Dr Adam Read and Amy Bloom (SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK), Sarahjane Widdowson (Intelisos) and Helen Chaplin (CIWM) reflect on the CIWM Presidential Inauguration, held earlier this month, and the themes that arose during the event.
Is the future bright and green?
Amy Bloom (SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK) recounts her experience from the opening session – the ‘Future Influencers’ panel.
There was a definite sense of anticipation on the morning of 29 June as we waited for the start of the 2021 CIWM Presidential Inauguration.
In keeping with experiences from the last year, this year’s inauguration was held online which allowed greater participation levels than in previous years, and it was great to see many different points of view and experiences being shared as our sector looked forward to 2030 and beyond.
Sitting on the future influencer’s panel with Lennert de Rooij and Kieran Ball, and sharing my thoughts on where the sector might be – and what I hope it will be – over the coming decade, was a great experience and I would like to thank CIWM for enabling this to happen.
As 100 billion tonnes of material is consumed annually and only 8.6% recycled2, there is no chance of our sector becoming obsolete. However, with shifting consumer trends (for example, one online fashion rental platform reported a 600% increase in demand in 20201), it is undeniable that change will happen around us, and we must be ready to adapt to these influences with the necessary skills in place to deliver the jobs of the future.
As discussed during the panel, which was chaired by the outgoing CIWM President, Trevor Nicol, any reinventing of the wheel must be avoided, but there is a clear need to build the necessary infrastructure and services that will be able to meet predicted and actual consumption and legislation changes.
The future is exciting and 83% of millennials feel greater loyalty to a company that enables them to “contribute to social or environmental issues”, so retaining talent should not be a problem for progressive resource management organisations.
To ensure that we can secure the necessary investment in our sector to meet the needs of the communities we serve, it will be critical to think systemically and collaborate with those outside our own sector, designing objects and materials that can be recovered and reused with ease in the evolving system.
To enable this, and promote meaningful transformation of waste management by 2030, real-time and accurate data capture and representation will be critical to provide the evidence required and create compelling and influential stories to further influence future decision making at all levels.
Lennert, Kieran and I are all starting out in our careers, but come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences, which successfully showcases the diversity of opportunities in waste and resource management today.
The future is exciting and 83% of millennials feel greater loyalty to a company that enables them to “contribute to social or environmental issues”3, so retaining talent should not be a problem for progressive resource management organisations. But how do we encourage people to take that first step and join our sector, when for many it is a dirty end-of-pipe industry?
Visibility and raising awareness of the almost endless career paths available is crucial in making our sector attractive to new recruits of all ages. For me, the lightbulb moment was learning as an engineer that traditional energy from waste facilities are not the only option, and that there are a portfolio of advanced technologies now being deployed globally to treat residual waste.
To help enable this lightbulb moment for others, we need to embrace more guest lecturing from industry experts, get waste sector organisations, including CIWM, to career fairs and develop young-professional support networks (as CIWM are doing right now), whilst apprenticeships will also have a key role to play as our sector grows and transforms.
Whatever 2030 will look like, I think it is an exciting time to be working in this industry and I am looking forward to playing a part in working towards a more environmentally sustainable world.
Schooling is key, but is it working?
Helen Chaplin (CIWM) reflects the second conference session, which focused on the role of the education system in delivering a new workforce equipped with the required skills.
As Morgan Philips (Global Action Plan) stated, we all know that many young people are concerned about the environment, however he suggested that they ‘unlearn’ this behaviour as they see older generations disregarding the environment more.
It’s therefore important that we can show young people that we do care, in order to maintain their enthusiasm.
Initiatives such as Green Skills Week, which took place in April 2021 (and will return in April 2022), as Rachel Saunders (Speakers for Schools) discussed, can help young people think about the future, their role in it, and how they can shape it by providing virtual talks, insight days and work placements.
Recent surveys show employees strongly support for working with a company that has green credentials, so this should be paramount to organisations looking to retain talent and attract their future workforce.
Anne Velenturf (Leeds University) questioned whether some socio-economic groups can afford to invest in their education, and highlighted that equal opportunities to green education studies is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed.
