The scene – South East London on an unusually warm mid-October day. Georgie, Anneliese, Tom, Vineeta and I travelled via train from all directions to attend the 2024 Blue Earth Summit at Woolwich Works to join over 7,000 other individuals keen to learn from one another on how we can move the needle when it comes to the intersection of sustainability and business.
The venue itself was not only very fitting given the building’s purpose has “expanded and adapted as the world around it changes”; but also evoked nostalgia for Georgie recognising the imprints her family physically laid on this very site! Her grandfather worked in the building for over 50 years, her mother would buy pie and mash in the nearby square, and we passed the building society her parents got their first mortgage from. The foundations of yesterday are peppered throughout the area, and it was inspiring to see how the community is repurposing what was a Royal Arsenal into a vibrant, community cultural hub.
Community was a throughline for this entire event. Personally, all of us were eager to catch up with familiar faces from various organisations, however more critically, wider community engagement was demanded in almost every presentation, panel and workshop.
It feels like an obvious and imperative action to embed in all organisational goals, but even reflecting on our own community we were eager to engage with, it was important to take a step back and think – how do we ensure we considerately and continually engage communities beyond our sphere? Especially when it comes to sustainability and equitability, are we all taking a bottom-up approach and considering those on the ground as well as those generations to come? Additionally, are we as a sustainability-focused community creating an inviting environment for those not in the space to come learn to be better, rather than be shunned? If you are asking yourselves these questions too, I’m pleased to tell you, there are some serious trailblazers who are doing just that, that you should look into:
- Cool Earth and Joycelyn Longdon trailblazing climate justice on the ground, authentically with community-led conservation projects.
- Sulaiman R. Khan demonstrates how disabled people are excluded from the climate movement, and also how they’re disproportionately impacted by climate change. Climate change is disabling. We need to change how we view disability and think of ourselves as ‘pre-disabled’ rather than non-disabled, then make the world more accessible.
- Earth Minutes amplifying youth voices at the event and asking the tough, but necessary questions. You can watch their intergenerational content series from the event, but on a day to day basis they work with young people to communicate their environmental research, campaigns and projects more effectively.
- Those on the panel regarding how high-investment ensures equitable community benefits, by demanding businesses start putting nature on the board. Most GDP is reliant on nature and businesses need to start treating it as an asset class. Investing in nature and the communities that business directly affects, results in regeneration on both fronts.
- Environment Bank – With a dedication to high-quality nature restoration, they actively connect organisations with UK farmers and landowners to evoke sustainable and local biodiversity conservation – rewriting futures and safeguarding the planet.
We’re miles better than where we started when it comes to community engagement, but it does not mean we have arrived. We must do what we can, every time, to create a seat at the table for all stakeholders when it comes to climate justice. Kalpana Arias, of Nowadays On Earth said it best “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”.
We know that risk is the most powerful motivator and when it comes to businesses, it was clear and this event and in world events, our climate is at risk thus businesses are too. So as businesses – we must challenge the status quo of trailblazing through resources for the sake of shareholders and start prioritising people, not pockets.
If we all advocate for the collective community, we can evoke positive change. I’m encouraged by how many businesses are designing alongside their communities, but it’s time we create spaces that draw other businesses, outside of the sustainability space, to start prioritising this as well. That’s how we’ll see systematic change.
