The 2022 IES AGM was held on 21st April. The event was once again held online to allow maximum engagement from members.

Chair's Review of the Year 
Julie Hill, IES Chair, reflected on the challenging circumstances of the last few years: the consequences of an EU exit, a pandemic, and now a war in Europe. She highlighted three aspects of how the IES could help members: supporting the profession to enhance equality, diversity and inclusion; our joint responsibilities to speak truth to power; and the maintenance of optimism in the face of challenges. She thanked members for their contributions to the IES, noted the efforts of staff during challenging times, and thanked her fellow Council members, Vice Presidents and our supporters. She looked forward to an exciting, if possibly unpredictable, year where we all play our part in fulfilling the mission of the organisation.

CEO's Reflections on 2021
Adam Donnan, IES CEO, reflected that the stop-start nature of Covid regulations had made strategic planning and service delivery difficult. He looked back with immense pride that the staff team were able to deliver a record number of webinars and policy outputs and a strong set of publications. He outlined some of the journals and reports from 2021 and thanked Danielle Kopecky, Publications Lead, and the authors, working groups and guest editors who contributed to our publications. He highlighted some events throughout the year, including the in-person delivery of three events in the final quarter of 2021, and thanked Katherine Karr, Events & Marketing Lead, for her fortitude in a trying year for events delivery.

The IES’s STAGES work in the build-up to COP26 provided a thematic thread for the year, culminating with staff attendance at COP26 and the launch of our Manifesto for Transformative Change. Adam thanked the staff and members who contributed to this work, and highlighted the leading role of Joseph Lewis, Policy Lead, in the work. He outlined recent expansions in our communities’ work and thanked our Communities & Partnership Lead, Ethny Childs, for her able support of these communities. 2021 also saw the launch of our latest three-year strategy.

He concluded this section by thanking members for their commitment to the IES in 2021. The year saw our highest ever membership retention rate, which contributed to an 8% growth in membership. He thanked the huge number of volunteers who sit on committees, assess applications, and provide content for our webinars, events and journals. The work of the IES would not be possible without their contribution.

Treasurer's Update
Ian Byrne, IES Treasurer, gave a review of the 2020-21 accounts. He highlighted that it was a strong year financially for the Institution, despite the headwinds. He praised the trustees and staff team for their close attention to expenditure and income. Income increased by 9% from the previous financial year, largely driven by membership growth. He highlighted that voluntary income appeared for the first time, representing grant income the IES received during the year. The increase in income was matched by a 9% increase in expenditure. He highlighted that there had been some staff turnover in the year, resulting in lower than planned expenditure, and paid tribute to the staff for delivering strong outcomes, despite this. 

Plans for 2022
Adam highlighted a number of achievements in the first quarter of 2022 and plans for the remainder of the year, including:

• The increasing ability of the organisation to attract grant funding to expand its mission, whilst keeping membership fee increases low;
• A comprehensive gap analysis against the policy recommendations in our Manifesto for Transformative Change;
• A report on ethnic diversity in the environment sector;
• The theme for the year of cascading risk, showcasing the systems approach that environmental scientists take to deal with that risk;
• A planned update to our visual identity; and
• Celebrations for our 50th anniversary.

Elections
The following Council members were elected: Bernard Devereux, Ed Hill, Rebecca Jessup, Elizabeth Mullings-Smith and Nicola Parker. All resolutions were passed.

The IES would like to say a big thank you to the retiring trustees: Jonathan Atkinson, Linsey Cottrell, Iain Hossack, Oliver Puddle and Dave Stone.