Post by Suzanne Dolan MISep CEnv

It’s almost exactly 12 months since my redundancy — and since I began to grow my wings. So it feels timely that this article has been published now, alongside the gratefully received recognition from the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) as Highly Commended Environmental Professional of the Year. It has been a tough year. Like many people in the middle-age sandwich, I’ve been battling the education system and the NHS while also trying to build something new. But I’ve also been incredibly grateful for the time to take on big systems that are creaking at the seams, and to think deeply about what real change requires. I see so many parallels between the challenges families face navigating education and health systems, and the challenges we face in co-designing sustainability systems that actually work. In both cases, good intentions are not enough. Systems need clarity, accountability, inclusion and people willing to work across boundaries. Because real system change rarely comes from staying neatly in your lane. It often comes from the people who keep going when things get tough, and who ask the uncomfortable questions that others may not have the permission or energy to ask. In the quieter corners, I’ve been steadily building alignment, direction and momentum. There is plenty more to come. If you had one brave challenge to make to a system you care about, what would it be? https://lnkd.in/echcqDQ2