Reaching for What's Possible - Emma Pocock's Vision for Sport as a Vehicle for Change

Emma Pocock is the CEO of an amazing organisation called Frontrunners, but is someone I have known about and admired from afar for over ten years.Emma is a reformed (but not really) social justice warrior who grew up firstly in the Pilbara in Western Australia before finishing her schooling in Perth then going on to university there as well, before she met someone who, 'plays a bit of rugby' - and would forever alter the trajectory of her life. But more on that later. Emma's life changed very shortly after this, taking her conceptual understanding and academic studies on the road to Zimbabwe where her life was transformed coming face to face with the shocking realisation of desperate poverty.From there Emma became more engaged with and embedded in environmental justice campaigns, combining her own personal experiences and tertiary education to become a leader in campaigns and politicking for habitat conservation, wildlife protection and action on the climate crisis. This converged when she was arrested alongside her 'bit of rugby playing' husband David Pocock - for those that don't know one of Australia's greatest ever rugby union players - for protesting to stop a new Whitehaven Coal mine in northwest NSW.Fast forward a few years and Emma founded Frontrunners after the Black Summer fire crisis, and in this chat we go into the origins of Frontrunners, what they do, how they do it and who's involved so I'll leave that for later on. We spend a bit of time chatting about a recent report they published with the remarkable Environmental Defenders Office titled Sport, Climate Change and Legal Liability which I highly recommend going and reading no matter which part of the sustainability system you exist in. What really stood out to me in this work is the detail by which the report outlines who is responsible and potentially liable for certain types of adverse human impacts related to a changing climate - this isn't an investor framework or suggested public reporting disclosures that mostly allows for choose your own adventure information sharing. This is nuts and bolts stuff regarding the who, what and why certain actors have certain duties to act and protect the wellbeing of people and safety of a game. I sense this question of direct liability is only going to increase for many sectors in the short and medium term, thankfully, and this Report is a great insight into what is coming down the pipe for many I suspect.Emma is such an optimist. I was struck meeting and talking with Emma just how grounded and clear she is and the conviction she has not only in Frontrunners, but how it can play an enabling role in catalysing transformative cultural change by leveraging Australia's deep love and affinity for sports and athletics - from the football codes and cricket, to surfing and swimming and athletics, to the role it plays in local communities for children and young people but also right across our lifespans.We also get into some of Emma's poetry, her personal yearning to seek meaning and purpose in her own life, and how that internal constitution activates her life and magnetises her towards making meaning and bringing others into that.I was moved by this conversation - I feel like something shifted for me speaking to Emma, and I hope you take something meaningful from it too.Download the Frontrunners report from their website, follow them on social media and think about how your sporting organisation or club - either that you participate in through your children, your own playing or as a fan, and ponder how the engine of passion and custodianship you and others feel towards and about that place could be channelled to support really local and tangible action on climate change.Send me a messageThanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram