Natural Catalysts 2026: A New Approach to Racial Equity in Environmental Leadership
The environmental sector faces a persistent challenge: leadership roles do not reflect the diversity of society. Despite growing awareness of diversity and inclusion, many environmental organizations still lack representation from various racial backgrounds in their leadership teams. To address this systemic issue, the Natural Catalysts program has been launched. This 12-month leadership initiative aims to transform how leadership is understood, accessed, and practiced within the environmental field, with a specific focus on advancing racial equity.
Applications are now open for the 2026 cohort of the Natural Catalysts Programme. This program is designed to support leaders from Global Majority backgrounds and senior leaders working together to create lasting, systemic change. Its core mission is to build more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable leadership pathways across environmental organizations in the UK.
Understanding the Natural Catalysts Programme
Natural Catalysts is a leadership development initiative that centers on several key areas: racial equity, leadership transformation, organizational change, systems thinking, and inclusive environmental leadership. The program is a collaboration between Common Purpose and Makani Cambridge, with support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Unlike many programs that focus solely on individual career advancement, Natural Catalysts takes an ecosystem approach. This means it aims to influence individuals, organizations, leadership structures, sector-wide systems, organizational culture, and access to power and decision-making. The program’s design involved a year of research and co-creation with Global Majority Leaders, Senior Leaders, environmental organizations, equity practitioners, and community stakeholders.
Why This Programme is Important for the Environmental Sector
Historically, the environmental sector has struggled with racial representation at the leadership level. Organizers point out that this issue goes beyond simple talent shortages or recruitment challenges. It is deeply tied to how leadership itself is defined, how opportunities are distributed, existing organizational power structures, informal network access, visibility, sponsorship, and broader systemic inequities. Natural Catalysts seeks to challenge and change these underlying structures. The program recognizes that meaningful and lasting change requires organizational commitment, shared accountability, collaboration across different levels, honest discussions about race and power, and structural changes that move beyond symbolic representation.
Programme Vision and Goals
The vision of Natural Catalysts is to increase equitable leadership opportunities, specifically supporting Global Majority Leaders and encouraging institutional accountability. The program aims to shift the leadership culture within the environmental sector and build long-term systemic change. It seeks to move organizations from a focus on mere representation to genuine access and influence. It also aims to transition from basic mentoring to providing sponsorship and increasing visibility for underrepresented leaders, ultimately fostering collective transformation rather than just individual progression.
Who Can Participate in Natural Catalysts?
The Natural Catalysts Programme is open to organizations operating within the environmental sector. Each organization is invited to nominate a “duo” of participants who will go through the program together.
Required Participant Structure
Global Majority Leader
The nominated Global Majority Leader must meet specific criteria. They should be in a paid role, have lived experience of racialization in the UK, and identify within communities racialized as Black, Asian, Brown, or Arab within the UK context. They should be operating at a mid-management level or above and actively navigating leadership pathways within the environmental sector.
Senior Leader
The Senior Leader must hold a paid senior role with significant decision-making power and influence over organizational direction. They should be part of the senior management or executive leadership team. Examples include CEOs, Directors, or other Executive Leaders. The program emphasizes that titles can vary, but what matters most is the individual’s influence, strategic authority, and power in organizational decision-making.
Important Participation Rule
A crucial rule for participation is that a Global Majority Leader cannot join the program without senior leadership involvement. However, if an organization does not currently employ a Global Majority Leader, a Senior Leader may participate independently. This structure is intentional, as the program aims to create organizational change rather than focusing solely on individual leadership development.
Additional Opportunity for HR and DEI Professionals
Organizations also have the option to nominate professionals from Human Resources (HR), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), or Learning and Development (L&D) departments. These participants will join a dedicated Community of Practice. This additional track is designed to help organizations embed the program’s learning into their policies, systems, and overall workplace culture.
What Participants Will Learn
The program delves into critical themes surrounding leadership, race, power, equity, organizational systems, and community-centered change. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of power structures and explore leadership beyond traditional hierarchical models. They will learn from diverse lived experiences and roles, build supportive professional communities, and strengthen their organizational influence. The program also encourages reflection on accountability and responsibility, helping participants develop sustainable leadership practices.
