Following a successful drive to build a network of advocates to promote diversity and inclusion in the insolvency and restructuring profession, the insolvency Steering Group is proud to announce they have appointed 19 Diversity and Inclusion Champions.

Supported by R3 and the Insolvency Service, the new champions hail from organisations across the insolvency and restructuring landscape, from insolvency practitioner firms and legal practices to regulatory bodies.

Together they will act as role models and will have an important role assisting the Steering Group, sharing their experience and best practice to inspire change in the insolvency and restructuring profession.

The new Diversity and Inclusion Champions will participate in outreach work to raise awareness of insolvency and restructuring as an attractive career pathway and take part in research to identify barriers, as well as help amplify existing great practice.

The Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, established in 2021 to tackle barriers and boost diversity and inclusion in the insolvency and restructuring profession, has also lined up visits to several universities to raise awareness of the insolvency and restructuring profession.

Kicking off in the London School of Economics on 12 October 2022, representatives from the Steering Group will also visit the University of Glasgow, University of Leeds, Nottingham Trent University, University of Nottingham and the University of Wolverhampton, with more to follow later in the year.

Angela Crossley, Steering Group Co-Chair, said:

We are extremely proud to welcome the first cohort of Diversity and Inclusion Champions, who will help break down barriers and contribute to creating inclusive workplaces in the insolvency and restructuring sector.

The new champions bring a wide range of experiences and diversity, and hail from across the country. Using their valuable insights, we want to reach out to even more diverse audiences and showcase how a role in the insolvency profession can be enormously stimulating and fulfilling.

Caroline Sumner, R3 CEO and Co-Chair of the Steering Group, said:

Our inaugural group of Champions will play a critical role in helping amplify the group’s work, develop and promote best practice, and attract the next generation of insolvency and restructuring professionals.

They’ll build on the excellent foundation the members of the Steering Group have given us by providing additional support, expertise and insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the insolvency and restructuring profession as it seeks to become more diverse and inclusive.

• Rehan Ahmed, Quantuma Advisory Limited

• David Ampaw, DLA Piper

• Hannah Aynsley, Interpath Advisory

• Heather Childs-Potter, Insolvency Practitioners Association

• Charlotte Cooke, South Square

• Frances Coulson, Wedlake Bell LLP

• Fiona Coyle, Accountant in Bankruptcy

• Christina Fitzgerald, Edwin Coe LLP

• Kirran Gibson, Begbies Traynor Group

• Luke Hoare, Grant Thornton

• Asma Iqbal, Chadwick Lawrence

• Megan Kemp, Chamberlains & Co

• Emma Mealiff, FRP Advisory

• Roya Panahi, DLA Piper

• Stewart Perry, Field Fisher

• Anthony Simmons, FRP Advisory

• Eleanor Temple, Kings Chambers

• Ali Walji, EY

• Michelle Westmerland, Leonard Curtis

To share the valuable learning gained so far, the Promoting Adaptation to Changing Coasts (PACCo) team is inviting anyone that wishes to find out more about the project to attend. This webinar series is particularly suited to those with a passion for climate change adaption, and those working within the environmental, civil, and public sectors.

PACCo is a cross-border initiative financially supported by the Interreg VA France (Channel) England programme. It has a total value of €26million, with €17.8million coming from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The webinars will give an overview of the project and its 2 pilot sites – the Lower Otter Valley in Devon and Saâne Valley in Normandy, France.

The first, ‘PACCo: A Virtual Tour of the Lower Otter Restoration Project’ will take place on Wednesday 12 October, 1pm to 2:30pm. It will take attendees on an exclusive tour of the Lower Otter site in Devon.

Utilising the latest drone footage, the session will show the transforming landscape and progress of the project as it is being delivered. It will be led by the Environment Agency and Clinton Devon Estates with the opportunity for discussion at the end of the webinar.

The second webinar, ‘PACCo – Natural Capital and Socio-economics’ will take place on Wednesday 7 December, 1pm to 2:30pm. It will provide a chance to learn more about PACCo’s work on natural capital and socio-economics. The session will look at early findings for both sites, and the potential ecological and economic benefits to their communities, wildlife, and the environment beyond.

