August 9, 2024
My name is Jemimah, and I am currently studying Natural Sciences at UCL. Last month, I volunteered at the inaugural RACE (Racial Action for the Climate Emergency) Summit, organised by SOS UK, The Wildlife and Countryside Link and the Diverse Sustainability Initiative, and was held at our very own Marshgate at UCL East. An opportunity I stumbled upon on the UCL Student’s Union website quickly transformed into a day that left me planning my next steps towards a career in the environmental sector.
The summit aimed to engage those already working in the sector, promoting inclusivity and diversity within their organisations. The attendees ranged from CEOs and Co-Founders eager to learn more, to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & Person of Colour)* employees willing to share their insights. The event concluded with an inspiring speech from Dr. Mya Rose Craig, also known as Birdgirl.
*Throughout the article, Jemimah uses the term BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Colour) which is her chosen word for Minority Ethnic Groups. For more information on the language she has used, please refer to the Oxfam "Inclusive Language Guide".
The day began with inspiring opening remarks from Jason Clarke, UCL's Assistant Director of Sustainability, Alan Guerra, the incoming Sustainability Officer at UCL, and Manu Maunganidze, Co-Director of SOS-UK. They shared their personal stories and emphasised the vital importance of diversity and inclusion in addressing the climate crisis.
Then followed a panel featuring professionals from the environmental sector discussing their experiences and ways to make careers in this field more inclusive. Panellists came from organisations such as the London Wildlife Trust, Clean Air Fund, and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.
Hiba Hussein (London Wildlife Trust) highlighted the pressure on young people to choose careers early in life, often at the expense of exploring diverse paths. She suggested that internships should be targeted at individuals aged 18-25 to allow for career breakthroughs later in life.
Adetola Onamade (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust) pointed out that CEOs often hesitate to implement new diversity strategies for fear of making mistakes. She emphasised that it is better to attempt these initiatives with good intentions rather than do nothing at all.
Olivia Sweeney from the Clean Air Fund shared her experience as a 'Black and Green' Ambassador in 2020, acknowledging the privilege of having parental support – a theme further explored in the parallel sessions.
Overall, this panel shed light on the challenges of entering the environmental sector, be they related to age, financial constraints, or corporate efforts to foster diversity.
We then moved into parallel sessions, and I participated in the one led by the London Wildlife Trust, focusing on removing barriers to access and progression.
The session was divided into two parts. The first part addressed access to the sector. As a group, we discussed several important themes, including the barrier posed by the need to volunteer. One volunteer highlighted the pressure immigrant parents place on their children to pursue secure professions like medicine or law. I completely agreed with her - having immigrant parents myself, who are just cautious of their children being able to find their footing in this country after they have worked so hard to get them here.
The second part discussed the barriers BIPOC individuals face within the sector and how companies can dismantle these obstacles. Noteworthy ideas included reverse mentoring, where junior BIPOC employees share their experiences with senior staff. Another idea that I really loved was employee networking, but in the form of cultural celebrations, so people can learn, but also have fun!
Next, we attended a panel featuring CEOs from Greenpeace, Nature Youth Connection Education, and Wildlife and Countryside Link. The discussion centred around the question: “What can/do you do practically to help share your power?”
Richard Benwell (Wildlife and Countryside Link) stressed the importance of influencing government policies. He noted that environmental organisations’ power is borrowed and must include Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) to effectively communicate their significance to the government.
Areeba Hamid (Greenpeace) and Manu Maunganidze (Nature Youth Connection Education) criticised the traditional leadership model of the stoic extrovert who always has the answers. They advocated for radical transparency and vulnerability in leadership to make staff feel welcome and reduce the isolation at the top.
Manu also emphasised that young people should not be expected to communicate as though they’ve had masterclasses in speaking to adults. Interactions should occur at their level, moving away from formal conference settings.
The long but impactful day came to an end with Ian Salomon-Kawall bringing a whole new energy to the room by making us plant seeds and group up and create rap verses about what we learnt. This again showed how diversity doesn’t have to be a serious and deep conversation topic, but rather something that should be celebrated and shared.
Finally, Dr. Mya Rose Craig shared her reflections on the day and her journey. This completely inspired me as someone who is only slightly younger than her - being able to see a young person confident about her passion for the environment, and what we can do to make sure we can stay focussed on protecting it together.
The RACE Summit was a transformative experience, opening my eyes to the intricacies of inclusivity and diversity in the environmental sector. It inspired me to continue pursuing a career in this field, armed with the knowledge and passion to make a meaningful impact.
The four founding partners of The RACE Report are Hindu Climate Action, Nature Youth Connection and Education, South Asians for Sustainability and SOS-UK. The project is funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and and Sychronicity Earth. The accountable organisation is SOS-UK.
Get in touch at race-report@sos-uk.org
