Faith and culture in climate engagement

26 May 2026

The Planet Possible podcast explores how ‘hard to reach’ communities can be better served environmentally through faith and culture

Environmental stewardship is a core tenet of many religions, so you might imagine that engaging with the faithful on issues of climate and nature would be an easy task for companies and organisations working in this space. Yet all too often, the reality is that faith communities – particularly those from minority groups – are frustratingly hard to reach.

Planet Possible host Niki Roach got into this topic on a recent episode of the podcast, talking to guests Amandeep Kaur Maan and Mumin Islam about how listening to and working with a range of community groups can create positive environmental outcomes.

Amandeep Kaur Maan is the co-founder of EcoSikh UK and works with people and organisations across the UK, aiming to connect climate change with faith, culture and heritage. With a background in international business and environmental management, Amandeep is also a Yorkshire and Humber climate commissioner, co-chairing its communities and engagement group.

Mumin Islam is recognised as an industry leader in the space of engaging and working with diverse communities of different backgrounds. He is passionate about water demand management, equity, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, and environmental and social justice. Mumin also serves as a non-exec director for the water saving NGO Waterwise and is a board member for the innovation hub Spring.

If you’d like to listen along, you can find the podcast episode here, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite platform. Follow the podcast to stay updated on our weekly deep dives into pressing environmental challenges.

Now, over to Niki, Amandeep and Mumin…

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Niki Roach: Amandeep, tell me a little bit about some of the projects that EcoSikh has been involved in.

Amandeep Kaur Maan: One of the main things that we're trying to do is make sure that values that people hold are being connected to the modern day problem of climate change. Adaptation, resilience, net zero, there are so many words out there that when broken down people do want to deal with. It's just about reframing narratives and making sure that the conversations are two-way, making sure that we're listening as well as imparting advice and information. We just try and build that bridge really between the information, the science, and the communities and grassroots organisations that are already doing so much amazing work. Just providing a platform for that.

NR: What does that look like in practice?

AKM: There was a place of worship in Birmingham and it was very near a canal. That canal was not being used by members of the congregation. Part of it is that in some communities there are barriers to access to nature that we may not understand, there might be reasons why it's not used. But the organisations coming together meant that festivals were held along the canal towpath. It's a place that you can go cycle, you can go with your family. We held – in partnership with Canal & River Trust and the Sikh gurdwara – kayaking opportunities where families that would never do an activity like that took part. That's just one example of where we brought the local space closer to the community by just introducing and making it more familiar.

NR: That's wonderful, and interesting to hear about the barriers that you don't necessarily realise even exist in the first instance actually, in order to break them down.

So Mumin, from your perspective, give me a sense of some of the stuff you've been working on.

Mumin Islam: I've been working in this space for well over a decade now, mainly within the water companies, from the time I was back at Thames Water to Affinity to South Staffs. I think it's a growing challenge for not just for water companies, but for the industry in terms of how to connect and bridge that gap between what they do and the service they provide and what do different communities actually need and what's meaningful in terms of how we engage in the services that we provide. There's a big challenge and it's growing.

The most recent project is the Water Efficiency in Faith and Diverse Communities Project, an Ofwat-funded project with South Staffs and Cambridge Water. We had a whole range of diverse partners, including obviously Amandeep, who's been instrumental to that as well. And what we learned was how we can better engage effectively with different communities. It's not just about translating a piece of material to a different language or going to them with, ‘This is what we've got’ – a shower head, for example. It's how do you really connect? It's not what you know, it's how you connect with people, which is really important. So when we go into those communities, we actually understand how they value and use water. Sometimes we see faith and culture as one, but they can be very distinct and different.

As part of that project, we created two different, distinct behaviour change campaigns. One was around faith in the Muslim community, and one was around culture –rice washing, for example – and there's loads of material available on the website. And I really do believe this is a growing gap in the sector. If you look at the recent census, we've got super diverse communities: BAME communities make up around 18% of the UK. There's so much more we need to be doing as a sector, I think, in this space.

