Back in November 2021, I interviewed Dr Helen Goworek, Associate Professor in Marketing and Equality Diversity and Inclusion Lead for Durham University Business School.
We discussed the need for individuals and organisations to look at their own activities in relation to sustainability and take responsibility ahead of any legislation coming. We are now both certified Carbon Literate following training from Durham University and the Carbon Literacy Trust.
Meanwhile, not surprisingly, both the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) have also recognised the urgency of responsible sustainability. They have each crafted new diplomas to give us the education and tools to address this.
When thinking about changes to how we do things, it’s essential to understand that individual and collective actions impact the whole planet, not just where we live. Let’s face it; we have experienced some relatively severe weather conditions in the UK this summer with very high temperatures, as well as floods and wildfires, which are replicated around the world. This could be a result of our own activities in the UK and international activities in the USA, Argentina, and Australia, to name a few.
The fact is that the science is showing that we humans are responsible – and, perhaps more importantly, we can also mitigate or even reverse the process if we do the right things in the right places at the right time – but this must be now not later. We talk about ‘future generations’, but this must be our generation. We talk about the sustainability agenda in boardrooms, but it’s now time for action with sustainability plans in place and their implementation a priority.