Between 9-13 September, we held our inaugural Climate Week – a week, kicked off by ACEVO CEO Jane Ide’s thought leadership piece, of focused content on encouraging civil society leaders to take action on climate change. Back in 2019, we declared a climate crisis and have since been working to provide more information and drive stronger climate leadership across the charity sector. As set out in the article that appeared in Civil Society News at the start of the week, we held Climate Week in efforts to engage our members and all charity leaders, encourage people and organisations to take action, whether or not they are directly involved in climate and the environment, and to promote the importance of this work to ensure the sustainability of our sector and society at large.
On day 2, we hosted a webinar which saw Andrew Brown (executive director at Veolia Environmental Trust) talk to Mamta Borgoyary (executive director at SHE Changes Climate) and Caroline Macfarland (founder, Common Vision and director, The Better Conversations Initiative) about whether civil society can afford to care about climate change. The key takeaway from this conversation is that civil society must prioritise climate change not as a separate issue but as one that intersects with and impacts other social challenges, such as healthcare, education, and livelihoods. The speakers highlighted that climate action needs to be inclusive and equitable and recognise intersectionality, which requires moving away from top-down approaches and engaging diverse populations. They spoke about how empowering marginalised communities, especially through entrepreneurship, is crucial, as is effective narrative building and storytelling to overcome fear and confusion. They highlighted that civil society has a unique opportunity in that it already reaches many different populations and can appeal to them in different ways. A key message was that collective action can break down barriers and the balance between urgency and pragmatism, combined with optimism, is essential for meaningful action.
The LinkedIn live with Jane and Areeba Hamid (joint executive director at Greenpeace UK) on day 3 saw the leader of a major environmental organisation talk about the difficulty of tackling climate change amidst rising global temperatures and environmental disasters such as forest fires, floods in Kerala, and elite athletes in Paris struggling with the heat, and the crackdown on the right to protest in the world. When speaking about the most pressing environmental issues in the UK today, Areeba spoke about the vulnerable populations i.e. women, disabled people, and people of colour being more susceptible to the impacts of climate change. It was highlighted again that all the issues are interconnected and collaboration with other civil society organisations, including those without a direct climate focus, is vital for achieving large-scale change. When talking about what keeps her motivated in the face of environmental challenges, Areeba said: “I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didn’t have hope”.She urged individuals to embrace activism, particularly on campaigns that protect the right to protest, and to hold on to the hope.
The podcast episode published on day 4 saw Jools Townsend (chief executive at Community Rail Network) host a conversation about the intersection of climate and social justice with Jabeer Butt (chief executive at Race Equality Foundation) and Kamran Mallick (chief executive at Disability Rights UK). The discussion highlighted that the impacts of climate breakdown and environmental degradation are being particularly felt by marginalised communities, which exacerbates existing inequalities and injustices. This means that a just future is unattainable without addressing the climate crisis and more often than not, these groups are being excluded from high-level discussions on climate solutions. The speakers noted the importance of ensuring everyone has a voice in the climate debate and that our sector is uniquely positioned to understand and advocate for solutions that address both immediate and long-term needs. They highlighted the importance of collective efforts, involving and empowering young people, being ambitious, and local and government action.
As part of the week, we also ran a survey to gather civil society leaders’ reflections and challenges regarding taking climate action.
On civil society overall making the biggest difference, thoughts were through purposeful leadership that prioritises sustainable transitions and avoids superficial gestures, raising awareness of the urgency of climate change, holding suppliers accountable, implementing sustainable practices, and ensuring all policies are climate conscious. When it came to civil society leaders themselves making the biggest difference, respondents said by integrating climate considerations into all aspects of their organisations, from operations to decision-making, resource allocation, risk management, and regular evaluation. The importance of ethical and sustainable practices, such as reducing carbon footprints and choosing responsible suppliers was emphasised. Leaders should advocate for training, collaboration and openly communicating climate challenges to inspire action.
The main challenges faced in integrating climate action into their work includes insufficient funding, lack of time and capacity, difficulties in prioritising climate initiatives amidst other pressing tasks, and viewing climate action as an “add-on” rather than being integral to strategies. There were some concerns about professional disagreements, based upon stakeholders, funders and members not prioritising climate action. Another challenge amongst smaller organisations outside the environmental sector is not knowing how to contribute meaningfully. The motivations for engaging in climate action included a moral and ethical responsibility, both as individuals and organisations, and a personal passion for the environment. Responsibilities included commitments to care for future generations, a sense of duty as citizens, and recognition of climate change as an existential threat to the world with marginalised communities being particularly vulnerable.
When asked what advice they would share with those at the start of their climate journey, suggestions included taking sensible, incremental steps and focusing on reducing your own footprint rather than getting distracted by short-termism. One can begin by including climate-related actions in annual plans, conducting carbon audits, engaging staff in brainstorming solutions, making climate discussions routine at all levels, or encouraging board-level support by framing climate change as a major risk. A key piece of advice was that it’s important to take action, however small, and learn along the way without waiting to have complete knowledge on the issue.
Climate Week was a success and there’s much for us and the sector to take away from it. The discussions across different platforms revealed the need to come together and work as a collective to achieve success and that addressing climate change is not just an environmental issue but a critical component of social justice and equity. As we reflect on the insights from Climate Week, let’s unite in our efforts to understand that taking climate action is intrinsically linked to our sector’s pursuit of justice and equity for all.