Gaining trust

NR: I'm keen to get into a bit more of the specifics because I think it brings it to life. But before we do, I guess, can we spend a little bit of time talking about why this is difficult? Because you've already said there are barriers, maybe that exist that we don't always appreciate, maybe we don't have the right language, I don't know.

I'm keen to understand, I suppose, from your professional experiences, why it's difficult for organisations, be that water companies or whoever it is, working in a space where you're trying to drive some sort of positive environmental outcomes which need a change from people in terms of behaviour, why is that difficult for us to be able to do well at the moment?

MI: I think there's a number of reasons, but number one fundamental to this is trust. We know trust is quite low in the water sector at the moment, but I think within these communities, [the issue of] trust is even heightened, and that could be for a number of reasons. You've got religious hate crime at an all time high now, you've got all sorts of issues in terms of how people see corporate companies in terms of trust, and I think that's one element that we need to really think about.

The other bit is, do the water companies or the sector actually represent the communities they serve? Do we actually understand communities when we're planning works, some of their concerns, etcetera? So I think it's a mixture of the communities not having trust in certain corporate companies, but also companies themselves not doing enough or going far enough. Are we proactively making those connections? Do we know who our communities are? And sometimes what I've noticed anyway in the past is, this is such a small minority base in terms of your customer. It's not your all-in, all-important priority. It's something which we sometimes like to call ‘hard to reach’ or ‘hard to engage’ customers.

But in fact, I think we need to just sit back and reflect in terms of what we can do differently. So I think it's a mixture of water companies and the sector, and also the actual stakeholders and community groups in terms of that level of trust. I think we just need to be more meaningful when we engage. And we did some of that as part of the project.

AKM: Again, it goes back to the language that's being used. And I'm not talking about English or other languages. It's the wording. It's how these things are put across in the news and the media. And it's not just about the diversity of colour or race or background. We're looking at diversity in backgrounds, whether it comes to social and class and educational levels. So many of these communities have people of many different backgrounds and colours living together, experiencing the same level of confusion or misunderstanding about certain initiatives.

So I've seen a lot of brilliant campaigns being launched by utility companies and local authorities – they're just not always landing. When you look at how much time and effort and resource goes into producing that, if they could just use a little bit of a bridge to get the right influences there, deliver it through different mediums. A leaflet is not always going to hit home in the same way that a chat at a community centre, for example, would. So we've had organisations like Hope for the Future and others come to us and say, ‘How can we talk to the people in this community? Could you help?’ And even then, as an organisation, this is all we do, even we struggle sometimes to get people that look and sound like us to come along. Because we're talking about a topic that is just not on their radar.

However, the more we do, I think the better examples we can provide. And the minute you give real life examples of people speaking as testimonials of, ‘I did this, it was okay, and these are the results’, that's the thing that I think is going to drive results, not leaflets. And the whole market is saturated with, ‘What product do I use? If I want to be better and more efficient, where do I go?’ So it comes back to trust, as Mumin said.

Lessons learnt

NR: I'm really keen to hear some of the specifics. I know we've touched on a little bit of some of the initiatives you've been involved in, but I think it really brings it to life for me to understand the work that you're doing.

So Mumin, if we come to you first, tell us a little bit more about the project that you've been working on, the Ofwat-funded one.

MI: That was completed in April 2025. We published the full report and a toolkit guide to support the sector. The first phase of that project was all about understanding before being understood. So it's really trying to understand different faiths, different cultures: what's their relationship with water? How did they actually use water in practice day to day? Really trying to understand those different practices. And then in turn, look at where can we see opportunities to save water, to work and co-create with those communities to save water.

