Environment
A leading Scottish environmental charity is losing its top officer, just a year after he took on the role.
Stan Blackley was appointed chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland in May last year, but has informed the charity this week that he was standing down, and will leave on Tuesday. The charity’s board, headed up by chairman Chris Revie, is due to meet two days after to discuss the next step – including who will replace him.
Blackley was appointed to the role shortly after the SNP victory in the 2011 Scottish Government elections and he pledged to lobby the new government to stick to its green manifesto committments. He took over the leadership from Duncan McLaren, who had led the organisation for eight years, during a period when Scotland introduced the world’s first climate change act.
Speaking to Holyrood last year, he had said the charity’s role would be “the threat of the hairy fat baritone at the back of the room, who won’t be happy if you don’t do things properly”.
Prior to joining the charity he had spent eleven years of running his own ethical campaigning communications consultancy.
Last month he had led green campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament to lobby Donald Trump over his anti-wind turbine views. In characteristic headline-catching style they named themselves “Wind Is Great Scotland” – or “WIGS” for short.
A spokesman for Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “Over the last year he has delivered a significant restructuring of the organisation that leaves it better placed to face the operational and campaigning challenges ahead of it.
“During this period, Stan has also improved the organisation’s financial situation, maintained its public and media profiles and delivered considerable campaigning activity.
“The Board of Friends of the Earth Scotland recognises the hard wor...
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