She called on industry advisory groups to help higher education bodies to identify skills gaps, for government to set policies that will ensure investment in the sector, and for regulators to support skills development and test core competences at the sites they visit and audit.
By focusing on supporting the right attitudes and values, such as an openness to learning, problem solving and creativity, it will nurture those interested in the green sector and develop their skills further.
The overriding message from this session was that we must empower young people and, as such, it is important that we listen to them and support them. Only then will they be able to rise to the positions of responsibility that they are capable of, with the skills required and the competences that are so essential in driving forward the circular economy, resource efficiency and a green economic recovery.
The panel agreed that teaching subjects such as waste, resources, climate change and other environmental topics in UK schools was, on the whole, poor.
This is because teachers need help with such emotive and complex topics. These subjects are changing rapidly around us, so there was also a questions about what reference material could and should be used.
After school club activities are insufficient in teaching such important lessons, so it would be beneficial for these topics to be included on the core curriculum, like the other important subjects.
The panel went on to urge government to set the right conditions for green economic recovery, including divesting from a fossil fuel-based economy, as this would showcase the new career paths and opportunities for sector entrants and school-leavers.
They championed a call for a new industrial strategy with circular economy and green skills at the centre of it. But, in order to do this, the government will need to increase funding for education, and “refresh” the way students learn in schools – which is a big ask given the issues surrounding teaching during lockdown.
Sector bodies, such as CIWM, can support this where the education and training needs are specific to the sector’s transition, but it’s crucial that the government also endorses this, enables it and provides suitable reassurance that these areas of industrial activity have a long-term future.
The overriding message from this session was that we must empower young people and, as such, it is important that we listen to them and support them. Only then will they be able to rise to the positions of responsibility that they are capable of, with the skills required and the competences that are so essential in driving forward the circular economy, resource efficiency and a green economic recovery.
If you are interested in watching back the morning session you can view it here.
Over lunch, CIWM’s outgoing president passed on the chain of office to the incoming President, Dr Adam Read, External Affairs Director at SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, who chaired the afternoon session of the conference.
Skills for tomorrow?
Sarahjane Widdowson (Intelisos) summarises some of the key themes from the afternoon conference session.
First up was Dr Adam Read (the CIWM’s 105th president) who launched the Presidential Report which sets the agenda for his term of office – skills for the future.
The report examines the skills our sector will need over the next five years as we address the significant policy reforms in our sector (from DRS and EPR to consistent collections) and the following five-year period as we begin to transition away from our current recycling economy to one that is more carbon focused.
We’ll need to adapt to a future which is more circular, where resources are valued and where natural capital and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions are prioritised.
Adam challenged the audience to take control of their professional development, whilst challenging CIWM to make sure it doesn’t become ‘marginalised’ from the big resource debates of tomorrow.
Adam challenged the audience to take control of their professional development, whilst challenging CIWM to make sure it doesn’t become ‘marginalised’ from the big resource debates of tomorrow.
I then presented the work behind the report, from the horizon scanning and industry interviews, to the testing of key messages with other professional bodies, which had informed Adam’s call to arms for the sector.
The final panellist in the first afternoon session, Katie Cockburn (CIWM), took up the challenge on behalf of CIWM, outlining all of the work that is currently underway within the organisation to drive forward this agenda, from a new Skills for the Future Working Group (if you are interested please let us know) to the expanding professional standards framework (with other professional bodies) and new methods of online delivery and new training modules that align with the identified skills needs and priorities for the next five years, including diverse topics like reuse and repair, transition management, behaviour change, and life cycle analysis.
The afternoon panellists were a diverse group of experts, and they were asked to reflect on the report and highlight what their own organisations/sectors are doing to push the skills agenda forwards and contribute to a green recovery.
If you are interested in watching the afternoon sessions, you can do so here.
Three common themes arose that are prominent in the report:
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Soft skills
The report outlines a number of core skills that our sector will need to rapidly adopt if we’re to transition effectively.
