Attention Toronto based sustainability senior leaders! Join us for the next Inclusion Blueprint Dialogue: Sharing Power and Privilege as Organizational Leaders on September 24, 2024, from 9:30 AM to 2 PM at York University! This important event will explore how senior leaders in sustainability can share their power and privilege to eliminate barriers for diverse professionals. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of the conversation! Please email info@diversityinsustainability.com to register – this conversation is open to people leaders.  

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Eli Browne on July 12th. Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting.  This Office Hours session will take place on LinkedIn Live.

Over an hour, Eli will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

More about Eli:

“Eli Browne is a passionate sustainability professional with over 15 years’ experience bringing sustainability initiatives to life in complex corporate settings. Currently, Eli is the Head of Sustainability for CHEP Canada, joining in 2024. CHEP’s parent company is Brambles, which is recognized by Time Magazine as one of the most sustainable companies in the world. CHEP’s pallets, crates and containers help the world’s biggest brands transport their goods more efficiently, sustainably and safely. As pioneers of the circular economy, CHEP created a sustainable logistics business through the share and reuse of its platforms under a model known as ‘pooling.’ As a member of the Canadian leadership team, Eli is responsible for engaging internal and external stakeholders to lead programs in support of CHEP’s corporate sustainability targets and to incorporate sustainability as part of the company’s value proposition to customers.

Eli has extensive prior experience in bringing sustainability to life in complex corporate settings. She previously worked for Empire Company Limited, the second largest national grocery retailer and the parent company of leading retailers including Sobeys and Safeway. In that role, Eli led a national team responsible for developing and managing sustainability strategy, Environment Social and Governance (ESG) reporting and executing strategic initiatives. These initiatives included setting Empire’s science-based climate targets (becoming the first national grocery relator to obtain target validation from the Science Based Targets initiative), eliminating single-use plastic checkout bags (removing 800 million plastic bags from circulation each year) and launching a national food donation program across Empire’s stores and warehouses, in partnership with Second Harvest (which rescued over 30 million pounds of food in 2023).

Eli has been recognized by the Canadian Grocer Magazine as a Star Woman in Grocery in 2022 and is also a recipient of the Generation Next Award in 2021. She holds a Master of Applied Science degree from  Toronto Metropolitan University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph.”

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Marie Jurcevic on June 27th. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members! Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Marie will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

More about Marie:

“Marie Jurcevic is one of the Co-founders of Diversity in Sustainability and the Sustainability Lead at ARC Resources. Marie leads ARC Resources’ ESG reporting, and disclosure efforts and she supports the development and integration of sustainability strategy within the organization. Marie has been a corporate sustainability practitioner for about 15 years. She has held sustainability roles at Enbridge and Canadian Business for Social Responsibility. Prior to working in the energy industry, Marie worked in the non-profit sector. She specialized in youth engagement and supported youth in various capacities, most notably she was involved in a youth-led anti-racism initiative called Youth Reach Out Against Racism.

Marie has a BA in Sociology from the University of Calgary and an MSc in Responsibility & Business Practice from the Faculty of Management at the University of Bath.”

We're celebrating our 4 year-anniversary for Diversity in Sustainability with a two-part event in Toronto! We love creating engaging and thought-provoking events that cultivate meaningful connection for BIPOC sustainability practitioners and allies, and we are hosting a gathering at Arcadia Earth, followed by drinks and nibbles at one of Canada's only Black-owned Breweries, Mascot Brewery, just a 12-minute walk away. A shout out to our friends at Sun Life and Works Design for making this possible by providing sponsorship for this event!

Experience Arcadia Earth - 3:15-4:30PM

486 Front St. W. building C, Toronto, ON, M5V 0V2

Located in the new WELL building at Front and Spadina, immerse yourself in an eye-opening journey through Arcadia Earth's art installations, designed to inspire action towards a more sustainable future. We’ll go in two groups to take in the exhibit starting at 3:30PM. This is a great way to get to know other sustainability practitioners in a friendly environment. 

