Annual Review 2019-20 Photo: David Levenson DAME FIONA REYNOLDS CHAIR
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Annual review and summary accounts 2019-20 Green Alliance Senior management Development team Associates Company registered number team Karen Crane Sue Armstrong Brown 03037633 Shaun Spiers Head of communications Paul Arwas Executive director Frieda Metternich Duncan Brack Charity registered Dustin Benton Programme manager number Chris Church Policy director Liz Potts 1045395 (on secondment to Feb Office manager and PA to Ian Christie 2021) Registered Office the executive director Emily Coats Green Alliance, Jo Rogers Olly Mount Operations director Jonny Hazell 11 Belgrave Road, London, Events manager SW1V 1RB Belinda Gordon (from July 2019) Chris Hewett Strategy director Marta Silva Julie Hill Secretary Roz Bulleid Finance manager Hywel Lloyd Jo Rogers Operations director Interim deputy policy Jiggy Lloyd director Graduate scheme Rebekah Phillips Auditors Sept 2018 – Sept 2019 Buzzacott LLP, 130 Wood Policy team Dr Rebecca Willis Gianluca Cavallaro-Ng, Street, London, EC2V 6DL Amy Mount Policy assistant Dimitri Zenghelis Head of Greener UK unit Chris Friedler Bankers (to Sept 2019) Unity Trust Bank plc, Policy assistant Board Sarah Williams Nine Brindley Place, Patrick Killoran Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE Birmingham, B1 2HB Head of Greener UK unit Policy assistant (from Nov 2019) Chair Melissa Petersen Solicitors Paul McNamee Paul Lambert FCA Policy assistant Hon Treasurer Bates Wells Braithwaite, Head of politics 10 Queen Street Place, Molly Easton (to Feb 2020) Rosemary Boot London, EC4R 1BE Communications assistant Chris Venables Ben Caldecott Head of politics The charity and company Sir Graham Wynne (from Feb 2020) Sept 2019-Sept 2020 The Green Alliance Trust Alison Austin OBE operates under the Chaitanya Kumar Imogen Cripps working name Green Head of climate policy Dr Claire Craig CBE Policy assistant Alliance. (to May 2020) Agathe de Canson David Baldock Libby Peake Policy assistant Rita Clifton CBE Head of resource policy Emma Pollitt Benet Northcote Caterina Brandmayr Policy assistant Head of climate policy Craig Bennett Ravina Singh (from May 2020) Gwen Buck Policy assistant Policy adviser Emma Sutton-Smith James Elliot Communications assistant Senior policy adviser Jonny Ritson Policy analyst (to Feb 2020) Ruth Chambers Senior parliamentary affairs associate Ben Halfpenny Media and communications manager Jo Furtado Policy adviser (from Jan 2020) Philippa Borrowman, Policy adviser (from March 2020) 2 Contents Chair’s introduction by Dame Fiona Reynolds 4 Trustees report 1. Our vision and strategy 5 2. Progress report 10 Overview by Shaun Spiers, executive director 3. Our plans for 2020-21 29 4. Financial review 32 Thanks 38 Members 39 Our alliances 41 24 15 22 3 Green Alliance Annual review 2019-20 Photo: David Levenson David Photo: DAME FIONA REYNOLDS CHAIR I am pleased to present Green Alliance’s annual report funding for work on a green recovery, in which issues for 2019-20. of equality and diversity will be at the heart. With the This time last year, we were consumed by Brexit. UK hosting the next major UN climate summit in This is still fundamentally important, but in spring 2021, we recognise the uniqueness of this moment, 2020 the political focus switched almost wholly to with multiple opportunities to shift direction towards dealing with the consequences of the coronavirus a fairer, greener future. We will be seizing every pandemic. Covid-19 took hold of the country just as chance across all our projects to make this happen. the period covered by this report ended. Since then I am enormously grateful to our hardworking we have seen unprecedented public policy and staff, who have dealt with this extremely difficult government intervention, both during the lockdown and since, in attempts to protect people’s health and “More than ever we need recover the economy. On top of the health and economic crises, Covid-19 has laid bare and a vision of a green future” exacerbated deep social problems and inequalities. But alongside all of this, there were positives. The period with grace and enthusiasm, keeping Green enforced ‘stay at home’ gave some people a rare chance Alliance on track, fresh and thriving. During 2019-20, to pause and connect properly with nature and their we were sorry to say goodbye to Amy Mount, who led local environment. As a consequence, there has been a the Greener UK unit with such skill and diplomacy palpable sense of awakening to the vital issues of climate and is now working on Brexit strategy for the change and the need to protect and recover nature. