Impact Report 2021
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IEMA - the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment - is the global professional body for everyone working, studying or interested in the environment and sustainability. This impact report sets out our 2021 positive contribution towards a sustainable future and how we're managing our own environmental footprint.
OUR CEO
OUR CEO
Sarah Mukherjee is the CEO of IEMA. She was the BBC's Environment Correspondent for many years, presenting on national and international BBC radio and television news, working – and winning awards – across the world, and was on the National Food Strategy Advisory Panel. She is a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Environment Agency and is a governor of Harper Adams University. Sarah was awarded an MBE for her services to agriculture and farmer well-being in 2021. Sarah has been a Campaign for Real Ale beer judge and a rugby reporter in the past - two activities she still enjoys - and is a runner and yoga addict.
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Resources
The Membership
A recognisable
mark of excellence
Number of members at an IEMA professional grade 11,786
Number of people who upgraded to a professional grade 1,792
How many exams we’ve processed 2,943
Number of people on an IEMA specialist register 637
Practitioner application turnaround time reduced by 55% and Full applications reduced by 33%
Continue to be a licensed body for CEnv with more than
1,779 CEnv members. IEMA has the most CEnvs registered of any licensed body and registers most CEnvs on an annual basis
Our Partners
Our Partners
96 Training Centres
252 Corporate Partners
37 University Partners
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Membership Countries
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IEMA is a global organisation with members in 113 countries
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Training Centres
Training Centres increased from 86 in 2020 to 96 in 2021
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Interactive Maps
IEMA’s Carbon Reduction commitments
IEMA is proud to participate in three schemes:
Pledge to Net ZeroCommitting organisations from the environmental services sector to take a leadership role in the transition to a net zero economy. It requires ‘science based’ transition reductions from its signatories to tackle their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as thought leadership and content to support the net-zero transition (see “Resources” below). Through Pledge to Net Zero, we are also a partner within the UN’s Race to Zero campaign.
Climate Neutral NowA global community of organisations committing to Climate Neutrality and reporting on actions and achievements annually.
Professional Bodies Climate Action CharterThe Charter aims to leverage greater collective ambition through interdisciplinary ambition to drive climate action.
IEMA’s Carbon Reduction commitments
We calculated our reduction targets using 2019 as a baseline, and set GHG emission reduction commitments against the 1.5 degree warming scenario to:
During 2021 IEMA made the decision that all staff would work permanently on a homeworking basis. We have calculated homeworking emissions for 2021 and restated the 2020 emissions to include homeworking emissions (and necessary commuting) from March onwards. Homeworking adds just over 7.5 tonnes CO2e to our previously reported 2020 total which is now 22.7 tonnes CO2e. Our total emissions for 2021 are 21.7 tonnes CO2e.
View our targets and GHG performance here. The full details can be viewed on the PDF report here.
IEMA’s Carbon Reduction commitments
Resources
Race to Zero – Lessons learned and best practice - Calculating homeworking emissions
- Carbon Offsetting
- COP26 Call to Action: Doubling the efficiency of products sold globally
- Climate Science and COP26
- COP26 and Sustainable Finance
Net Zero Explained - Climate Change and Energy Toolkit
- To view all resources please visit using a larger device
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Community
and Networks
IEMA Futures
Resources
Community
and Networks
IEMA Futures
Our Statistics
7 newsletters with high engagement rates (average open rate of 48% ).
6 virtual events In 2021, we trialled a mixture of event styles, giving our network the opportunity to attend workshops, networking events and traditional presentation-style events. Attendance rose from approx. 215 attendees in 2020 to over 260 in 2021.
5 articles were submitted to TRANSFORM, providing the opportunity for Futures network members to have their voices heard on topics that matter to them. The network grew to over 230 members compared to 206 in 2020.
2021 was a productive and rewarding year, despite being another strange one, with different challenges to tackle. After a series of workshops asking for insights on enhancing member support, we created our new volunteer toolkit, which incorporates resources and support including the volunteer handbook, events handbook, and other supporting forms along with some new processes and an induction video. We also re-launched the Regional Networks MSTeams channel and created sub channels within this for each Region, enabling volunteers to connect, share ideas and communicate easily.