Afterwards, Let's Celebrate at Mascot - 5PM-10PM

220 King St. W., Toronto, ON, M5V 3M2

After Arcadia Earth, we'll take a 12-minute walk over to Mascot Brewery, a Black-owned brewery at King and University Ave. for drinks and nibbles starting at 5:00. Your ticket includes one beer, wine or non-alcoholic beverage (try out some of the Black-owned collab beers, including Bruzé, made together with Canada's only Black-owned winery, Nyarai Cellars!) This will be the perfect opportunity to celebrate and meet other members of the Diversity in Sustainability community!  We will also have a few giveaways that evening for guests, including from us, No Women No Spice (organic and direct trade cardamom, black peppercorns and cinnamon from Zanzibar) and Bead n’Butter (a Métis beader from Winnipeg whose work was shown during Paris Fashion week). 

Other notes:

• Spots are limited - reserve your spot now and prepare for a great night! 

• DiS Circle members receive a discount and early access for Arcadia Earth admission and Mascot Brewery tickets. You will have received the discount code via DiS Circle if you are a member, but if not send us a message!

• Each ticket includes a drink ticket and some nibbles! If you’re doing the two-parter, it is $39 for both Arcadia Earth + Mascot and free for the Mascot Brewery only component.

• We want you to arrive home safely. If you are planning to drink, please arrange for alternate transportation.

Join Heather Mak, co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability, for our monthly DIS Circle Orientation, our one-stop shop for BIPOC sustainability practitioners and allies. She will walk you through the architecture of the site and answer any questions you might have as a current or prospective member of DiS Circle. See you there!

This National Indigenous History Month, join us for a discussion and Q&A on LinkedIn Live and Instagram Live with Skw’akw’as (Sunshine) Dunstan-Moore!

More about Skw’aks’as:

“Skw’akw’as Lillian (She/Her) is a Nlakapamux, Stl'atl'imx, and Yakima youth from Tlekemstin, also known as Lytton, British Columbia. Skw’akw’as translates to Sunshine in nɬeʔkepmxcín and proudly uses both names. Skw’akw’as is member and former chair of the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Youth Council. Member of the Youth Advisory Group with the Canadian Commission of UNESCO sitting on the working group for the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages & Expert Working Group in Education for Sustainable Development. She is currently in Environmental Leadership Canada’s Parliamentary Internship for the Environment. Her focus and passions are in International Climate Policy, Climate Justice, and Indigenous Rights. Striving to inspire and support BIPOC youth to take up space within colonial structures. Calls for an intersectional and anti-colonial view of how we write, teach, and think about policy. Skw’akw’as loves Taylor Swift and frequently listens to ‘I can do it with a broken heart’ in colonial spaces.”

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Mercy Maina on May 31st. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members! Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Mercy will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

More about Mercy:

"Mercy Maina is a Senior Analyst in the Responsible Investing team at NEI Investments with a focus on energy, utilities and materials sectors. Prior to that, she was a Senior Consultant with EY Canada in the Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice, where she was involved in working with companies from various sectors on strategy advisory, reporting, assurance and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission verification. Additionally, she has sustainability experience working at an Intergovernmental Organization (IGO), a nonprofit organization, academia, as well as with an in-house sustainability team. These span the United Nations Environmental Programme, International Water Association, Mount Royal University’s former Institute of Environmental Sustainability(IES), and Husky Energy.

Mercy holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in International Business and Economics from Mount Royal University."

Join Heather Mak, co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability, for our monthly DIS Circle Orientation, our one-stop shop for BIPOC sustainability practitioners and allies. She will walk you through the architecture of the site and answer any questions you might have as a current or prospective member of DiS Circle. This session will take place on LinkedIn livestream. See you there!

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Marie Sereneo on May 17th. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members! Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Marie will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

More about Marie:

"Marie Sereneo is a sustainability practitioner based in Calgary, AB. She currently works at ARC Resources, a Canadian energy producer, where she is advancing ARC's carbon offsets program as part of the organization's climate change strategy. Marie brings a diversity of cross-cutting sustainability experiences across public, private, and consulting roles, including the Government of Alberta, Deloitte, and various clients across the energy and financial sectors.

Growing up in Winnipeg, MB, Marie’s passion for the environment was first ignited by a watershed conservation project in high school, which she represented as a Canadian youth delegate at the Stockholm+40 Partnership Forum for Sustainable Development. She went on to complete a BScH in Environmental Science from Queen's University and an MPH in Environmental Health from the University of Alberta. Marie's interdisciplinary research has focused on sustainable water management throughout her academic career, including having contributed as a provincial working group member towards the implementation of water reuse schemes in Alberta.