Programme Structure and Components
Natural Catalysts is a comprehensive 12-month program designed for 40 participants in total: 20 Global Majority Leaders and 20 Senior Leaders. The program combines in-person residential learning, online sessions, peer communities, collaborative reflection, leadership development, and systems-change approaches.
Programme Components
- Online Onboarding Session: The program begins with a two-hour online session to help participants build initial connections, understand program expectations, and explore themes of leadership and systemic change.
- Global Majority Leaders Track: This specialized track includes a three-day in-person residential gathering for community building, leadership reflection, and collective learning. It also features a Community of Practice with ten one-hour sessions for peer support, collaborative learning, and shared reflection.
- Senior Leaders Track: Senior leaders will engage in sessions focused on organizational leadership reflection, discussions on power and accountability, learning about influence and systems change, and cross-sector collaboration.
- Joint Learning Track: Participants from different leadership levels will learn together through shared discussions, collaborative exercises, exploration of organizational change, and reflection on leadership practices.
- HR, DEI, and Leadership Professionals Track: This specialized track supports professionals responsible for workplace culture, equity systems, inclusion practices, and leadership development frameworks.
- Final In-Person Gathering: The program concludes with a 24-hour residential gathering where participants reflect on learning outcomes, share organizational insights, discuss change implementation, and celebrate their completion of the program.
Time Commitment for Participants
The Natural Catalysts program requires meaningful participation and organizational engagement.
- Global Majority Leaders: Commit to approximately 4 in-person days and 18 hours of online sessions.
- Senior Leaders: Commit to about 20 hours of online sessions, 1 in-person day, and shadowing and visibility commitments.
- HR/DEI Participants: Commit to 4 hours of online sessions.
The organizers emphasize that this program is intended to directly influence participants’ work, rather than being a separate activity.
Benefits of Participating in Natural Catalysts
Participating in Natural Catalysts offers significant personal, professional, and organizational benefits.
Leadership Development
Participants will strengthen their strategic leadership skills, systems thinking abilities, cross-boundary leadership capabilities, and overall organizational influence.
Networking and Community
The program provides access to supportive peer networks, fosters cross-sector relationships, and builds collaborative learning communities.
Organizational Impact
Organizations benefit from more inclusive leadership practices, stronger equity frameworks, improved representation pathways, and enhanced organizational reflection.
Exposure and Visibility
Participants gain increased visibility, opportunities for sponsorship, and access to influential spaces and networks.
Sector-Wide Transformation
Ultimately, the program contributes to more equitable environmental leadership, sustainable systems change, and greater racial representation in leadership roles across the sector.
Cost and Financial Support
The program fee is £500 for organizations that are able to pay. However, bursaries are available, and the organizers clearly state that financial limitations should not prevent organizations from applying.
Information Webinar
An information webinar will be held for interested applicants on June 23, 2026, from 12:00 to 13:00 BST via Zoom. This session will offer program insights, application guidance, and an opportunity for questions and discussion.
About the Organising Partners
Common Purpose
Common Purpose is an international leadership development organization founded in 1989. It operates in over 100 cities worldwide and has more than 130,000 alumni globally. The organization focuses on developing cross-boundary leadership and supporting collaborative problem-solving across different sectors.
Makani Cambridge
Makani Cambridge CIC is a community-rooted organization focused on racial equity, leadership, collective care, and community-led systems change. Since 2024, Makani has delivered over 70 programs and events, reaching more than 1,000 participants across the UK. Their work prioritizes lived experience, community-rooted learning, and equity-focused systems change.
Application Deadline
The deadline for applications is midnight UK Time on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Interested organizations can learn more and apply through the official Common Purpose platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main goal of the Natural Catalysts program?
The main goal is to transform leadership within the environmental sector by advancing racial equity and creating more inclusive leadership pathways.
Who is eligible to participate in the Natural Catalysts program?
Organizations in the environmental sector can nominate a duo of a Global Majority Leader and a Senior Leader. HR, DEI, or L&D professionals can also join a separate track.
What is the time commitment for participants?
Global Majority Leaders commit to about 4 in-person days and 18 hours online. Senior Leaders commit to around 20 hours online and 1 in-person day. HR/DEI participants commit to 4 hours online.
Is there a cost to participate in the program?
The program fee is £500 for organizations that can pay, but bursaries are available, and financial limitations should not prevent applications.
