Brothers in arms

Stephen and Alan Asbury were born in Staffordshire, and led very different lives and careers until an interesting convergence – last month, they were both surprised to hear that they had become the first pair of brothers with IEMA Fellowships.

Stephen, the older of the two, studied law and worked in three international blue chip companies, handling employer's liability insurance cases as well as acting as the health and safety manager. He became interested in environmental management at the time of the Environmental Protection Act in 1990 and handled the registration of several Part B processes for his employer. By 1995 he was working in the London insurance market, conducting liability reviews for underwriters and their clients. As part of this, he conducted environmental audits at organisations such as Coca-Cola, Malaysia Airlines and Panama Canal Commission. Since 2007, Stephen has published six bestselling books on corporate social responsibility, decision-making, and HSEQ management systems and auditing. He was the 42nd IEMA member to be awarded Fellowship in 1999, and became a Chartered Environmentalist in 2006.

Alan Asbury travelled the world as a younger man. Upon his return to the UK, he studied environmental science and management at BSc and MSc levels. After a spell in the public sector – where he delivered energy, fuel and carbon savings – he founded CLS Energy, which provides energy and fleet audits to manufacturing and logistics firms in the UK and worldwide. Alan assists organisations with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting, and practical approaches to addressing energy and fuel efficiency in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2018 he has been employed at the University of Greenwich and Middlesex University, tutoring those studying for masters degrees in climate change and sustainability. In addition to being an IEMA Fellow, Alan is a Chartered Environmentalist, Chartered Energy Manager, Chartered Resources and Waste Manager and Chartered Member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport. The 65th Chartered Energy Manager, Alan was also awarded Fellowship of the Energy Institute in 2018.

IEMA recently spoke to Stephen and Alan about their interesting careers and how they had converged. Alan was “surprised and delighted to be recognised by my peers in this manner“, while Stephen said he was happy to hear Alan's news: “I am sure that our late parents would be proud of our respective career successes.“

Stephen can be contacted at [email protected]
Alan can be contacted at [email protected]