The session will be led by the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust/Clinton Devon Estates and the Conservatoire du Littoral Normandie. There will also be a short informal discussion on attendees’ thoughts on the findings at the end of the session.

Mike Williams of the Environment Agency said:

We hope to see all those with a passion for the environment and keen interest in the role that habitat restoration has in climate change adaptation.

A big aim of the PACCo project is to share learning, start conversations and inspire action. Our guests will get to know more about PACCo and the Lower Otter Restoration Project from the comfort of their desk. They will have the opportunity to learn and ask questions about natural capital, and how we can help our coasts and estuaries to adapt better to the challenges brought by climate change.

The PACCo project will reconnect the Otter Estuary in Devon and Saâne Estuary in Normandy to their historic floodplains. It will make infrastructure more resilient and restore 100 hectares of historically modified coastal wetland.

Restoration of these landscapes to a more natural state will create landscapes better able to cope with future changes, providing lasting benefits for people and wildlife alike.

To register to attend the webinars, please visit:

12 October –  ‘PACCo: A Virtual Tour of the Lower Otter Restoration Project’:
www.trybooking.co.uk/BRKO

7 December –  ‘PACCo – Natural Capital and Socio-economics’:
www.trybooking.co.uk/BRKR

Both webinars will be available with French interpretation.

Further details of the project can be found at: www.pacco-interreg.com

The protection, restoration and sustainable management of natural resources are essential to mitigate the impacts of the climate and biodiversity crises, which pose a threat to international peace and stability. This is no truer than in the case of water, which is increasingly a threat multiplier.

In 2013, there were 27 events in which water was a trigger for conflict. Four years later, this had risen to 71.

This upward trend is caused by the growing global water crisis. With only 3 percent of the earth’s water freshwater – and most of this inaccessible, degraded or unevenly distributed – scarcity is compounded by population growth, food and energy demands, and climate change. Estimates suggest that four billion people now live in areas with severe water scarcity; and that by 2030 there could be around 700 million people displaced because of water scarcity, affecting national and regional security.

We see these trends play out in our region regularly, particularly in Central Asia where tensions over scarce water resources, and unilateral water infrastructure developments, have aggravated existing disputes and contributed to new conflicts.

Accessing water continues to be a grave issue for those living in conflict zones. Russia’s deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure has led to extensive power and water shortages, causing further suffering for the Ukrainian people. Just two weeks ago, parts of the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih were flooded after Russia attacked a nearby dam.

The OECD has said that as a result of damage to water supply infrastructure in Ukraine, an estimated 1.4 million people currently have no access to safe water, and a further 4.6 million people have only limited access. To help relive Ukraine from these effects of Russia’s brutal aggression, the UK has donated 856 generators to Ukraine to power essential services, including water pumping stations.

However, there is potential for water to play a role in reducing conflict. Water historically has more often led to cooperation than conflict between countries. For example, in the period 1948-2000, co-operative events over international waters outweighed conflictual ones by two to one.

Cooperation over water can also benefit other areas, such as peace, security and prosperity through positive impacts on food security, economic stability, improved regional integration, and better trade relations.

Promoting this cooperation, states need to apply diplomatic tools such as negotiations, fact-finding missions, and the establishment of consultation platforms for existing or emerging disagreements. This is where the OSCE is well placed to play a role. We celebrate the work the OCEEA does to enhance co-operation over transboundary water resource management, and to integrate women’s voices.

Mr Chair,

2022 is a critical year for biodiversity and our planet. The UK is committed to working with the OSCE and other international partners to secure an ambitious post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. We will continue to champion protection of at least 30% of land and ocean globally.

In collaboration with others, the UK has developed a 10 Point Plan for Financing Biodiversity, launched at UNGA last month. The plan defines a clear pathway for bridging the global nature finance gap, and I invite all colleagues here to endorse the 10 point plan ahead of the biodiversity COP later this year. Further, I hope states will join the UK in taking steps to ensure all Overseas Development Assistance becomes ‘nature positive’; and supporting the full and effective implementation of the Multilateral Development Banks’ COP26 Joint Statement on Nature, People and Planet.