Climate Assemblies within Organisations: Translating Assemblies to a New Context

What happens when you use citizens’ assemblies within organisations to foster climate action? Do we need to reconsider aspects of assembly practice in these contexts?

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Most of us think of climate assemblies as democratic processes commissioned by public authorities to bring the considered voice of their population into policy making. Occasionally, they may be commissioned by civil society organisations to open up public debate or try to influence action by government or other stakeholders.

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But why should assemblies be restricted to this way of working? Why not use democratic lottery and deliberation to engage those working within an organisation or those who receive services?

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In this workshop, we will consider how to best to integrate climate assemblies within different types of organisations by learning from pioneers. We will consider what we can learn from workplace democracy and the social economy and hear from three institutional contexts where citizens’ assemblies have been integrated in different ways:

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• The City of Lyon Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat des Agents (3CA / Citizens’ Assembly of Civil Servants) that aimed to transform municipal public service in the face of the ecological transition
• The Deelnemersdialoog (Member Dialogue) in the Pensioenfonds Detailhandel (pension fund for the retail sector in the Netherlands) that engaged beneficiaries in discussions about the fund’s responsible investing policy
• Climate assemblies within European universities that have integrated different combinations of students and staff in deliberating about climate action

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As ever, we will leave plenty of opportunities for questions and to explore challenges and opportunities in more depth together.

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