Beyond her professional roles, Marie is passionate about bringing young and under-represented voices to high-level climate conversations. She is currently a board member with the Clean Resources Innovation Network (CRIN), an Energy Futures Lab Fellow, and a Shaper with the Global Shapers Calgary Hub, an initiative of the World Economic Forum."

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Nicole Jackson on April 12th. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members! Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting.

Over an hour, Nicole will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

Nicole Jackson, a CEEJH Senior Climate Justice Fellow, a U.S. Army Reserve Veteran, and a dedicated advocate for racial and climate justice brings a wealth of expertise to her role as Principal Sustainability Consultant at Monarch PSG. She is dedicated to collaborating with organizations to apply her knowledge in green building principles, sustainability, project management, and policy development. Her goal is to help these organizations achieve their strategic objectives and optimize their operations. Nicole's work involves crafting policies that directly contribute to reducing carbon emissions, implementing effective waste management strategies, and promoting sustainable procurement practices. Through these efforts, she strives to enhance the sustainability and diversity inclusion efforts of these organizations.

Moreover, Nicole leverages her expertise to advance her passion for driving the transition away from fossil fuels, educating others on the core principles of climate policy, and addressing issues like Food Apartheid. Nicole's dedication to sustainability and climate justice is evident through her active engagement with various organizations. Her most recent involvements include collaborating with the NAACP MSC Environmental & Climate Justice Committee, World Wildlife Fund, Inc., and the U.S. Green Building Council.

Beyond her professional commitments, Nicole remains deeply involved in her local community. She serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Sustainable Energy Workforce Development Program at Prince George’s Community College, the Co-Chair of the Prince George's County Climate Task Force Resident Advisory Group, chairs the sustainability committee for the incorporated City of District Heights, is an ecoAmerica Climate Ambassador, and plays an essential role as Historiographer and Public Relations Director within her church's Lay organization.

Join Heather Mak, co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability, for our monthly DIS Circle Orientation, our one-stop shop for BIPOC sustainability practitioners and allies. She will walk you through the architecture of the site and answer any questions you might have as a current or prospective member of DiS Circle. See you there!

Diversity in Sustainability and Canadian Purpose Economy Project are excited to host a two-part discussion with Christelle Francois, CEO of the Equity Economic Development Group, and former President of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, as she shares her experiences blazing trails in the world of social finance, championing Black-owned businesses in Canada, now leading her to becoming a founding member of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project. Christelle will also discuss the purpose economy - creating social purpose businesses in service of an economy powered by the pursuit of long-term well-being for all.

 More about Christelle:

Christelle Francois is a bilingual executive and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of the Equity Economic Development Group, supporting investment funds in diversifying their impact investment portfolios. In 2022, Christelle was listed among the Top 100 Most Influential Black Canadians. She's the immediate former President of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, where she led a strategy that successfully secured over $5M in funding in less than six months. Christelle is the Board Chair of the Table of Impact Investment Practitioners of Canada and was recently appointed as the Board Chair of Boann Social Impact, a Canadian Social Finance Fund Wholesaler and social impact investing firm. She is also a Founding Member of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project.

Date: Tuesday, April 16, 12PM ET/9AM PT

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Veena Jayadeva on April 12th. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members! Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Veena will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

Veena Jayadeva is an impact leader with 20+ years of experience at international organizations, nonprofits, and the private sector. She currently serves as the Equity and Impact Advisor at Conductiv, a venture-backed fintech working with credit unions and community banks to tackle equity in lending.

Recently, Veena was the Head of Sustainability at Guardian Life, supporting the company’s strategic priorities and leading their expanding environmental, social, and governance efforts. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff to the Chief Information and Operations Officer and was formerly the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Prior to Guardian, Veena was Vice President of Development at Grameen America, a NYC-based microfinance institution, and was a Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She spent the early part of her career in international development, microfinance, and CSR in the United States and India at organizations including the World Bank, United Nations, and International Monetary Fund.

Veena is a member of the Board of Directors of Global Impact, the Board of Directors of BRAC USA, the Advisory Panel of Diversity in Sustainability, and the Corporate Leadership Council of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities. She is an active advisor and investor in mission-driven startups.

