Jane Frost, CEO MRS Keeping the pedal to the MRS news Net Zero Pledge In June, the MRS Sustainability Council launched the MRS Net Zero Pledge a manifesto T he Covid-19 pandemic has focused our minds on what is important for us individually and collectively. It has forced us to reassess what we want from our lives, and has awoken a spirit of community that may previously have waned. The actions, freedoms and responsibilities of the individual have been scrutinised, as have those of the state. Boundaries between the two have been reconsidered. Far from diminishing the importance of the climate change crisis, the pandemic has galvanised us into action. If we can develop and approve vaccines within accelerated timescales; if companies, in a matter of weeks, can adopt new technologies and ways of working that were several years down the pipeline; if we can establish massive vaccination programmes at a previously unimaginable pace then, surely, we can use that momentum to move at speed and with purpose on climate change. Ive been talking to senior clients on this topic and they all agree it is a major priority for them to find suppliers who are actively pursuing the net-zero agenda in their company. Now is the time to formalise that with our Net Zero Pledge, which was launched in June this year (see panel, right). As with public health, sustainability is an area in which changing consumer habits is the key challenge. Fortunately, it is now widely recognised that our behaviour will have to change to meet any step for the research sector, the pledge is designed for targets. Market research is the sector that can help organisations understand, interpret and influence behaviour, so we need to get our own house in order now. Our partnership with the Insight Climate Collective continues to be essential in this respect and I urge you to get involved (search for the group on LinkedIn). As a sector that speaks truth to power, we want to ensure that everyone is heard with urgency and clarity. When governments are making hard decisions on climate change policy, they will only make those decisions with confidence if they have been listening to public reaction and sentiment. Im so delighted that, in our 75th year, we have been able to award a record number of honorary fellowships. They reflect the variety and inclusivity of the research sector industry luminaries such as John Gambles and Deborah Mattinson, and scientists and experts committed to the pursuit of truth through evidence for example, Sir David Spiegelhalter, Dr Camilla Pang and Sir John Curtice. Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever and one of this years cadre of MRS honorary fellows, said: If we achieve our sustainability targets and no one else follows, we will have failed. I would like this sector to adopt the same responsibility to sustainability as it has over the last 12 months towards diversity and inclusion. agencies and insight teams to demonstrate sustainable practices. With an increasing number of clients demanding a commitment from suppliers on inclusion and sustainability issues, this initiative aims to mitigate the sectors impact on the environment, while also recommending insight solutions to clients. See mrs.org.uk. MRSPride Podcasts MRSPride has created a series of podcasts OUTsights - to represent and amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies in research. Hear Chloe Fowler, a veritable veteran of the sector, talk about her career and how she got a job by writing an actual letter. She debates the tricky balance between bringing your whole self to work and being a neutral moderator in order to do your job well. OUTsights second guest, Ed Jervis, talks about his role as an inclusive distributor, and how his early years as a gay catholic during the Troubles fostered a passion for social justice and inclusion. 59 Impact ISSUE 34 2021_pp58-61_MRS.indd 59 18/06/2021 14:16