Deborah Fox
Public Sector Programme, Forum for the Future
Deborah Fox joined Forum for the Future – the sustainable development charity – in February 2008 as Director of the Public Sector Programme. Previously she spent four years at the government’s Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) as a head of service and before that was a director at ENCAMS, which manages the Keep Britain Tidy brand. Her earlier career in education, communications and campaigning was forged in the north of England with stints with Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, Tees Forest, Middlesbrough Borough Council, Friends of the Earth and Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Forum for the Future works in partnership with leading organisations in both the public and private sectors. Deborah’s aim as programme Director is to foster public sector leaders who can implement sustainable development. She observes that, to be achievable within the public sector, sustainability must be promoted as "accessible and achievable”.
Her work with practitioners in “the Cinderella services of waste collection, street cleansing and parks management” has helped to crystallise in her mind that “sustainable development must start on the street: only then can individuals play their part and get involved in achieving change for the better.” This has drawn her to work on a plethora of award schemes for beaches, schools and parks as well as the personalities behind them such as street cleaners and park keepers.
Deborah says she’s looking forward to building on Forum for the Future’s recent successes in the public sector, including the Sustainable Cities Index, which pitched Britain’s 20 largest cities against each other.
