The RACE Report paints a really important picture for the sector and helps us to see where the gaps are and where we need to work better and faster on fostering racial diversity and inclusion in the environmental sector. It's vital that we create space for, centre and meaningfully platform the voices and myriad of lived experiences of marginalised and underrepresented communities to ensure this informs the work happening in the sector and this is exactly what the RACE Summit is about. The RACE Summit creates space for asking critical questions, challenging the status quo, sharing openly and honestly, learning, unlearning, understanding, reassessing, co-creating and supporting one another. We must ensure within our organisations, we are making decolonised, informed changes and taking action with an intersectional lens to dismantle systemic racism and structures that exacerbate the impacts of the climate crisis on marginalised communities. The RACE Summit is also an important space to centre joy. To centre the wealth of knowledge, and the value and contributions of people of the global majority. The journey of change and co-creating a more inclusive sector will be messy, hard and complicated, but we must find joy along the way, stop to celebrate our progress, lean into, uphold, and challenge one another, take accountability, and learn each day from our mistakes. Together, we can build a just, equitable and inclusive sector and world.
Beatrice Anomah, Project Manager – Inclusion and Climate Justice
16 July 2025
Racial inclusion under the spotlight: King's hosts the RACE Summit 2025
Professionals from across the climate sector came together to learn and network on climate justice
In early July, The RACE Report, a project run by SOS-UK, held their yearly RACE Summit at King’s Strand Campus. The event saw professionals coming together to work towards embedding learnings around climate justice into the sector.
The summit sought to tackle the lack of diversity amongst climate professionals found by the 2024 RACE report, which found a significant “racial diversity gap between the UK working population and staff in environment, conservation, climate and sustainability charities.”
The effects of the climate crisis and environmental degradation are usually felt disproportionately by people who have contributed significantly less to these issues, with other factors such as structural inequalities including racism heavily involved. This is reflected both globally and within countries such as the UK, where lack of access to green spaces and healthy environments is faced disproportionately by communities of colour.
In an event designed to recognise and challenge these issues, the day saw a series of brilliant talks, roundtables and workshops empowering and educating attendees; from discussions on how to change institutional culture to be proactively anti-racist to communicating inclusively, learning from lived experiences, and tackling global environmental injustices.
Beatrice Anomah, Project Manager – Inclusion and Climate Justice at SOS-UK, said:
There was also a focus on multidisciplinarity and embodiment, with a powerful performance of spoken word poetry from Beatrice Anomah as well as communal dancing and grounding throughout the agenda to help energise the audience and ready them for conversations that covered a wide spectrum of experiences and emotions.
Sara Kassam, Director of Environmental Sustainability at King’s College London, said:
The RACE Report is a powerful piece of work, and the RACE Summit fostered a courageous and reflective space for people to come together to focus on accelerating meaningful climate action. We were thrilled to host the event at King’s, and we remain committed to advancing racial and climate justice with continued urgency and purpose.
Sara Kassam, Director of Environmental Sustainability
The day was attended by professionals from across the climate sector, bringing together individuals with lived experience of marginalisation and underrepresentation in the sector; young people and students aspiring to get into the sector; human Resources professionals; Equity Diversity and Inclusion leads from environmental organisations; CEOs funding leads, and senior leadership professionals of environmental organisations; and trustees, allies, and long-service volunteers. Space was given to everyone present to express and explore their thoughts and views, with an emphasis on inclusion and recognition of the importance of a holistic approach to solving structural inequalities.
Read more about The RACE Report and SOS-UK, or find out more about King’s research on race and racism.
Photo credit: Byran Ferrol