Back to school! Key takeaways from Sustainability Week
One of the joys of owning an SME is being able to decide exactly how we spend our time. Rhi and I wanted charitable support and pro bono activities to be a central pillar of our business and so “Emanate Impact” was born. We were thrilled to support Hatch Enterprise (a charity for entrepreneurs from marginalised groups in society) at our launch party in June.
As August draws to a close, holidays are becoming a distant memory and we are getting ready to gear up for the start of a new academic year, it feels like an opportune time to reflect on the support I provided to our local primary school last term. Throughout my career, I have dedicated time to supporting students and young professionals through traditional work experience, ad hoc calls and coffee meetings, CV reviewing, mock interviews and mentoring. With so many complex challenges to grapple with in the built and natural environment, we need all the great ideas and passion from the next generation so if I can help to encourage and inspire them, I do. Before we launched Emanate, as a working Mum, whilst I did not have the time to sit on school committees and organise fundraisers, I did help our local school on an ad hoc basis and, for several years, this included teaching during Science Week and Sustainability Week.
Following the launch of Emanate Consulting in April, I was thrilled to be invited to talk to Years 4 and 5 during Sustainability Week in the summer term. Sustainability Week is a fantastic initiative, during which the children take part in a range of activities: from planting seeds and working in the school herb and vegetable patch, to taking nature walks, visiting the nearby Wildlife Trust Garden and participating in workshops facilitated by adults working in the sustainability field.
My brief was to tell the children about my career path and bring my work to life. As an experienced public speaker, you’d think I’d find this a doddle! Not so. Normally I’m talking in front of professionals whom, even if they are not subject matter experts, at least have some understanding of the planning and development world. So I went back to basics, stripped out all jargon and kept the concepts simple. I need not have worried. I was absolutely blown away by the understanding and interest some children already had and the line of questioning, often far beyond their years. Using my career journey as a framework we explored corporate sustainability strategies, renewable energy planning, housing and social infrastructure. Some questions and suggestions that stood out included a discussion about s106 contributions (although the girl who asked this wouldn’t have known that this was what they were); density (why don’t we just build up instead of out?); and nature (why isn’t the value of nature and the benefits it provides for water, health and climate change properly taken into account in decision-making?). Indeed. Perhaps we should heed the words of this very intelligent and passionate next generation…
We are always on the look out for opportunities to support charitable causes and community endeavours through Emanate Impact. Please get in touch if you have a suggestion and we would be pleased to consider it in future.