In 2024, the ICI Young Chemists Network (to whom Joe is an Advisor) organised the Young Chemists for Change event at UCD, focussing on the role of equality, diversity and inclusion in the chemistry community in Ireland, the UK and further afield. A full report of the event is available in Irish Chemical Events. This event was supported by the RSC Inclusion and Diversity Fund. Recently a Forum Article about the event was published in RSC Sustainability.

The editor of the journal RSC Sustainability commissioned a collection of Forum articles highlighting impacts of the Inclusion and Diversity Fund, highlighting the relevance of culture in the chemistry community to sustainability more broadly:

“As a journal from the Royal Society of Chemistry, it is to be expected that most authors select one or more of the more obviously technical SDGs. However, it is vital that we remember the importance of societal changes to achieve the SDGs. These are made explicit in SDGs 5 (Gender Equality) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities), but we should also remember that there are other SDGs that have both technical and societal aspects. For example, it will be impossible to deliver SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) without accounting for unequal health outcomes based on sex and gender, race and ethnicity, poverty, geography, prior disability, and sexual orientation. I have always believed that the Chemical Sciences and Chemical Scientists can contribute to all of the SDGs and that RSC Sustainability should play its part in this.”

-Tom Welton, RSC Sustainability

The Forum article presents demographic data, qualitative and quantitative analysis of responses from attendees at the event, and the impact EDI events can have on awareness and sense of belonging. Joe is a co-author of this article along with the main organisers of the event. The forum article can be read at https://doi.org/10.1039/d6su90043g