Working for a new normal

The world has been transformed in an incredibly short period of time as a result of COVID-19; my heart goes out to those of you who have been directly or indirectly affected by the disease.

The economic impacts are having significant impacts on members, with many being furloughed, working from home, or finding themselves with no income because they are self-employed, or have lost their job. We've put measures in place to support you if you're finding it difficult to pay membership fees, and I encourage you to get in touch with the membership team to discuss the options, if necessary.

We're working with different parts of government (including the Treasury,Defra and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and with key business sector bodies to ensure that the future 'new normal' will be better than the old ways of doing things. IEMA's message is simple – build back better, and put sustainability at the heart of the recovery.

“We must 'lock in' the benefits of the deeper community connections that many people have developed during the pandemic“

This means accelerating the transition to our net-zero climate target, enhancing organisational and supply chain resilience, and investing in green jobs and sustainability skills. We must also 'lock in' the benefits of the deeper community connections that many people have developed during the pandemic. It is vital that government underpins the improvements we're seeing to our natural environment (better air quality, lower carbonemissions and so on), with businesses receiving support on the condition that they make environmental and social commitments.

The coronavirus pandemic hasn't altered the science of climate change, the plastic waste crisis hasn't gone away, our natural capital and biodiversity continues to be degraded, and our resilience to flooding is unchanged. If we're to address these significant challenges, we need to use this period of change to create a sustainable future.