The toolkit can be found on the newly created volunteer portal, a centralised and easily accessible space on the website that sits alongside the recently updated Regional Networks page.
During 2021 our volunteers organised and hosted an incredible number of diverse events including careers workshops, beach cleans, and webinars on greenwashing, the race to Net Zero, and sustainability and the built environment adding an enormous amount of value to our members. Thank you to all our Regional volunteers, for being the voice of IEMA and creating engagement activities for our members across the globe.
We wanted to formally acknowledge the hard work of our Regional volunteers and as such we introduced a recognition package which includes: gifting a tree for each volunteer, profiling, and exclusive access to events such as the networking session during the Connect annual conference.
On behalf of IEMA I’d like to say a big thank you all our Regional volunteers for being the voice of IEMA and creating engagement activities for our members across the globe.
I loved being able to listen and talk
to like-minded people and learn about
current topics that are happening
around the UK and how everything is interconnected.
Member feedback
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IEMA Regions
Resources
Sussex & Surrey Vice Chair
Regional networks page
-
Volunteer Portal
Volunteer Handbook
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Volunteering Video
-
South West Beach Clean.
I loved being able to listen and talk
to like-minded people and learn about
current topics that are happening
around the UK and how everything is interconnected.
Member feedback
Fellows Network
Fellows Network
Fellows Overview
Sustainable Finance
IEMA Fellows (in collaboration with the GESA Group) participated in workshops to provide comments to the ISO Technical Committee 322 to help shape its forthcoming standard which sets out principles and practices to support financial organisations to enable positive environmental and social outcomes, risk mitigation and deliver sustainable value.
Furthering this objective, the Fellows actively supported IEMA in highlighting the crucial role that members can play in sustainable finance by contributing to scoping sessions to help deliver a masterclass introductory series for sustainability professionals approaching the topic.
Disruptive Technology
The IEMA Fellows working group on disruptive technologies and digital economy developed a thought-piece examining the role of smart solutions in supporting professionals to scale up the transition to sustainability within their organisations.
Knowledge, Insight
and Influencing
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Knowledge, Insight
and Influencing
Citations
-
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Green Jobs Taskforce report
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Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Net Zero audits: state of the market and the potential to drive action
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Environment Agency Achieving net zero - a review of evidence
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House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Green Jobs
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House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee The future of the planning system in England
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House of Lords European Union Committee Beyond Brexit: food, environment, energy and health
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Natural England The Biodiversity Metric 3.0 (User Guide)
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UK Climate Risk Independent Assessment (prepared for the Committee on Climate Change) Technical report (business and industry)
Statistics:
- 3 journals
- 2 masterclasses
- 5 newsletters
- 6 policy consultations
- 3 roundtables
- 7 practice reports/guidance
- 1 select committee inquiry (oral evidence)
- 3 select committee inquiries (written evidence)
- 33 webinars with 16,480 registrants and 8,827 attendees
- 13 workshops
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Knowledge, Insight
and Influencing
Policy and Practice
Governance Review
The Governance Review made several recommendations, which have been adopted by the IEMA Board, to improve the structures that sit around the delivery of the Institute’s policy and practice work.
A key recommendation was to put in place a Policy and Practice Committee to provide long-term and strategic oversight of all IEMA policy and practice activity. The Committee will begin its work in early 2022.
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Knowledge, Insight
and Influencing
Climate Change and Energy
Working with members in the Climate Change and Energy network, IEMA contributed to important developments in 2021. We published an explainer guide on net-zero and contributed to Race to Zero consultations, advocating credible approaches and principles.
Regarding BEIS consultations, we are delighted that scenario analysis will now be required within climate related financial disclosures (an IEMA policy call in 2021) and we contributed to proposals to enhance and improve the ESOS Energy scheme. Ahead of COP26 we updated IEMA’s Climate Action toolbox and at COP26 presented IEMA developments and evidence at an official side event in the UNFCCC Climate Action zone.
Resources
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Knowledge, Insight
and Influencing
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Impact Assessment
In 2021, the Impact Assessment Policy Area continued to provide high quality content to members with a programme of webinars, articles and publications.
