Want Climate and Nature Action That Lasts? Fund The Leaders.
by Caitlin McLoughlin & Julie Christie
I.G. Advisors (I.G.) and Environmental Funders Network (EFN) are collaborating on a joint Leadership Lab project for climate, environment and natural heritage leaders across Scotland. The Leadership Lab project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are now beginning this project, designed to support senior leaders working in the climate, environment and natural heritage space in Scotland.
Institutions don’t drive change. People do.
People are the idea generators, project implementers, and system shakers. Yet, while we often talk about the importance of investing in organisations, we rarely think about investing in the people who lead them. In fact, 45% of UK climate and sustainability charity respondents feel “general leadership” will be a challenge and key area of need within the next five years (Pilotlight, 2023).
This neglect to invest in the senior staff and Trustees that sit behind the organisation (and yet find themselves at the very forefront of influencing change) is deeply tied to reductive ideas of what it means to generate “cost-effective impact”, and the misguided notion that as much money as possible needs to go directly to frontline service delivery. This is a short-sighted view of what it means to give impactfully. Yes – our planet is burning as we speak. Yes – we need to mobilise resources ASAP. AND in order to address challenges of this scale, we also need strengthened leadership. Specifically, we need leaders who are resilient, have the headspace to dream big, feel energised in their roles, and possess the skills and knowledge to elegantly lead their operations and team towards transformative change.
“As an environmental charity, we are acutely aware of the challenges facing the sector, arising from increasing financial pressures, an ever-changing funding landscape, and rising operational costs, at a time where the need for action has never been greater. Strong leadership is vital to meeting these challenges head-on, and to driving innovation, to keep delivering lasting impact for our planet.”
“Scotland, like the rest of the world, is in a nature emergency and our ecosystems are not as resilient as they need to be in the face of climate change. Working in the environment sector has never been tougher: the scale of change we need to inspire and deliver is enormous, eco angst amongst staff is a real issue and the need for strong, grounded and inspirational leaders has never been higher. I am delighted to see resource being put into supporting leaders in our sector at a time when it is most urgently needed and when it can have maximum impact.”
The Case for Investing in Leadership
That’s where investing in leadership development comes in. At I.G. Advisors (I.G.), we’ve long suspected that leadership was the missing piece of the puzzle. As an award-winning strategy consultancy for social and environmental change, our clients across every industry regularly report feeling burnt out, demoralised and lacking the time, headspace and financial resources to dream big and invest in their own upskilling. We launched our Leadership Lab programme to address this need.
“I myself was about to step into a leadership role at I.G. and was expected to show up as a leader, but didn’t feel like one. I designed the programme closely with our amazing CEO and Managing Director to be the leadership training of my dreams.”
The Environmental Funders Network (EFN) works to transform environmental philanthropy in the UK: increasing funding levels, improving effectiveness and supporting people and organisations helping to create a thriving planet. As we enter the final half of this crucially important decade for climate and nature action, supporting those that do environmental work to be more effective is an increasingly critical piece of EFN’s work.
“Despite its internationally recognised importance, Scotland has experienced significant depletion of habitats and species, and ranks in the bottom 25% of countries on the Biodiversity Intactness Indicator (Tackling the Nature Emergency - Scottish biodiversity strategy to 2045, Scottish Government, 2023). Historically, the country’s environmental sector has been underfunded by private philanthropy, and it continues to lag behind in comparison to funding trends seen in other geographies. Thinly spread funding leaves many issue areas underfunded and organisations unable to act effectively, rapidly and strategically.
Through discussions with our networks and wider stakeholders, we’ve identified Scotland as the ideal location to pilot a programme supporting and building the capacity and resilience of climate and environmental leaders (Where The Green Grants Went 9: Scotland Edition, EFN, 2025).”
The Leadership Lab, by I.G. and EFN
I.G. and EFN have strategically partnered to provide leadership training for climate, environment and natural heritage leaders working in Scotland, made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund and thanks to National Lottery players.
Our free 6-week Leadership Lab programmes throughout 2025-2026 will allow us to provide 60 leaders with the skills, connections and confidence to take their own careers, as well as the sustainability and impact of their organisations, to the next level. The power of our programme is in the focus on building community, its holistic nature (we cover everything from self leadership, to people leadership, operational leadership, personal branding and beyond) as well as the emphasis on not just what it takes to show up as a leader internally within an organisation – but also what it takes to build influence and show up externally as a figurehead for change.
“As we approach 2030 climate targets, ambitious and effective leadership in Scotland’s environmental sector has never been more important. We are very pleased to be able to support environmental leadership development through the Leadership Lab programme, recognising the long-term impacts this investment will have for driving change in this challenging area.”
How to Get Involved
Learn more and apply now to join an inspiring cohort of leaders across Scotland, committed to transformative climate and nature action.
Our Long-Term Commitment to Change
The work doesn’t stop at the end of a six-week training programme. A key goal of the Leadership Lab is to support people to make connections and expand their networks, for long-term impact. Ultimately, we dream of an interconnected climate, environment and natural heritage ecosystem. This is an ecosystem of collaboration, where everyone is plugged into each other’s work, and has someone to reach out to when times get tough.
This is also why we’re excited to take this work beyond Scotland – and even beyond usual suspect actors within the space. Climate and environment are global issues and intersect with so many other cause areas. The next exciting phase of our collaboration is to identify other geographies and issue areas that are ready for this type of intervention, as well as partners as committed to the cause as we are.
Sounds like you? Get in touch with Caitlin and Sophie from team I.G. or Julie from EFN.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
