All eyes on Glasgow

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Transform, the magazine for IEMA sustainability professionals. I hope you are staying safe, and managing to have a productive October and November.

This time of year is autumn in the Northern Hemisphere; in the UK, the nights are getting shorter and we will soon be into Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night celebrations. This year will also mark a much more significant event, as the eyes of the world will soon be on Glasgow and the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP), attended by countries that have signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. One person who has seen many of these events and who has been at the heart of the negotiations is Professor Sir David King, a former UK government chief scientist. On page 14, he gives us his thoughts on the chances for real change from this set of talks.

“Members of the IEMA staff team will be talking to students all over the world, letting them know about the benefits of IEMA membership”

This is also the time of year when the academic year is in full swing. Members of the IEMA staff team will be talking to students all over the world, letting them know about the benefits of IEMA membership and the exciting professional development paths they can follow – do let us know if you would like us to visit your institution, either in person or virtually. We are proud to work with many higher education institutions; as Charlotte Bonner explains in her article on page 21, further education organisations have a crucial role to play in upskilling the workforce for a zero-carbon future.

Gene editing could provide new ways of developing crops that could increase productivity and help us adapt to climate change, supporting global agriculture. It could also cause problems for organic farmers, and perhaps divert limited funds for research away from more nature-friendly solutions. Catherine Early considers the arguments for and against on page 25.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the magazine. As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments, and any ideas you may have for features or articles. It’s your magazine, and we would love to hear from you!

Sarah Mukherjee MBE, CEO, IEMA