And what we've recognised was, in the faith aspect, the Muslim community would use water before prayers up to five times a day. And there was a huge opportunity there because it's aligned with their own values. You should be using less water when you're performing what we call ablution or wudu. So there was a great campaign there working with Cambridge Central Mosque, the first eco mosque in the UK. And we worked with the head imam and a number of volunteers or champions, where it really came across strongly when it came from them as opposed to from Cambridge Water. That campaign was really successful in terms of getting people to shift their behaviours when they use water. We estimate to have saved up to 6,000 litres. It was very difficult because you don't really have all those customers on smart meters. But in future, we can get much more granular data, hopefully, to get some more results. That campaign went really well.

Then there was another campaign around a cultural aspect looking at rice washing. It was focused in the Southeast Asian community, but it's actually wider and more universal. It's not just rice washing. It could be washing your chicken, your vegetables and so forth. It wasn't about faith, it was a cultural practice. We were quite fortunate to have Ping Koon, ex-MasterChef winner. She did a really good campaign and it was really authentic because she comes from a Malaysian background. She saw her own mum washing rice in a certain way. The question was, do you have to wash rice that many times? Can you repurpose that water for beauty purposes, for gardening, etc? That came across really well. We worked with certain communities to translate into it different languages.

As Amandeep said, we translated to the Punjabi language, but it didn't land well. You've got to use languages that actually work for that community. We learned so much in terms of what works for communities, who's the messenger, where do you go through, etcetera.

One of the key benefits from that project, not only was it saving water, but I think you built social capital. Those relationships are invaluable for water companies, not just for water efficiency, but for other campaigns where you might have drought communications or smart metering and so forth. But one of the things I just want to share as well, I think it's really important for the sector to think about: you hear so many times in conferences and everywhere you go, the word ‘collaboration’. It's so important to work together, co-create, etcera’.

But I think personally, what comes before collaboration is equity. So equity-focused innovation. Are we giving the right access to opportunities to every community where possible, where we can, to get them more involved? And if we go out there and say, we've got a consultation, we've got this product – actually, have you involved the right communities to develop those products or those campaigns, etcetera?

And what we learned from the project, working with Cambridge Central Mosque, we really tweaked the languages, the way we delivered it, what day, what time, to make it land well and resonate with people. There was a quote from a customer in Cambridge (this was undertaken by an independent research agency) who said, ‘This was for the first time I've seen a utility come across as meaningful in terms of their engagement and not some marketing or public relationships’. And that really hit home for me in terms of how did they feel when we connect or share these messages, as opposed to, it's coming from an angle where you're trying to build reputation? It might be other purposes as well.

There's so much more I can share, but I think it was a start to do more. We created a toolkit at the end of this, working with Waterwise. This guide gets people to think before you approach these communities, what to do, who to connect with, what lands. That cultural sensitivity piece is really important. So we worked with University of Cambridge researchers in anthropology: really invaluable insights from them as well in that project. Another insight just to share as well, which came out from that, was sometimes it's not just religious water use, it could be cultural use. And one of the things we saw amongst many different faiths and cultures was, actually, there's a huge opportunity when it comes to cooking in the gurdwaras.

You've got the langar, the [free community meal service] and water being used in the kitchens, is there opportunity there? In the Jewish community, I know they have festivals and etcetera. There's opportunities there perhaps in terms of water saving. So I think there's a whole 2.0 project here in terms of how can we help non-household customers and maybe restaurants and caterers to look at being more sustainable?

NR: There is a lot there. I would be really interested, Amandeep, to hear about your involvement with the project that Mumin has just talked about. We talked about faith but we've also talked about culture and I guess the distinction between those two. Because some people might identify not with being part of a faith group but they will absolutely be part of a loose or tightly knit culture, won't they?

So how, either on the project we've just talked about or some of your work more broadly, where do you begin to start to engage in a way that is sensitive and respectful but meaningful? Tell me how that starts because this is fascinating and I have no idea where you would begin really.

