literature that focuses on the main concerns of the profession.
