The Cheshire and Warrington Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Commission (SIGC), established in November 2020, aimed to make the subregion the most sustainable and inclusive in the UK. It focused on four key themes: Inclusive Economy, Sustainable Transport, Sustainable Land Use, and Net Zero. The SIGC developed a vision, evidence base, and recommended actions for each theme, while embedding inclusivity through an internal assessment toolkit that expanded beyond the Equality Act 2010 to include socio-economic and marginalised groups. A final report in 2022 emphasised the importance of inclusive decision-making and co-production with communities.

The report responded to growing global and national concerns about environmental inequalities, particularly how marginalised communities often bear the brunt of environmental burdens while being excluded from decision-making. It highlighted the need for an environmental justice approach, integrating social and economic justice with environmental policy. Although UK law offers limited mechanisms for environmental justice, tools like Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) could be adapted to better address these issues, especially by including socio-economic status as a key factor in assessing environmental impacts.

To support this, the Inclusive Environments research project was conducted in 2023, involving literature reviews, community focus groups, and stakeholder interviews. This led to the co-production of an Environmental Justice Framework, developed collaboratively with community members and public/private sector stakeholders through workshops in 2024. The Framework is designed to ensure inclusivity is embedded in environmental sustainability policy and practice, promoting shared decision-making and empowering marginalised voices in shaping and evaluating environmental interventions.