Environmental sustainability has become a central focus in the charity sector, with key drivers for positive change including requirements to:

• Understand and reduce environmental impact
• Meet mandatory compliance
• Develop business resilience (cost savings and climate change adaptation)
• Develop, deliver and report on organisational targets and strategy e.g. net zero and Environmental Social and Governance (ESG)
• Develop an organisation’s green job roles and skills to support all of the above!

With many organisations focusing on understanding and reducing a wide range of environmental impacts, it is often challenging to develop and co-ordinate policy, strategy, action and the creation of green job roles to initiate and drive progress. Collaboration is seen as key in the charity sector with organisations now working in partnership to share ambitions, challenges, solutions, resources, progress and lessons learnt.

In this webinar Fergus Rolfe (Project Manager, Fit for the Future network) provided an overview of environmental sustainability activity in the charity sector and how organisations are supporting each other to drive positive change. Anna Frizzell, the RNLI Sustainability Manager, also gave some examples of how being part of the Fit for the Future Network has enabled the RNLI to learn from other members as well as support them and how IEMA environmental training is helping to influence and upskill RNLI staff.

The Fit for the Future network is an environmental sustainability network created by the National Trust in collaboration with Ashden. The network has charities, heritage organisations, local authorities and cultural venues in its membership. Fit for the Future facilitates collaboration and knowledge-sharing of best practice across organisations and sectors so that they can achieve the rapid and far-reaching changes needed to decarbonise, adapt to climate change, build business resilience and drive positive environmental impacts. Network activity covers diverse sustainability areas; including net zero strategies, energy management, transport, procurement, waste, biodiversity, land use and climate-change /adaptation.