Board commissions review of IEMA’s purpose and identity

The protection and restoration of the natural environment are challenges that have entered the mainstream. Awareness of the need to act urgently on the climate and wider environmental emergencies is growing among the public, in business and in government. Coupled with this is a shift towards a fuller understanding of sustainability that incorporates the need to consider the social implications of growth alongside the environmental and financial ones.

To ensure that IEMA can continue to play a lead role in the journey towards a more sustainable economy and allocate its resources to best effect, the Institute’s Board has commissioned a review of its purpose and identity.

During February and March, a series of workshops took place with IEMA members around the world to seek their views on how the Institute should move forward. These sessions will be followed up with a member-wide survey in April. The insights and recommendations that come out of this research will be presented to the IEMA Board later in the year, at which point decisions will be taken on next steps.

Specifically, the review is examining:

1) Purpose Exploring with members and other expert stakeholders what they believe to be the future of the profession and IEMA within the context of the mainstreaming agenda on sustainability. This includes questions on whether IEMA remains a professional body or expands its remit to be a membership home for other individuals and organisations with an interest in environment and sustainability.

2) Identity We are exploring whether IEMA’s name, tagline and other identity elements are fit for purpose over the long-term, based on the insights that we gather on the Institute’s future purpose. As a not-for-profit membership organisation, IEMA seeks to invest its revenues into creating greater value for our members, so it’s only right to consult on what the future purpose and mission of the organisation should be.

If you would like to know more about the review, please contact [email protected]