She holds an MA in International Economics and a BA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University. She received an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and completed Columbia Business School's Senior Leadership Program for nonprofit executives.

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted by James Morris on March 26th, 2024. Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, James will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

James Morris is a Sustainability Manager in the UK Sustainability Hub for Accenture, where he also is the Climate Resilience lead. This role involves supporting many of the largest companies in the world to understand and mitigate against the risks to their business from the impacts of the climate crisis. James also works closely with many of the largest mining and metals companies in the world as a member of Accenture’s Resources Industry practice. James has worked at the corporate office for several major multinational organisations, and has held roles in complex environments in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia, with a focus on significant global issues such as political and social risk,
critical minerals, security, safety and emergency response, business continuity, community relations and human rights. James started his career in the development sector in Iraq and Afghanistan, before spending a decade in the mining industry in Africa. A UK national, on relocating back to London he worked as a risk management advisor for AIG and Aon before joining Accenture.

Join Heather Mak, co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability, for our monthly DIS Circle Orientation, our one-stop shop for BIPOC sustainability practitioners and allies. She will walk you through the architecture of the site and answer any questions you might have as a current or prospective member of DiS Circle. See you there!

Join Priya Bala-Miller as she hosts her DiS Office Hours session on March 11th!

Dr. Priya Bala-Miller is the Founder and CEO of Palmyra Partners, a consulting firm that works to bridge sustainability and social justice. Priya has worked on sustainable development for two decades across three continents. She started her career as an intern with the UN Environment Program in Paris, funded by a Canadian federal program that invested in getting youth into ‘green jobs’. She then spent five years at Consumers International in London, UK as a senior policy officer working on global civil society initiatives that called for greater corporate and government accountability for environmental and social justice. This was followed by five years at SHARE, a responsible investment service provider in Canada. As the International Program Director, she supported a global network of trade union pension trustees to improve their knowledge and advocacy on integrating labour and human rights into investment decision-making. Her next role was the Director of Partnerships and Program Development for a resource-governance think-tank at UBC’s School of Public Policy. Over the past 12 years, Priya has supported the growing sustainable finance ecosystem through roles at the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Coalition of Universities for Responsible Investment (CURI) and the Responsible Investing Initiative (RII) at Carleton University. Priya is currently also a senior advisor on sustainable finance with the federal government, and contributes to DiS in an independent capacity.

Join Marie and Julieta as they explore the intersection of equity, diversity, and inclusion within the sector of sustainability and the University of Calgary’s EDIA Week! They will be sharing about Diversity in Sustainability’s mission of fostering a more inclusive and equitable future for the sustainability field, and will discuss resources to help students and higher education professionals achieve this goal.

Attendees can expect to learn more about our demographics survey, hear takeaways from our Inclusion Blueprint Dialogues sessions centred on youth and higher education, and will have the opportunity to ask questions!

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Atin Prakash on February 29, 2024 at 9:30-10:30AM MT/11:30-12:30PM ET (PLEASE NOTE NEW TIME!). Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting.

Over an hour, Atin will provide an overview of his career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career.

Atin has over 17 years of experience in ESG reporting and GHG emissions calculations, working with companies in Asia, Europe and North America. Having led projects on ESG disclosure strategy, processes, GHG inventory reviews and verification covering multiple frameworks, he has a deep understanding of ESG frameworks, GHG calculations, disclosure roadmaps and tracking performance against emission reduction targets.

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted by Christine Bader on February 12th, 2024. Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Christine will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

Christine Bader is the author of The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil. She lives in McMinnville, Oregon, where she serves on the city’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee; teaches in Linfield University's master of science in business program; and coaches girls high school rugby. Her past positions include director of social responsibility at Amazon; manager of policy development for BP in Jakarta, Shanghai, and London; advisor to the U.N. Special Representative for business and human rights; and contributing writer for The Atlantic. She is also a half-Filipina, TED talker, and mother of twins.

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Karimah Hudda on Feb 2nd. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members! Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting.

Over an hour, Karimah will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career.

Karimah is a woman of color from a small town in India who became a global nomad. Over generations her family journeyed from the villages and small towns of India to North America. At every juncture they navigated a series of choices, circumstances and chances; each move forged a new path of opportunity. Conscious of opportunities she had that others didn’t, she realized early on that her core purpose is to accelerate a world where everyone has the opportunity to rise.