One of the most cited was soft skills, which chimed with all panel members, particularly those contributing to the Government’s Green Jobs Taskforce such as Nick Molho (Aldersgate Group) and Sue Fearns (Prospect).
Soft skills, including leadership, project management, change management and behavioural change and communications, are core competences that our workforce will need to be impactful in the future.
Without them, we won’t be able to drive the myriad of new projects and systems needed or collaborate effectively with those across the sector and, more importantly, beyond our traditional sector.
Science and Technical Skills, or STEM, was one skills area which wasn’t widely mentioned by stakeholders contributing to the report but was flagged by online attendees, as the poll result shows:
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Systems Thinking
Systems thinking was also identified by attendees as the skill area with the most pressing need. A theme that arose frequently during the panel debates (as promoted by Phil Beach, Energy & Utility Skills), systemic approaches to policy development and implementation were high on the agenda.
To have real influence we need to work with all sectors, but particularly those in the material value chain, because they are the ones that we can really add value to by providing clean secondary materials to help decarbonise their activities.
This point was made loud and clear by both Guy Mercer (Mayer Environmental) and Jonathan Young (Natural Resource Wales).
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Language
Finally, the language we use and its relevance to our stakeholders needs careful attention.
Carl Beer (MRWA) highlighted that the transition must be about carbon and jobs and not ‘waste’ per se. We need to reframe this conversation and showcase the links between these elements and what we do now and in the future if we are to attract more people to the sector, gain the ear of government, and influence future policy and investment decisions.
Presidential reflections
Dr Adam Read (CIWM’s 105th President) reflects on his first conference as president (and chair) and looks forward to the year ahead.
It was so good to ‘see’ so many delegates join me on this major milestone in my career in waste and resource management.
I have always aspired to be CIWM President since my earliest sector engagement and my days with the New Members Network back in London in the mid-1990s, which has everything to do with the Presidents of that era (John Leaver, Helen Toft, Colin Burford, et al).
They were supportive, encouraging, and accessible, and they helped inspire my love of the sector and this great institution. I am humbled and honoured to wear the chain and will do my best to represent CIWM and all its members in the year ahead.
The issue of skills, competences, knowledge, and learning have always been part of my DNA. I love to learn and, over the years, from my time tutoring undergraduates and supervising postgraduates, to mentoring colleagues, and coaching through CIWM and ISWA, I have enjoyed helping others develop even more.
If you are interested in why I wanted to become President and my choice of theme, I explore this in the first of a series of presidential podcasts.
I would like to thank all panellists for sharing their time and expertise, and for everyone involved who inputted into the report. Your insights have been invaluable in setting my presidential year off on the right foot.
Given the scale and speed of change facing our sector in the next five to ten years, the skills gap is a real concern, and was an obvious choice as my presidential theme.
In recent years I have seen our sector become marginalised from major debates, as being end-of-pipe and not progressive, but this is changing through our decarbonisation plans, our increasing influence with government and our importance to the public as a front-line service provider.
But all progressive organisations and industrial sectors are reliant on a well-trained and competent workforce, and the resources sector has a huge transformation ahead of it – from embracing artificial intelligence and building a fleet of local repair specialists, to front line recycling teams that can help businesses to get it right first time (when they start to segregate target materials) and engineers and technologists who will ensure we have the right blend of new facilities to manage hard to recycle and niche materials.
But, if we get this right, our sector and the people within it will be central to the Government’s green recovery agenda, and that sounds like a great career opportunity for us all.
I would like to thank all panellists for sharing their time and expertise, and for everyone involved who inputted into the report. Your insights have been invaluable in setting my presidential year off on the right foot.
But now the hard work begins, as we (the sector, CIWM and professional resource managers) begin the transformation, identifying the key skills and the roadmap to their delivery, identifying funding opportunities and key partners along the way, and socialising this with our members and the sector at large. Buckle up!
References:
1 Why British Women Are Spending Thousands Renting Clothes In Lockdown (forbes.com)
2 World Consumes 100 Billion Tons of Materials Every Year, Report Finds – Yale E360
