When Michael and I launched The Green Edge in late 2021, we did so with the express aim of building a network of creators, practitioners and observers of the UK green skills landscape. We saw the green economy and its skills needs to be complex and in need of clarity. This is more than just technical skills. It’s also about mindshifts and new mindsets to challenge how we get things done.
We called it ‘Skilling Up for Net Zero’.
To give the network form and substance, we cast ourselves as investigative journalists. We wanted to identify the key issues and questions, and to seek answers where they existed. We also wanted to inform the discussion and engage as many stakeholders as possible. So, building on our previous work with Blue Mirror Insights, we started writing about green skills in ways we hope are seen as well-researched, pragmatic, and even entertaining.
To date, writing The Green Edge has been like turning over stones in a stream to see what lies beneath. We’ve interviewed shapers of school curricula, visited sustainability champions and green innovators, and profiled companies standing for the triple bottom line. We’ve continuously attempted to join the dots of government policy. When we find a topic we find interesting, we write about it. We hope you find it interesting too.
So far, our feedback has been good. Our online membership has grown to well over 300 regular readers and we have received many favourable messages and comments in response to our posts. We do encourage more feedback, though, and have set up a short online survey for the purpose, which we invite you to take by clicking the button below.
Now, we feel it is time to move The Green Edge to its next stage. And that means leveraging our Green Edge subscriber network.
While we are always diligent in our research, we know that many of our readers are much more knowledgeable about green technologies, skills and occupations than we can ever be. As a group, you include policymakers at both national and local government levels; academics and educators; technology creators and implementers; recruiters and industry practitioners. We would like to include you in our Green Edge posts, in one of three ways:
By contributing an article from you as a guest contributor;
By having you commission us to research and write a piece on your behalf;
By inviting us to interview you for an article.
You may be a generalist like us, or an expert in part of the green economy - our feedback to date indicates that skills for low carbon hydrogen, green homes and buildings, and green public transport are of particular interest right now. Your perspective may be specific to a sector of industry or education. You may be involved in policy making or policy implementation - raising public awareness of local options for home heating and zero-emission vehicles are identified as critical needs, for example. You may simply wish to use The Green Edge to speak to the readership about a particular green skills-related topic you believe is important.
In return, we will guarantee your voice is heard by our network of UK green economy hard-hitters. Distributed by email each Thursday, with special posts in between from time to time, The Green Edge subscriber network is augmented by our own extended network of over 2,500 professionals from government, education and industry. While observing the protocols of professional integrity and GDPR, we have already assisted in making valuable connections within these networks. One example is our recent work for The Gatsby Foundation in finding technicians for case studies for the new Technicians Gallery at the Science Museum in London.
If you would like to talk to us about contributing content to The Green Edge, please email us by clicking the button below:
One last thing before we go. We’re looking for sponsors. Despite the fact that we use the Substack platform, which can be paywalled, we are determined to keep The Green Edge free to subscribers. But as takeup increases, it’s taking more and more of our time and we’re giving it increased preference over our consulting work with Blue Mirror Insights. And we do need to eat.
Your sponsorship may be related to a commissioned article, or a steer you would like to give us, or simply in recognition that we are adding value to the understanding of skills for the green economy. It could be at any level, perhaps as a one-off contribution or maybe in more regular instalments. Most likely, we anticipate your sponsorship would be on behalf of your organisation. At whatever level, your support will be valued by us and will help us greatly with our plans for developing The Green Edge.
If you would like to talk to us about sponsoring The Green Edge, please email us by clicking the button below:
Thank you.