Possible
Shortlist – Board Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
About the Charity
Possible builds real social momentum to drive the transition towards a zero carbon Britain. The organisation demonstrates the strong public appetite for climate solutions, and works to ensure change takes place at a pace that matches the urgency of the climate crisis. Its activities focus on key areas where people’s behaviour can have the greatest impact in sectors where carbon must be cut immediately. The charity works with two key audiences – the ‘excess’ group of people with high-carbon lifestyles and the means to reduce them, and the ‘access’ group of people currently under-represented in the climate movement, often from marginalised backgrounds.
Charity number: 1157363 | www.wearepossible.org
Environmental | England – London | 11-25 paid staff
What the Board Achieved
At Possible, diversity isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a fundamental principle woven into the fabric of the organisation. The board reflects a wide spectrum of backgrounds, ages, and experiences to ensure that diverse voices shape strategic decision-making. Possible is committed to representation on the board that reflects wider society and those affected by the climate crisis. The board boasts an even split of men and women (with women holding key leadership positions), a focus on youth voices with 40% of trustees aged 18-34, 20% of trustees identify as people of colour, 20% consider themselves to have a disability, and less than half of the board lives in London. While trustees bring a wealth of experience to the board – the board consists of people working in academia, civil society, public policy, the private sector and community groups – it is currently working on a recruitment strategy to target trustees from working class or disadvantaged backgrounds as well.
As a charity with a public-facing mission, Possible recognises the importance of reflecting the communities it serves. By recruiting trustees (and staff) from marginalised backgrounds, the charity and its board are able to centre lived experience within the decision making process and ensure that their strategic goal of engaging with under-represented audiences remains authentic and impactful. Beyond board recruitment, the charity has also improved the diversity of its staff team, where the 20% of trustees who identify as people of colour are mirrored with 20% of staff identifying in the same way – significantly higher than 6% seen across the country for other charity staff teams working in the environmental or climate advocacy sector.
Possible developed proactive recruitment practices to achieve and evolve the diversity of the board and staff team. By removing barriers and biases from its recruitment processes, the charity can ensure that candidates from diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities to join the board or wider team. Working with an inclusive recruitment agency, Possible encouraged under-represented groups to apply for positions as trustees and prioritised lived experience over traditional qualifications. For instance, ‘desirable’ characteristics have been removed from personal specifications, degrees are never needlessly required, and applications are written in a way that discourages information that may reveal an applicant’s age or gender. The tone is kept friendly, efforts are made to produce clear guidance on answering questions and submitting applications, and interview questions are provided to candidates in advance. The charity also looked at how it could better support those already serving on the board and those joining the board, offering enhanced compensation for travel, overnight accommodation, cost of childcare related to trustee duties, the cost of equipment that would better support trustees with disabilities to participate in board meetings, and training for new or inexperienced trustees.
Furthermore, Possible actively monitors recruitment diversity through anonymous forms and feedback surveys, using this data to drive continuous improvement. This included an organisation-wide diversity census in 2023, the results of which were shared and discussed with the staff team to collaboratively identify and define the next best steps for improvement. By fostering a culture of inclusion and accessibility, Possible ensures that its board and wider team remains representative and responsive to the needs of its stakeholders.
Possible’s board has also improved inclusivity across its governance practices to ensure that all voices, especially minority voices, are heard and valued. During board meetings, the chair facilitates discussions to ensure that all trustees have an equal opportunity to contribute. The chair takes advantage of in-person meetings and virtual meetings to utilise different tools for ensuring trustees have the opportunity to speak and be heard. Utilising subcommittees and working groups, Possible creates spaces for detailed discussions where diverse perspectives are welcomed and respected. Trustees with relevant skills and backgrounds are approached and given the opportunity to contribute to different committees, while efforts are made to ensure that trustees from minoritised backgrounds are given meaningful opportunities to share all of their relevant skills and not only relied upon to support work associated with their identities (such as anti-oppression work).
Since 2020, the board has allocated a budget to anti-oppression work, spearheading initiatives to create a more equitable and inclusive organisational culture. From setting parameters for staff pay to implementing gender-neutral, trans-inclusive family policies, Possible’s board leads by example, driving tangible changes that benefit its staff and stakeholders.
The board is currently overseeing a new phase of the charity’s anti-oppression journey, as it seeks to communicate and share its work with other stakeholders and organisations in the sector, enabling them to learn from Possible’s successes and mistakes to improve equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression policies more widely across the environmental and charity sectors.
Why the Board Was Shortlisted
Possible stands at the forefront of the climate movement, driving real social momentum towards a zero-carbon Britain. With a mission to inspire action and ensure change occurs at the pace demanded by the climate crisis, Possible is committed to fostering a board that mirrors the diversity of the population it serves. The Judging Panel appreciated the way that the entry demonstrated the charity’s clarity and commitment to improving diversity on board, identifying gaps even after achieving some success and implementing a new recruitment strategy to help the organisation meet its goals. The entry gave clear examples and compelling evidence to prove how the organisation was attempting to address inequality in the recruitment process and how it was making the shift to recruit for potential as well as experience. Finally, judges were impressed by the board’s willingness to share its journey, including the mistakes, more widely to enable other organisations to learn alongside them.
