'Climate change is solvable. The industry needs to decarbonise its product. Oxford alumni can play a role'
- Myles Allen
'There is a desire for this organisation to be a place for action, not just discussion. The political sway of Oxbridge is significant, and it is critical for alumni to leverage their positions to take action.'
- Kaya, Axelsson
Thank you to everyone who attended our launch and helped us start off the network with a bang! We were thrilled to have so many alumni from across the globe join us and we look forward to seeing how this network develops and grows.
We've compiled some insights from our two launch event sessions below. If you missed the event or just want to relive it, please listen to the recordings here.
Quick Numbers
598 Registered Attendees
355 Consultation Responses, from
44 Countries,
35 Oxford Colleges, and
Alum from EVERY matriculated year since 1956* (with the exception of 1963!) That's (almost) 63 consecutive years of graduates who are committed to tackling climate change together.
**Update: As of 17 September, 2020, we now have alum representing every matriculated year since 1956!
At the start of each launch session, we activated a poll. Please find the results for the first one below:
Insights from the breakout sessions
Following the panel discussion, we broke alumni into small breakout rooms to start the conversations and ideas rolling! Please find the questions discussed and an overview of key responses from our alumni below.
Question 1: What single activity could this network undertake that would have the biggest impact on the climate crisis?
Local/sector focus groups
Mobilising critical mass across and between sectors, influencing other influential alumni in various sectors affecting climate change (not just those in the oil and gas industry)
Linking the business and science perspective. Providing the best (climate) knowledge to those working with stakeholders or in the industry, 'supercharged' by the Oxford brand and its legitimacy/credibility.
Use our influence within the Oxford alumni community to reach out to other Oxford graduates in positions of political, financial, industrial and other key influencing professions to get climate change as high up the agenda as possible
Use local Oxford alumni chapters to create events that relate climate to the issues of that community (e.g., fossil fuel industry transition in Houston; UK government and climate in London; climate and smart urban design in NYC)
Some way to connect individually with other members e.g. to find speakers for events and run sessions at conferences
To connect students to alumni for mentoring on careers
Active climate research communication to non-experts, with well-managed themed conversations so people interested in a topic can pull together to achieve measurable outcomes.
Question 2: If you were to organise an OxCAN event as a group to serve the purposes of this network, what would it be?
Local focus groups including industries with low impact on the environment taking advantage of the virtual platform which is politically inclusive Additionally, a nonpartisan political forum to identify small scale pledges to be able to commit to.
Creating a whole systems approach to climate change for global dissemination
Collation of research information
Workshops on various topics: how to disseminate/communicate science to make it digestible from a business perspective; how to convince others to take climate action
OxCAN-wide events beginning with speakers who are able to bridge across the various climate crisis fields of endeavour (political, technical, activist, scientific, business, education, etc), then hold a poll-driven audience discussion or Q&A about the issues the audience think are the most relevant or urgent for OxCAN to tackle
Annual Climate Change Summit to brainstorm solutions to climate questions of the day.
LinkedIn Buzz
We were delighted to see a buzz following the launch on LinkedIn. Follow our page here.
'Great opportunity to harness their energy, leadership and leverage to drive positive change'
'Looking forward to become an advocate for change with the Oxford research backing up and enhancing my arguments!'