AKM: Well, it starts with people like Mumin. When he first approached me about the project, it was really genuine and I'm not just saying this because we're on a podcast together, but I've said this to Mumin before. The way he came to me to ask about the community that I try my best to represent, it was done in a really genuine way where I felt like I was being listened to and heard and that's what made me stay involved in the project.

So firstly, I would say the people have to genuinely be interested. Many projects do tick a lot of boxes, but how much legacy is there? What's actually going to happen? Because that project was a long time ago and it's over now in some ways if you look at the world of work. But it lives on through the toolkits, the resources, through the feeling that we got, the achievement of, ‘That actually worked!’ and how we can make that work again and again and again. And this is about not duplicating efforts, it’s about not reinventing the wheel. If something worked, let's replicate it everywhere, as many places as we can. So now I'm going to be talking to a lot more gurdwaras about the greening gurdwara initiative that's going on with a lot of Sikh organisations where bills are rising.

And these places of worship are more than just places for worship, they're community centres. They're where elderly people go to stay fit and healthy. There are computer classes going on, exercise. They're a hub for so much more than worship. So when they're looking at their costs, there's a whole knock-on effect. If we don't make the changes with our utilities and other resources, there's a whole knock-on effect about, how long can these places last? And then when you've got those places, you've also got the congregation coming, hundreds and thousands of people are your captive audience in these communities. The potential is huge. And I think this is where we need to get more integration of campaigns.

If locally something great is happening, we need to utilise all these community places to spread the word and, you know, heighten everything, all the excitement and buzz. But it comes from within as well. There's got to be within those communities, the willingness to open up and welcome all these new things too. And we saw a lot of good examples of that.

So congratulations again, Mumin. It was a great project to be part of. And I would love to see water companies all over the UK doing things like this. I think it would produce different findings. It would enhance and support the existing work. Let's not let this be, it's done and that's it.

Advice for companies wanting to engage

NR: It sounds like an extraordinary legacy. You've started to talk a little bit about some of the lessons that you have taken from it. If there were organisations listening, what would some of the big themes that you've taken away be that you would want them to hear if they're thinking about this?

We've definitely heard about listening to communities and authenticity, but beyond that, is there any kind of key themes and practical steps that you think that they should be thinking about?

MI: Absolutely. I think it's a great time now for the water industry. We've got record investment over the next five years: £104 billion. A smart metering programme to fit 10 million smart metres. A whole digital transformation programme. This is a great time to start thinking about some of these communities. I know it doesn't apply to all water companies. Sometimes [the potential] can be really small in certain areas, but in other areas like, say, the West Midlands or Severn Trent’s patch, it's huge.

There's some really big pockets of areas where we need to be thinking and doing things differently. For me, I think it's about being proactive: try and connect to those communities, find those key stakeholders, share what your plans are over the next five years, your business plans, some opportunities for them to get involved and co-create some of those ideas.

So connect proactively, I think is really important. The other area I would say is cultural sensitivity training. Sometimes we see these things as fluff, EDI, equity, diversity, inclusion, but I think it can be really important in terms of training your frontline staff, even your leadership teams and your exec and your board, in terms of really trying to put your feet in someone else's shoes and what they're going through. I'm a big EDI champion as well and I really like stories. It's so powerful when you hear people's challenges and what they go through, for you to feel what they're doing.

I would say try and connect and be proactive with some of these communities and see where there's commonalities in terms of what you're trying to achieve. A big target that we know in terms of some of the regulatory targets is PCC – per capita consumption or reducing demand. You can easily work with some of these communities to look at what can you do.

So last year I went to a faith conference, it was called Faith Associates, and there were leaders in different faith communities in that conference up and down the country. What was so interesting to hear is they were so excited and they just want to do stuff in the communities around rainwater harvesting, water recycling, solar panels, etcetera, but they just didn't know how to connect to the water companies or the water retailer. They didn't know who their water retailer was, some of them. So you could clearly see they want to do something, but that element of trust or that connection is not there.

