The UN General Assembly designated 5 June as World Environment Day in 1972, marking the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. The Stockholm conference spurred on the creation of environment ministries and agencies around the world, and this year over 150 countries are participating in World Environment Day, with Sweden acting as the host. This year, the theme is ‘Only One Earth’, which calls for transformative environmental change on the global scale.


I spoke with IEMA members to find out what they are doing, and to hear their thoughts, on World Environment Day.

Joana Neto Cerejeira AIEMA, climate change and sustainability consultant at AECOM, said:

“The theme for this year’s World Environment Day reminds us that we should re-learn how to live in a sustainable society.

“Our team has recently seen an increased investment in sustainability projects, from the development of net zero strategies for local councils, to the development of carbon accounting methodologies designed for implementation by entire industrial sectors. It is projects like these that show us that companies are starting to join forces and integrate the World Environment Day theme - Only One Earth - into their business models.”

Andrew Marlow FIEMA, director at onePlanet Solutions Limited, said:

“Each World Earth Day comes as an opportunity for environmentalists to pause and celebrate all the work over the past 12 months to protect, conserve and enhance the environment.

“As a teenager in the 1970’s, the first and subsequent World Environment Days had a great personal influence on my career, so much so that the theme of #OnlyOneEarth of the first and this year's 50th World Environment Day was the inspiration for the naming of my environmental and sustainability consultancy, onePlanet Solutions Limited.

“You can hear more of my thoughts in this video where I promote the day.”

For the official website and to find information on events near you, go to worldenvironmentday.global.

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Tom Pashby

Digital Journalist, IEMA

Tom Pashby is a Digital Journalist at IEMA, working alongside the Head of Media Abigail Simmons, and the Senior Media Officer Tim Farmer.

Alongside their work for IEMA, Tom is currently studying part-time for an NCTJ Diploma in Journalism with PA Training, and freelances as a writer and editor. They have written about the climate emergency, LGBTQIA+ rights and the UK constitution for publications including the Times, the i newspaper, Metro, PinkNews and the Ecologist.

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Posted on 5th June 2022

Written by Tom Pashby

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