Karimah is now a global citizen who has lived and worked in over 40 countries, often traveling off the beaten path and collaborating with people whose life journeys were as diverse as the coffee and oil palm farms of Sumatra, to the C-suites of the largest corporations in the world, the slums of Nairobi, to the global headquarters of international NGOs. In collaboration with the best, most diverse minds in business, nonprofits and independent expertise, she has catalyzed impact on speed and scale in environment, human rights and livelihoods.

For over 20 years Karimah has worked at senior levels at Fairtrade International, Mondelez International, Nike Inc, and other organizations, building and executing business-integrated people and planet strategies, and catalyzing system-changing industry innovation to accelerate the race to save the planet. She is known for her visionary, out of the box thinking, finding sparks of ideas from the world’s leading experts and innovators, awakening people and planet impetus in C-Suite business leaders, and harnessing the convening power of these groups toward radical systemic change. Karimah’s motto is ‘Believe it to see it.’ She believes in the unique gifts of individuals and spots promising emerging solutionaries, building brain trusts for game changing positive impact on people and planet.

With illumine.earth, Karimah is focused on scaling regenerative ways of living, leading, doing business, which are all key to accelerating the race toward regenerating nature and equity, and thereby securing a thriving future for all of us.

Sign up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkceGsqjkqEtzifzaNuuGGYvouNC_q6q2m#/

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Kevin D’Souza on January 22nd. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members! Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Kevin will provide an overview of his career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

Kevin is recognized professional and practical thought leader with over three decades of direct experience in responsible mining including Environment Social Governance (ESG) related issues. Kevin has a proven and successful track record focused on creating value through informed assessment, strategic planning, governance/assurance and tactical operational implementation for numerous multi-commodity top, mid-tier, and junior mining companies. He has gained wide-ranging knowledge and experience in a variety of consulting, operational executive/board leadership and investment (private equity) roles from remote exploration camps, mine construction sites, operational mines, and closure sites, to Corporate, Board and Ministerial offices. He has worked directly for or consulted to, numerous mining companies including many of the industry’s majors such as Barrick Gold, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kinross, and De Beers.  Most recently he was the Chief Sustainability Officer with Resource Capital Funds where he led the full integration of ESG throughout the company’s investment processes, and prior to that he was the VP of Security, Sustainability & Environment for Centerra Gold. Kevin is known for his strong cross-cultural competency and deliberate relationship-based approach and has also worked extensively on mining related developmental programs for major NGOs and with International Funding Institutions (IFIs) supporting emerging market Governments on mining policy reform and mining sustainability programs (including the World Bank, IFC, EBRD, ILO, USAID and the UK’s DFID). Throughout his career Kevin has amassed direct mining experience in over fifty countries worldwide - with a deliberate and dedicated focus on developing countries in Central Asia, Oceania, South America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Sign up for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvcOqsqjMoGNVdPdPAe8gP1yt5B8KPL2l7 

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Chun Lian on January 12. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members!

Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Chun will provide an overview of his career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

Chun is a net zero and energy management professional celebrating more than 25 years in the building industry on topics including decarbonization, energy performance contracting, building energy modelling, and LEED consulting. At the City of Brampton in Canada, he recently managed the development and completion of net zero studies with multi-disciplinary teams including a community centre study that was approved for tens of millions of dollars at the municipal and federal levels. He has also provided training and taught energy management in the public and private sector in large and small group settings.

Chun has performed energy assessments across Canada and the U.S. for banks, REITs and nursing home clients.  He has also completed energy models for international clients including those in the United Arab Emirates.  He previously served as a LEED energy model reviewer for the Canada Green Building Council as well as an advisor to Brampton’s Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan.  He is a past member of the Energy Leaders Consortium—a cross-industry energy performance program by Partners In Project Green--where he spoke on energy management systems and net zero. 

He currently serves on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Peer Review Committee for the Green Municipal Fund where he reviews the technical and financial aspects of funding applications that seek to reduce energy and emissions in community building retrofits across Canada. 

Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsdeqvrTktGd3NB0iWPTINJDHJ-haPTfrD

It's a new year and you want to learn more about Diversity in Sustainability's new membership, Circle. Learn more about how it works and how to get the most out of it! This session will be interactive, bring your best questions! We have made this at a lunchtime for our North American friends!