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Green Alliance’s immediate priority was to protect (Defra), and Paul McNamee, who ran our political our staff and switch to action to address the health crisis. programme, is now senior adviser to London’s deputy Working from home presented us with the opportunity mayor for environment and energy. Our policy to try out new ways of engaging. We pivoted quickly, director, Dustin Benton, is on sabbatical to Defra, increasing our output with a new series of outstanding applying his great analytical skills to the National online events. These have proved enormously popular Food Strategy until next year. and are likely to become a permanent feature of our My particular thanks go to the leadership team: work. Our podcast also attracted new audiences, with Shaun, Belinda and Jo, whose mix of determination, weekly interviews with experts discussing everything flair and courage ensured that Green Alliance is in from the environmental origins of the pandemic to good shape and ready to meet whatever the world the nature of leadership in difficult times. throws at us next. If last year felt like an unfrozen moment over Brexit, Covid-19 has also caused us to look at the world in a new light. More than ever we need a vision of a green future, to renew our country, without returning to the exploitative and damaging policies of recent decades. Green Alliance is at the centre of those debates. After a period of real concern about how the pandemic would affect us, we have won new 4 1. OUR VISION AND STRATEGY 5 Green Alliance Annual review 2019-20 Our vision Our vision is for a green and prosperous UK. A country with a healthy environment, beautiful landscapes and flourishing nature, where the zero waste economy is built around thriving green businesses, and where everyone benefits from affordable, high quality food, energy efficient homes and sustainable transport. It will be a desirable place to live and work, where the wellbeing of future generations is assured and young people are optimistic about their future. And it will use its scientific excellence, capacity for policy innovation and diplomatic talent to set the global standard in environmental protections, as well as its entrepreneurial drive to provide the low carbon, resource efficient goods and services the world needs. We believe that ambitious political leadership is the only way to achieve this vision in an inclusive and fair way. 6 Green Alliance Annual review 2019-20 Our values In our work to deliver ambitious leadership for the environment we are guided by the following values: We are optimists We believe that a green and prosperous UK is achievable. We are change makers Working flexibly and with light feet, we focus on where the power is, and wherever and on whatever we think will have the greatest impact. We are collaborative We are pluralists and believe that collaboration and seeking to understand others’ viewpoints is the only way to make progress, and this is reflected in how we operate both internally and externally. We embrace complexity We will never ignore the fact that environmental issues are complex, as well as inseparable from other important issues, including social impacts, and do our best to address this in all our work. We are inclusive In all aspects of our work, including our employment practices, we seek to include, involve and listen to diverse voices and communities, as a necessary component of success. 7 Green Alliance Annual review 2019-20 Our strategy 2018-21 Strategy headlines: Our current strategy sets out aims to help the Build political support for a vision of a green and environment sector respond to Brexit, provide prosperous UK, based on the highest environmental inspiration and space for new thinking on and social standards. One in which clean growth and environmental policy and offer solutions to major environmental leadership contribute to the UK’s challenges. competitive advantage. We will be publishing our new three year Secure new laws and governance arrangements to strategy in 2021 which will address the major ensure strong environmental protections after Brexit, challenges of economic recovery from the Covid-19 including campaigning for a new Environment Act to pandemic, the UK’s response to the nature and underpin investment in the environment and climate emergencies and the post-Brexit legislative people’s wellbeing. landscape. Generate new ideas for world class environmental policy. These objectives governed our work during 2019-20 and continue to be valid into 2020-21. However, two major events over this period have also significantly influenced the direction of our work: in September 2019 the UK was announced as the host of the next UN climate summit (COP26), now scheduled to take place in November 2021, and the coronavirus pandemic, which reached the UK in early 2020, causing economic disruption and altering the political and policy context in which we work. “Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has supported Green Alliance for over 20 years. Their model of connecting diverse organisations to work together is really what’s needed if we are to push – collectively – for improved environmental policy and leadership in the UK.” Caroline Mason, chief executive, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation 8 Green Alliance Annual review 2019-20 What we do Our themes in 2019-20 Political engagement Political leadership We aim to increase the number of MPs and peers Building support, across UK government and across all parties who support ambitious climate parliament, devolved administrations and city leaders, action and enhanced environmental protections.