IEMA Connect 2023: Institute's future discussed on final day

IEMA’s chair and CEO praised members and staff at the end of IEMA Connect 2023 during a panel discussion, where they also discussed the future of the professional body.

The panelists took questions from attendees and summarised the key takeaways from the two-day event, which saw more than 2,000 environment and sustainability professionals attend workshops and speeches.

Areas of focus for IEMA’s future ranged from improving its website and its plans for advocacy around climate policy and skills development at COP28 in the UAE, to professional development opportunities for sustainability workers and IEMA’s financial sustainability.

Sarah Mukherjee MBE, CEO at IEMA, said: “It might sound counterintuitive, but to think about what the future looks like, we need to have a little bit of a think about the journey so far.

“When I arrived in 2020 and started speaking with members to find out what they wanted, quite understandably, some said that that they had some wrinkles that they wanted ironing out.

“For example, while the content on the website was fantastic, particularly on Transform magazine, the delivery processes left a lot to be desired. And in fact, there were two things that people asked me: can we get the website right, and can we increase our profile as an organisation?”

She went on to say that members were also asking about ways to improve direct conversations between each other and how to have a smoother process for updating CPD (Continuous Professional Development) journeys.

That led to what IEMA is calling ‘Project Thor’ – a major IT infrastructure improvement project which will see a new website delivered in due course.

Richard Carter, non-executive director at IEMA, said: “We've had some fairly prudent and careful finance policies in place over the last few years, and that's been extraordinarily helpful given the range of economic turbulence that we've seen.

“That includes general economics, the move towards sustainability and the long-lasting impacts of Covid. So we are absolutely in strong shape.

“In particular, we've been very mindful of the IT investment Project Thor that is very much a platform that will enable us to grow the organisation and will allow us to work in a much more efficient manner.”

Sarah finished by thanking Lisa Pool, IEMA’s head of marketing, who managed IEMA Connect 2023, for delivering the conference, and requested that members keep in touch about any ways they would like to see IEMA improve.

Catch up on all the IEMA Connect sessions on demand here: IEMA Connect 2023 (cvent.com)