I just think water companies need to reach out a bit more, be brave, and also just think about how can you connect a bit more, earlier before asking for favours or trying to push certain agendas. So yeah, be proactive, learn, understand cultural sensitivity, and then it will slowly build. Trust takes time to build as well.

AKM: I'd echo those sentiments exactly. I'd also say that some of the deprived communities and maybe those whose social problems are actually really big, they must be remembered in all of this. Whether they can be identified in any particular culture or religion or background, it's just providing that equal opportunity for everybody to access the support, the advice, the guidance in the simplest of terms.

And that's what it's about. And I hope that community hubs all over the UK are doing something about this. Attracting people on this topic is a challenge. been there, I've been at empty workshops or with just a few people where you've put them on, you're trying to help and provide the right support, but what is it?

And that's something that even community organisations are going to struggle to understand: how can we bring everyone together on this? Because for some people, it's a bit dull, for some people, it's a bit complicated. But what matters at the core of it is, it's about that adaptation and resilience. Those themes, if we just break it down to that, it's just preparing people for the future, when there will be possible shortages for all sorts of things.

And then it's about the hope, isn't it? A lot of people that have a strong root in their faith – whatever it is, not necessarily religion, but a faith in something – there's a hopefulness there. And the more we can draw on that, the more we can use that to point their moral compass in the right direction and say, ‘Well, small changes do matter’.

I went to an event recently where they were talking about the big countries and the big corporations. And it does make community groups feel a little bit like, ‘Well, why should we? What can we do? What difference can we make?’ And that's where we need to speak to them, [about the fact] that, it's going to benefit you. Focus on you and your community and what can make you resilient, whether it's growing your own food, whether it's all these schemes that happen in more affluent areas and allotments and things, bringing them to everybody and just making it accessible to everyone.

So everyone's got a part to play. Even corporate organisations, they've got so many EDI targets. One of the ways that we worked with faith and climate was an international law firm in the centre of Leeds, which is trying to be a very, very sustainable city. So this law firm invited me to have five stands set up of the five major faiths. I didn't talk about the differences. What we drew upon was what are the similarities around nature. And it was absolutely beautiful.

I'm not just saying that because this is my preferred topic to talk about all the time, but just the way that people came together and identified that, wow, all the religions, when they talk about nature, it's the same. That hope and unity that it builds, I think is really, really beautiful. It's really useful and it's a catalyst for change. And when we come together with all sorts of organisations like Faith for the Climate, and we all come together from different backgrounds, we realise this is our common cause.

Even advocacy: some of these community groups aren't that confident when it comes to advocacy. What do we want to talk to our MPs about? What are the issues in our area, whether it's utilities or other things? It's just empowerment, really.”

Driving change

NR: Gosh, there's so many questions I want to ask. The storytelling piece is really interesting for me, because storytelling is generally a key part of most major religions, isn't it really? There's typically a whole raft of stories that help translate and transmit that faith through generations and generations.

But you just used the word ‘dull’, Amandeep, which I think is a really interesting word, because the three of us are geekily interested in this kind of stuff – climate, nature, water – but for many people, you might not have the time, you might not have the space in life to think about those things.

How do we connect with those communities beyond faith leaders or community leaders who might be engaged? Are there stories you've seen that have worked really well, or approaches that have had, I guess, more of an impact than perhaps you were thinking? Because I feel like I'm hearing the power of storytelling being talked about across a range of areas at the moment, not just this, but in terms of how we drive change. I'd love to hear your positive experiences you've had of that.

AKM: Can I just mention, on that note, intergenerational relationships? I think there's a big breakdown at the moment between different generations, and storytelling plays a big part. So when it comes to faith and heritage – and this is about wherever your heritage is, whether it's Celtic, pagan or druid background, whatever your ancestral heritage is – I think it's worth revisiting and just drawing on the resourcefulness of people back then.

