More than 30 UK organisations have now pledged their support to IEMA's campaign to bridge a gap in the supply and demand for environment and sustainability skills.
The organisations backing the campaign represent a broad spectrum of the UK economy, from sole traders to multinational corporations. The campaign is also supported by a number of recognisable names from politics including Joan Walley MP, as well as high-profile individuals, such as Jonathon Porritt.
With six new organisations signing up during January alone, the campaign, Preparing for the perfect storm: skills for a sustainable economy, has now garnered support from 34 organisations. The latest organisations to join the campaign are:
- Skanska UK
- matt:e
- Energised Environments
- A Greener Festival
- The Schumacher Institute
- SW Bruce & Co
The campaign’s origins date from October 2014 when IEMA issued an urgent call to action for the government and businesses to help fill the environment and sustainability skills gap.
A survey by IEMA revealed that just 13% of respondent organisations were fully confident that they had the skills required to compete successfully in a sustainable economy.
With the publication of Preparing for the perfect storm, IEMA highlighted this issue, and how the global economy is feeling the first gusts of a “perfect storm”, consisting of pressures caused by climate change, increasing resource scarcity, unprecedented consumption and a rapidly growing population.
This means businesses are facing higher and more volatile prices, and risks to the security of supply of essential materials, products and services. IEMA believes that environment and sustainability skills will enable businesses to be more resilient and better able to adapt to these challenges.
In this important election year in the UK, IEMA is seeking to add more organisations to the list of campaign supporters. To find out how to sign up your organisation, visit iema.net/skills-campaign.
