Hundreds of passionate students gathered at the Kingston University conference for a day of inspiring talks, creative projects and workshops, sharing ideas on how to help to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The event showcased cutting-edge work from across 10 London universities, including the University of Westminster and Imperial College London, allowing students to connect, collaborate, and be inspired.
Speaking at Kingston’s impressive Town House building – designed with sustainability at its core – Baxter outlined the scale of the challenge, explaining: “There will be another 1.5 billion people on the planet by 2050 that will drive more consumption – but there’s a limit to how much our world can provide.
“The really good news is that we have solutions everywhere to deliver on that challenge. We know how to produce food in a more sustainable way. We know how to protect and steward our water resources. We know how to deliver renewable energy.
“What's stopping us? It's how we organise ourselves, and how we value the things that are precious and we depend on. The challenge of our time is going to be about how we organise society and do things in a different way. Carrying on in the same way will not get us to a sustainable future, and that means we need people to change – we need changemakers.”
The longer we ignore the challenges we face, the bigger and more expensive they will become, he said, before explaining how ISEP is “absolutely passionate” about improving the skills and competencies of people to drive change.
Echoing the Institute’s “all jobs greener” message, he continued: “This isn't just about science and technical aspects, it's also about people who are in the humanities, marketing and social sciences – we need a lot more people who are going to be able to support this transition.
“You can be part of the solution by embedding green thinking into you role, and it’s incumbent on you, wherever your career takes you, to think about how you can help deliver change and make a contribution.”
He went on to highlight ISEP's Sustainability Skills Map and Green Careers Hub as resources for all those interested in joining the “green skills revolution”. The conference then saw 12 individual student-led presentations showcasing work across the breadth of the sustainability space, from “innovations driving a low-carbon world” to “closing the green skills gap”.
This was followed by a series of workshops, including one hosted by ISEP’s senior education engagement officer, Kirsty Peck (pictured centre), exploring "transferrable skills for sustainable leadership".
"Transferable skills are versatile abilities, qualities, and competencies – such as communication, problem-solving, and leadership – that are not tied to a specific job but are portable across different roles, industries, and contexts," she explained.
Attendees were invited to brainstorm the skills they have obtained that might not be obviously connected to sustainability, such as the 13 identified in ISEP’s skills map, which include “analytical thinking”, “effective communication” and “leadership”.
The thought-provoking conference highlighted the enthusiasm and passion so many young people have for environmental and social sustainability, as well as the key role that universities and professional bodies like ISEP have to play in helping deliver lasting change.
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of ISEP’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for ISEP members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