You know, whether it's the Punjab or whether it's the UK, people were more resourceful. It's just fact. Whether you get water from a tap now or a well in India, those stories – I think the more we talk about them and retell them through the eyes of these people, it cuts across all the different backgrounds. So, yes to storytelling, please. More of it. And that's where more support is needed in the arts and culture. You wouldn't put arts and culture in with utilities and serious companies like that. But I think that's the missing link: we've just solved the problem.

NR: I think that's such an interesting point because actually it could be seen as something really separate. However, I often find myself thinking there's a kind of work hat and a work decision, and then there's what you would do if it was your own money or if it was in your own life. And actually that's a completely unnecessary distinction often, and if we allow people to connect with their own personal values, probably they would make better decisions in the round really.

And I think stories often are the way that we enable people to do that really and to tap into that: ‘What do I really think and feel about my neighbourhood? How do I feel about what water is doing in the environment that I'm in really?’ And make it personal.

I think it's really important. Even for the professionals working in the sector, I don't just mean for community groups, I mean the people that are making investment decisions or deciding what campaigns to do.

MI: Amandeep is spot on really, and just to build on that: so, coming from a water company background for the last 18 years, you often get, ‘This is really complex’. How far do you go? Do you cater for every single audience or individual? And some of the challenges you hear, whether it's in exec boardrooms or senior leaders, is you get those challenges. And sometimes I think it's step by step. It's not going to happen overnight. You've got to work with these communities, build that trust.

But what Amandeep just said is that commonality. Most of these groups, cultures, faiths have that commonality around, ‘We need to do more to preserve the environment, to conserve the creation’, whether it's God's creation or Mother Nature, we need to do more. And when you tap into that, I think companies and the sector are missing a trick – you need to work with these communities as advocates and support your programmes. I've been to many focus groups and forums where you have river groups and environmentalists and not many from these communities. Does that mean they're not interested or have we not connected properly?

And sometimes there is a missing link you can see in communities: they don't know where their local river is. They don't know the impact of what they do to the environment. And when you share that story – using less water or not pouring this down the sink, this is the impact that you can see visually – when you make that link, I think it just resonates to people more and to their own intrinsic values as well.

And then you can share stories about culturally what's been done before. If you take previous generations, there are practices in different countries that actually adopt sustainable behaviours. And you try to think about how can we adopt some of that stuff here as well. So, spot on, I just think we need to think about those commonalities and how can we align our business challenges with people and communities.

The Planet Possible magic wand

NR: Well, you've certainly made the challenge really clear, as well as some of the beautiful outcomes that can come from properly leaning into this and acknowledging that you don't have to do everything all at once, but taking those steps is really key. I'm going to ask you both the question that you probably know is already coming, because I ask all my guests this. So, Mumin, I'll come to you first with it.

We have a magic wand here on Planet Possible, so I'm going to pass it across to you: if you can make anything possible in this space, what would you want, Mumin?

MI: I think we need to go beyond the word ‘fairness’ to ‘social equity’ and ‘social resilience’. When we talk about resilience and climate change, etcetera, I think we can't leave anyone behind. Everyone has a right to water in terms of access, in terms of fairness. And sometimes if you look at planning policy and some of the stuff that we do, it's really top down. So if there's one thing I would really want is that social justice, equity, resilience within all communities, so everyone has the same access and opportunities.

NR: Amazing. And Amandeep?

AKM: I'm going to come at this from a climate commission perspective because I'm on the Yorkshire Climate Commission and it's a really fascinating place to see how many people come together and how we come together. So I would love for every city, first of all, to have its own climate commission. Let's just get that done. Your wand’s going to be a bit busy. After setting up these commissions, these communities and engagement groups, let's make sure that we get as much representation as possible so that we can hear and get engaged in more dialogue. It has to be more two-way.

We put out surveys sometimes, we put out information – what's coming back? I would just love to see more coming back and reaching everybody, like Mumin says. If the information can reach everybody in the right format, then it's what they say back that I'm most interested in.

NR: So much food for thought in this conversation. Thank you both.

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