Embrace Rotary’s new Area of Focus: Supporting the Environment

Posted by Steve Solbrack, Environmental Sustainability Chair
At the 2020 Rotary International Convention, Past RI President Mark Maloney announced Rotary’s new area of focus: Supporting the Environment. “This new area of focus will give Rotarians and Rotaractors even more ways to bring about positive change in the world and increase our impact.” 
 
This will enhance existing projects in the other six areas of focus, engage existing members in meaningful projects, and attract new and younger members to clubs.
 
Has your club formed a committee for Supporting the Environment? The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (esrag.org) has resources for districts and clubs, including guidelines for forming a Rotary club committee for Supporting the Environment. If your club has a committee or forms one, please email the committee name and chair’s name to me at steve@solbrack.com. You can also contact me if you would like to discuss the formation of your committee. If you are looking for speakers or presentations on environmental topics, I can make recommendations and referrals.
 
Our District 5950 Environmental Sustainability (ES) Action Team has 17 members from 10 Rotary clubs. The objectives of the district committee are:
  • Champion Supporting the Environment and environmental sustainability (ES) to Rotarians in D5950.
  • Advise clubs on adopting the new TRF area of focus.
  • Help train, advise, network, and measure ES projects and the environmental aspects of other District projects.
  • Engage, motivate, and empower Rotarians to incorporate ES into their daily lives and in their club and District activities, events, and projects.
  • Develop training, presentations, and example projects that can be shared between clubs and Districts.
  • Provide advice and information on ES to the District Governor, clubs, and members.
  • Recognize club and district ES accomplishments at the end of the Rotary year.
 
 “Protecting the environment and curbing climate change are essential
to Rotary’s goal of sustainable service.  The time is long past when environmental sustainability can be dismissed as not Rotary’s concern.
It is, and must be, everyone’s concern.”
--Past RI President Ian Riseley