LEAD Loddon Murray executive officer Leah Sertori launched the Power to the People program on Tuesday night saying our region will face a number of sustainability issues over the next decade including recycling and waste issues, an increased demand for drinkable water and poor energy efficiency leading to increased electrical costs.

"There's so much interest in leadership around sustainability," she said.

"I think community members are really are curious about how to communicate the impact of the changing climate and how local residents could shift their behaviour to make the most of all our resources."

Eight local organisations from a range of sectors have partnered and raised funds to support the program.

Ms Sertori said she was amazed at how eagerly the organisations got involved.

"I was really taken by the willingness of organisation to chip in money, staff resources and promote the opportunity to the broader community," she said. "They are hoping to learn from the experience of the participants in program."

The program will take on 10 groups of three who will tackle their own complex, pervasive issue - or wicked problem - related to sustainability over 14 months.

Wicked problems are problems that don't have a technical solution and belong to a set of stakeholders rather than one principal agency.

"We provide them with some guidance. Our definition of sustainability for this project comes from the One Planet Sustainable Living which is a global standard," Ms Sertori said.

"So teams will identify a complex issue that relates to each of the (One Planet) themes.

"We need creative thinkers, people who build logical arguments and who can persuade the majority of people in community to shift their behaviour.

"Outside the box thinking is important but so is understanding the regulatory environment and legislative frameworks that are in place so we can encourage participants to understand the rules before they break them and be best equipped to make a strong case as to why the rules are irrelevant and why a change is needed."

Global water advocate Mina Guli spoke at the launch on why the program was important. She said making an impact in a structured, supported way was a great opportunity.

"I think program like this are critically important to everybody," she said.

"Making an impact without structure, without mentors, and not knowing how to do it is really challenging.

"Making any big change is hard, because there are always naysayers and things will go wrong. Doing stuff that's never been done before is hard because you're forging a path that you don't know will work - you have to try and test and pivot. Without guidance that cycle takes a long time, costs money and takes resources. It's a battle.

"This is an opportunity to create change, identify a wicked issue and say, in a structured way, how we can fix it with education and tools."

Ms Guli said applying for a program like Power to the People took courage for a lot of people.

"Most people who want to solve problems have thought outside the box to identify the problem," she said. "The thing is having the courage to come along and put your hand up and saying 'I'll be a part of it'. That's the first step.

"Once you take that step, then it's about saying this is my passion. My passion gives me my purpose and my purpose will allow me to persevere. Even if everything is going horribly wrong, you're still going to do it because it's far more important than anything you'll ever do, it's the thing that needs to be done for our community and the planet."

For more information on LEAD Loddon Murray's Power to the People program visit www.leadlm.org.au

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