A fascination with climate change
India Blake – Sustainability Analyst
From a young age I became absorbed in the environment and the countless ways humans have impacted it, particularly climate change. When I first moved away from home to university I was shocked by the level of apathy and misunderstanding that surrounded climate change and the ways we could work to tackle it. From then, my interest in the topic only grew, inspiring me to pursue a Masters’ in Environmental Policy. Now, currently finishing up my Masters’ thesis, I felt compelled to make sure my first job in the environmental sector was working towards tackling the climate crisis bit by bit.
Why sustainability?
Sustainability doesn’t just refer to protecting the future of our planet against climate change. It is an all-encompassing concept concerned with ensuring the continuity of quality, access and opportunity in all areas of life for future generations. It is about environmental protection, social welfare and fair and equitable institutions. This is what drew me to working within sustainability: it provides the chance to improve people’s quality of life, as well as have a positive impact on the environment.
It’s important to remain positive about the future and that’s what I try to do. There have already been huge advancements in sustainability, with individuals, companies, and indeed countries mobilising the tenets of sustainable development, sustainable investing, and so on. In the interest of ensuring a sustainable future, the concept of circular economy is rising – making use of Earth’s finite resources and respecting their irreplaceableness by reusing as many materials as possible – which I am particularly interested in.
Why Emex?
There is increasing pressure on companies to demonstrate an awareness for their impacts and show themselves to be consciously integrating sustainability into the heart of their products, services, and projects. Tech can help to drive this transition, hence where Emex comes in.
I also wanted to be a part of an exciting startup, with a clearly important product to offer in facilitating sustainability reporting and management. The nature of the company means you can have a real impact on the direction of the product as your opinion is highly respected and everyone plays a valuable role. The opportunity to combine my interests in sustainability whilst improving my understanding of corporate responsibility and business has been hugely rewarding.
Outside of Emex
I enjoy getting outdoors as much as possible – hiking or wild swimming in the beautiful English countryside and exploring new countries. I also try to be as active in my community wherever I can and have been involved in lots of local volunteering efforts, like food redistribution projects and educational environmental programmes.
