Extraordinary General Meeting on Future Purpose of ISEP to vote on new name

After 18 months, we are reaching the conclusion of the Future Purpose of ISEP project, which has been exploring whether our purpose and identity is fit for the future of a professional membership organisation with more than 22,000 members across 125 countries. 

It has been vitally important that members have been right at the heart of this in-depth, open and inclusive process. What it has demonstrated, is how important our organisation is to members, our profession and the wider sustainability and environmental movement. 

Across 26 workshops, interviews, webinars and surveys – which amounted to 6,400 member engagements – members responses have emphasised how much the sustainability and environmental profession has grown in both scope and influence since ISEP’s inception 25 years ago. Shifting from the fringes of the global economy, to be deeply integrated into the day-to-day workings of corporate, governmental and societal life.  

Some of the key outcomes of the project include: 

  • 97% of members surveyed want to retain our purpose as a professional body driving standards across the sustainability and environmental profession. 
  • In general, members thought:  
      • The legacy and reputation, built around our current name (including the term “Institute”), was important. 
      • That we should champion global sustainability professionals, careers, and green skills. 
      • We should embrace the broad spectrum of sustainability in the workplace. 
  • But only 43% of members felt that the current name and brand fully reflected the organisation’s mission. 

And when presented with alternatives, 75% of members surveyed preferred our name to evolve from ISEP to: The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP). 

Ultimately the consensus feedback from members is that this new name better reflects the broader scope of roles and responsibilities they now deliver; and it will help to equip them and the wider profession with the credibility, recognition and standards they deserve.   

Based on the preferred choice of members, ISEP’s Board has made the recommendation that our name should evolve from The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) to The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP). 

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On Tuesday 19th November, all members should receive an email from our independent voting provider Civica, that offers two options for casting an online vote For or Against the special resolution “to change the name of the organisation from The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) to The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP)”.

Option (1) – Vote by Proxy (pre-meeting voting closes at 10.30am Friday 6th December GMT).  

Option (2) – Vote on the Day (vote live online at the Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled to take place at 10.30am Monday 9th December GMT). 

Please join us in deciding the future purpose of an organisation and profession that means so much to us all.