Australian and New Zealand professions launch Charter for Climate Action

Yesterday NELA joined a diverse group of Australia and New Zealand’s most distinguished professional bodies to officially launch the Global Professional Bodies Climate Action Charter in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

NELA is delighted to partner in this significant opportunity for knowledge sharing and learning.

We look forward to working collaboratively with like-minded professional associations to reduce the likelihood that the lives and livelihoods of future generations globally will be imperilled by the unsustainable activities of past and current generations.

NELA members recognise that we must accelerate climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity conservation and restoration, globally and in our region.

The charter aims to facilitate collaboration and sharing of resources amongst disciplines to advance and accelerate climate action.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, it also aims to develop a common language of sustainability between and across professions.

Members of the Charter commit to supporting their members in contributing to a better future for our planet, and to assist the acceleration of climate engagement across the broader region.

The initial group includes Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Engineers Australia and NELA as well as professional associations peak body Australian Council of Professions and the peak body representing forward-thinking companies and organisations Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia.

Representing over 1 million professionals across Australia and New Zealand, this announcement signals the growing momentum for professional bodies to provide leadership, up-to-date technical and ethical guidance as well as advocacy which can be communicated across the professions and society.

This initiative also provides access to over 250,000 professionals in the United Kingdom, with high prospects of expanding its international reach even further.

This collective commitment to the global Professional Bodies Climate Action Charter seeks to help turn the pledges of professional bodies into broader action across the sectors, through two primary means:

• Developing a plan to support our members to contribute towards the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Accelerating climate actions at both pace and scale across Australia and New Zealand through engagement with professional bodies, government and the public.

In collaboration with other bodies, we intend to harness and share our joint expertise and climate-relevant resources for our members to enhance their capabilities to practice sustainability, including a timeline for achieving this, and identifying the help and collaboration needed from within our partnerships to achieve this.

The Australian Council of Professions is facilitating the setting up a ‘Professional Bodies Forum for Climate Action’ to engage with organisations in ANZ about the Charter and share ideas, information and knowledge to provide value to those who are both Supporters of or Signatories to the Charter.

For more information, please contact Climate.Action@Professions.org.au.

A recording of the launch can be viewed here.