Sign up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlceqgqDIqHNd2DHYJ_n7Ho6B4AfDypBsc#/

It's a new year and you want to learn more about Diversity in Sustainability's new membership, Circle. Learn more about how it works and how to get the most out of it! This session will be interactive, bring your best questions! We have made this at a lunchtime for UK/EU friends.

Sign up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwocO-pqj4vG91LRIeoi-GSEnJ6Z80o3eAz#/registration

Within UK climate policy, research, and organizing efforts, inclusivity has been a longstanding challenge. A prevailing assumption among environmental organizations and policy actors was that climate change held limited concern for people of colour. Contrary to this belief, our groundbreaking study of individuals from diverse backgrounds has unveiled a stark reality.

The SPOTLIGHT project presents findings that challenge preconceived notions. An overwhelming majority of people of colour in the UK acknowledge climate change as a human-caused reality, are highly concerned about its effects, and have altered their lifestyles to reduce environmental impacts. Furthermore, the findings underscore the lack of diversity in the environmental sector with only one in five participants having participated as members in environmental organizations. Most respondents hadn't previously encountered the term ‘climate justice’, but they support its core principles; understanding that climate change disproportionately affects the poor, exacerbates inequalities, and demands greater representation from frontline communities in climate solutions.

In this session, Charles will unpack how the study sheds light on climate change engagement among people of colour in the UK, emphasizing the need for greater inclusivity, representation, and new patterns of climate change advocacy and policy creation.

About Charles Ogunbode

Dr. Charles Ogunbode is an Assistant Professor in Applied Psychology at the University of Nottingham, UK. Charles studies social and psychological influences that shape people’s beliefs, emotional responses and action tendencies on environmental issues. His research spans a range of topics including climate anxiety and wellbeing, climate justice, the roles of extreme weather experiences and information exposure in public engagement with climate change, as well as investigating how climate change impacts vulnerable and marginalized groups (including ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and people living in low-income communities).

Charles holds a PhD and M. Res in Psychology from University of St. Andrews.

Our upcoming Office Hours will be hosted with Sabrina Shadie on December 6th. This event is open to all, but going forward will be a regular event exclusive to Diversity in Sustainability Circle members!

Our Office Hours are designed for you to hear from a seasoned sustainability professional and for you to personally ask them questions in an intimate, virtual setting. 

Over an hour, Sabrina will provide an overview of her career in sustainability and answer any questions you might have related to your career. 

A multi-award-winning UK based Diversity Professional with over 20 years’ experience, Sabrina Shadie works to improve equity, diversity and inclusion, by supporting public sector organisations, educational institutions, charities and NGOs as well as private sector entities, to implement effective equality frameworks. Having professional experience founded in the intersection of health, social care and education, where regulations, legal compliance and equality duty are the core of effective practice. Her personal lived experience means she has spent a lot of time analysing and addressing the impact of inequalities and intersectionality on human interactions and development.

Sabrina’s businesses provide high quality advice, strategic planning, trademarked learning resources, diverse stakeholder engagement programmes and community-based networking opportunities. Her clients include the Soil Association, the Marine Conservation Society, The Wildlife and Countryside Link, Scottish Link, Natwest Bank, the Southbank Centre, Sue Ryder, the University of Bedfordshire and the University of the West of England.”

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsc-yhqzMqH9VHibmdze2Wo8GvzSSRQ57u

Join Elana Hazghia for Office Hours! NEW TIME: November 29 12-1PM ET/9-10AM PT/5-6PM GMT!

Elana Hazghia is an independent growth, partnerships & social impact consultant, with over 13 years of experience helping companies, social enterprises and NGOs grow globally while creating tangible impact. She’s worked with these organizations to think strategically about the presence they want to create in the world, in new countries or sectors. Elana has designed and implemented programs and strategies in health, women’s empowerment, education, and community investment across Latin America, North America, Africa and India. She has worked in or with companies including bfree cup, esgEvolution, Global Affairs Canada, Aravis Global, impakt, Lucky Iron Fish Enterprise, Fio Corporation, and Council of the Americas. Elana is a mother of three, and studied International Affairs and Spanish at Skidmore College.