As part of the Creative Boardroom initiative, Institute of Directors Ireland in collaboration with programme partners: IoD Northern Ireland, Creative Futures Academy and Forvis Mazar, welcomed  the Chartered Director community from across Ireland to participate in a ‘design sprint’ at National Concert Hall in Dublin.

This practical and engaging session demonstrated how design thinking can foster collective problem-solving and enhance awareness of both climate challenges and opportunities for leadership impact and it offer Chartered Director members a unique opportunity to explore how boards can collectively “raise the temperature” in the boardroom to meaningfully address climate challenges.

Over the last 18 months Chartered Directors (CDirs) from Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland have been participating in this pioneering, all-island initiative addressing the urgent challenge of climate change through creative collaboration and leadership.

The workshop was led by facilitators from the programme including:

• Caroline Kinsella, Board & Members Services Director, Institute of Directors Ireland.
• Sheila Byrne, Head of Learning & Education, Institute of Directors Ireland.
• Laura Magahy, Public Sector Consulting Lead, Forvis Mazars and Chair of Creative Boardroom
• Lara Hanlon, Lecturer in Design Thinking at IADT, design strategist, sustainability advocate
• Lucy McKenna, Learning Specialist, facilitator and coach, and co-founder of The Brave Lab;
• Louise Allen, Director of Creative Futures Academy, with extensive leadership experience in the creative and cultural sector both nationally and internationally.

This interactive session was intended as short but focused intervention to demonstrate how design-led processes foster a collective approach to problem-solving and increased awareness of climate challenges and opportunities.

Over a focused 2.5 hour session, participants were guided through a design-led methodology to:

• • Set a vision for the impact they wished to achieve at board level
  • Define and frame key climate challenges
  • Iterate through possible solutions
  • Identify tangible actions to implement on the boards on which they sit

The event took place at in the Kevin Barry Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin 2.

Participants at the workshop also had the opportunity to bring home our brand new Creative Boardroom: Courageous Climate Conversations Guide which we are making available to businesses and organisations to start and continue conversations that may lead to action on the impacts of climate change.

It is designed around 3 core pillars which aim to build understanding, incite action and inspire others. It provides practical talking points to spark discussion on how climate action can be embedded into strategic decision-making and suggests design thinking tools to help to facilitate these conversations

The Collaborate4Climate exhibition was designed using sustainable principles, spotlights key climate areas: transport and mobility, the built environment, agriculture and food, and consumables. It is currently on display in various locations across the island of Ireland including Irish Rail Connolly Station, Dublin 1 from 17th Nov until  5th December, Guinness Enterprise Centre, Dublin 8 from 13th  to 28th November and Department of Culture, Communications & Sport, Killarney from 4th until 28th November. It will open next week at Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, Dublin 4.