New Governance for the IEMA

IEMA members voted unanimously to approve a new governance structure at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting on 13th June 2007. The new Articles of Association provide for a new Board to develop and take forward the Institute’s strategy, supported by a representative Council which will provide advice on issues relating to the Institute’s members and the profession as a whole.

New Governance for the IEMA

IEMA members voted unanimously to approve a new governance structure at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting on 13th June 2007. The new Articles of Association provide for a new Board to develop and take forward the Institute’s strategy, supported by a representative Council which will provide advice on issues relating to the Institute’s members and the profession as a whole.

Background

It is over seven years since the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) was formed. Over this time period, the IEMA has grown to be the largest professional body for environmental sustainability professionals in the UK, with over 11,000 members and an ever-expanding range of membership services. In January 2007 alone, the IEMA received over 285 new membership applications and over 340 people registered onto the February 2007 Open Book Assessment. Not only does this reflect the importance of environmental issues to business and society as a whole, it's also a demonstration of the need for well qualified and skilled people to address the environmental threats we face.

With this growth came the realisation that the governing structure, which had served the Institute so well and in particular helped to move the organisation forward when it was formed in 1999, was not necessarily appropriate for the Institute moving into the future.

As such, over the last 12 months the Institute's Council undertook a review of the IEMA's overall governing structure and developed proposals to make amendments. These proposals were supported by members at the recent AGM.

New Structure

The previous structure of the IEMA had at its core a Council; each Council member was also a non-executive director of the IEMA. The Council was made up of elected representatives and co-optees from the membership, together with two executive directors - in total there were 26 Council members.

The new structure comprises a Board of Directors and a representative Council.

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The [page:iemaboard] is responsible for:

• Determining the Institute's strategic objectives and policies, taking into account advice from the representative Council
• Agreeing and monitoring the Institute's business plan and budget
• Appointing the Chief Executive and overseeing the recruitment of Executive Directors and the Company Secretary
• Being accountable for the Institute's activities to the Institute's members.

The maximum number of Board members is 12, comprising Executive (up to 3) and Non-Executive Directors (up to 9). Of the 9 Non-Executive Director positions, 6 are for IEMA members and 3 are for independent Non-Executive Directors.

Non-Executive Directors will normally be appointed as members of the Board for one term of three years; terms will be arranged so as to stagger the process of appointments to provide continuity to the Board. Non-Executive Directors may seek re-appointment to the Board for a second term, although at the end of the second term they will cease to be eligible for a period of 3 years.

The Board will elect a Chair who will be responsible chairing Board meetings and for reporting to the representative Council on the Institute's overall progress.

The members of the new Board, appointed by the Institute's Council, are:

Name	Position	Organisation
Adrian Belton	Executive Director	Natural England
Barrie Clarke	Director of Communication	Water UK
Jiggy Lloyd	Independent consultant
Ian Housley	Head of Business Assurance, Training and Development	Clancy Group
Jonathan Garrett	Group Health, Safety and Environment Director	Brett Group
Paul Pritchard	Corporate Responsibility Manager	Royal and SunAlliance
Ian Russon	Manager - Systems and Resources	Corus Colours
Russell Foster	Chief Executive	IEMA
Martin Baxter	Technical Director	IEMA

Representative Council

The Council will be the representative body of the members of the Institute and will act as the key advisory body to the Board on issues relating to the Institute and the environmental management and sustainable development profession as a whole.

In addition, the Council, which will comprise up to 40 members, will be responsible for the Institute's Memorandum and Articles of Association and for appointing the Board.

The Council will be constituted through a combination of elections (both individual and corporate members) and appointments by the Institute's Regional Steering Groups.

Regional Steering Groups

The Institute will continue to operate with Regional Steering Groups, which will be responsible for appointing their own Steering Group members. Each Regional Steering Group will also appoint a representative onto the Council.

If you require further details, please contact either Russell Foster, Chief Executive [email protected] or Martin Baxter, Technical Director [email protected] on 01522 540069.