Highlights included the 10-year anniversary and update to the EIA Quality Mark Scheme and the publication of Principles for Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment.
In addition, two new working groups were launched on Social Impact Assessment and Strategic Impact Assessment.
Resources
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The Environment Bill/Act
IEMA continued to work on the Environment Bill as it made its passage through Parliament. We had meetings with Ministers and members of the House of Lords, as well as regular meetings with policy officials.
The Environment Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 9th November 2021 and we were pleased that the new governance framework for managing the environment closely follows the proposals we published in 2018 with the Broadway Initiative in the “Blueprint for a New Environment Act”.
In parallel to the Bill’s passage onto the statute book, we made written submissions on the Government’s draft policy statement on Environmental Principles, and on amending the Civil Procedure Rules to establish the new environmental review mechanism in the High Court.
Our focus has now shifted to providing support to ensure effective implementation of this major new piece of environmental legislation.
Resources
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2021 saw IEMA featured in the national and trade press and presented at COP26. The media and communications team launched an IEMA podcast, covered COP26 from Glasgow for IEMA members and ran a virtual work experience programme for school students with the Speakers for Schools charity.
Our social media channels continue to grow and engage with our audiences, with the addition of an IEMA Tiktok channel to our social coverage. We had 2 media campaigns covered exclusively in the i newspaper and online, as well as radio coverage during COP26 and regular trade press engagement on our policy and practice work. We presented at COP26 in Glasgow, speaking at side, fringe, membership and corporate events and updated our website and social channels with video, social and blog content from both IEMA members and the wider delegations there.
In early October we commissioned a YouGov poll with the Policy team into public attitudes to climate change which featured in the national news as a precursor to COP26. The findings from this poll were used in creating leverage for presentations IEMA made in Glasgow and supported the Marketing team in promoting IEMA Connect 2021 - our first ever virtual members’ conference.
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Over the course of 2021, IEMA were able to contribute blogs, statements and be profiled within the press, including such outlets as The Guardian, YouGov, The i Paper, the BBC and more. As we enter 2022, we have already gained coverage in the Evening Standard and The Independent; with a new and more reactive media point, we hope to increase IEMA’s profile even further. You can view our media and public engagements here.
Our Statistics
New LinkedIn followers (since 2020)
13,664
New Twitter followers (since 2020)
1,465
Total email comms sent (Jan-Dec 21)
1,252,516
Total hits generated on IEMA.net
2,832,898
My IEMA visitors
623,344
Transform magazines sent
78,924
Podcasts
8
Podcast followers
523
Podcast downloads
3,641
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IEMA Connect Overview
Connect 2021, held on Thursday 9th December 2021, was our first members’ only virtual conference, with official Partner Sponsor LRQA and exhibitor sponsor RRC International. The conference provided a full day of practical content with 8 keynote sessions and panel discussions with 26 expert speakers and 3 corporate collaboration sessions providing a space to discuss and debate on some of the most hard-hitting environment and sustainability topics. Using our brand-new conferencing software, we welcomed over 1,200 attendees from over 40 countries and hosted multiple networking sessions and open discussion rooms whilst also providing a dedicated appointment scheduling area to interact and engage with one another. Pre-conference bookings saw over 2,000 registrations and throughout the day we hosted 5 dedicated IEMA virtual booths for Regions, Training, Corporate, Membership and Support and facilitated virtual meetings, live chats and shared knowledge spaces with our global network of professionals. All sessions were recorded and are available on-demand for IEMA members, here.
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Inclusivity and
Diversity
IEMA Code of Professional Conduct
Strive to ensure equality of opportunity and respect diversity in my professional activity. This means I will:
Treat others fairly.
Strive to ensure equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion, supporting human rights and dignity.
Act in a way that safeguards the physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing of others.
Be respectful of the customs, practices, culture and personal beliefs of others in my professional activity.
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GREEN SKILLS & JOBS
Finances
Finances
We will publish our Directors’ Report and Accounts for 2021 on completion of our external financial audit and sign-off from the Board.
Overall, IEMA’s financial performance in 2021 has been positive and a net surplus has been generated. Income outperformed budget expectations and increased by over 13% compared with 2020, exceeding £3million for the first time.
