The Civil Service
Environment Network
Online
Who we are
We represent a group of civil servants from a wide variety of backgrounds. Our mission is to build environmental knowledge and policy capability across the Civil Service.
Our members want to learn about the environment and network with like-minded colleagues. CSEN offers a series of different events and resources, aimed to educate, develop and inspire. CSEN Online brings together all of our resources into one, easy-to-navigate website to ensure you make the most of the opportunities we provide.
The network was established in October 2019 and is sponsored by David Hill, Director General for Environment, Rural and Marine at Defra & Lee McDonough, Director-General for Net Zero Strategy and International at BEIS. We currently have over 3,000 members and a committee made up of 35+ dedicated volunteers.
What we do
We host monthly talks where we invite academics, environmental practitioners or experienced civil servants to speak to us about their work, and what this means for the Civil Service. Find recordings and slides from past talks here and sign up to future events here.
We run a monthly discussion group to allow members to come together and discuss “hot” topics based around a number of podcasts, articles and academic papers. Don’t forget to read The Branch, our regular newsletter that keeps our members up to date with all things environmental.
Conscious of our members’ desire to work in the area, we arrange careers webinars and organise ad hoc volunteering opportunities for our members to use their volunteering leave for a cause they care about.
Last but not least, we’re establishing CSEN Regional Groups where you can share information and link up with colleagues in your area - if there isn’t one for your region yet, why not think about setting one up?
We work in four key areas:
1. Climate Change
2. Natural Resources
3. Biodiversity and Ecosystems
4. Sustainable Development
Join us
Join us here on CSEN Online to explore resources from our past events, take part in our discussion forum, find out about volunteering opportunities, and meet like-minded colleagues!
We also produce podcasts, which explore topics in more depth with a subject matter expert. You can listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you're a member, you can browse all of our learning content on CSEN Online.
Learn
We produce a range of accessible, engaging content exploring a range of themes around climate and the environment.
If you can't make it to our member events, take a look at our YouTube channel for our most recent short Environment 101 videos, which introduce key concepts such as climate change, biodiversity and ecosystems, climate security and sustainable development.