Originally set up in 2006 as Islington Sustainable Energy Partnership (ISEP), the then ambition was to establish a non-profit network for organisations in the borough who wanted to reduce energy costs, cut carbon emissions and manage their environmental impacts. Since then, we have been promoting the sharing and learning between energy and sustainability professionals, providing advice, events and resources, helping members get involved in local community projects and running a free carbon monitoring scheme that recognises environmental achievements.
Much has changed in the ‘sustainability landscape’ since then. A greater awareness of the climate emergency has resulted in environmental and energy policy now a key part of business strategy. This increased awareness runs parallel to an understanding of the complexity and potential solutions that could impact on meeting net zero carbon targets – but crucially, this has also led to a far greater need for support, context and encouragement for many organisations, particularly SMEs and non-profits.
Thus, the relaunch in 2022 as Islington Sustainability Network (ISN) was designed to better reflect our engagement with the wider array of sustainability and social value topics and to help further develop a broader network of local organisations, specifically reaching out to those in the local community that need most help reach their environmental goals.
More and more organisations realise that impact can only be achieved through pooling resources, ideas and energy – as the contextual issues dramatically widen in both scope and urgency. ISN is unique in the borough for bringing together a range of different organisations, both commercial and non-profit, to try to address this.
Our diverse membership of over 70 organisations spans the private, public and third sector in Islington. The Network is led by a Steering Committee of 10 member representatives and secretariat services are provided in-kind by Islington Council.
