groundWork: The Environmental Justice Group That Made South Africa's Deadly Air Illegal

Formed in Pietermaritzburg in 1999 as South Africa's Friends of the Earth affiliate, groundWork works alongside communities living beside coal-fired power stations, mines, incinerators and landfills to fight environmental injustice. Its landmark #DeadlyAir case, launched in 2019 with the Vukani Environmental Justice Movement, led the Pretoria High Court to rule in March 2022 that chronically polluted air over the Mpumalanga Highveld Priority Area breaches residents' constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health. The government's appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal in April 2025, cementing the ruling as one of the first in the world to hold a state liable for ambient air pollution. groundWork continues to run its annual Environmental Justice School and supports grassroots alliances such as the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance, which brings together 13 affiliate community organisations fighting industrial pollution.