Group sustainability manager, Balfour Beatty
Why did you become an environment/sustainability professional?
I have always been interested in science and as a teenager took a great interest in forest decline, the ozone hole and climate change. After reading a number of scientific papers and being encouraged by my teachers, I soon realised a lot needed doing in a short space of time if future generations were to enjoy this planet. This spurred me on to study environmental biochemistry.
What was your first environment/sustainability job?
Part-time for a consultancy in Manchester. I was tasked with gathering information on coal power stations in Turkey.
How did you get your first role?
I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I was already working with the consultancy on my MSc project and was the only person in the office who spoke Turkish, which enabled me to make initial contact with a prospective new client.
How did you progress your environment/sustainability career?
After completing my MSc I moved to London. Initially, I found it very difficult to get a job as I did not have enough experience – a problem that graduates still face today. I volunteered part-time for environmental regeneration charity Groundwork. After nine months, I applied for an opening and was successful. In 2004, I was appointed director of Groundwork’s trading company and won several contracts on Acorn/BS8555 implementation. I became the first consultant to successfully take a company through IEMA’s Acorn/BS8555 inspection scheme.
In 2005, I was appointed as director of Groundwork’s national environmental consultancy. I worked with many large businesses, government departments, and local authorities and was also contracted by Envirowise as a ‘fasttrack’ auditor. One of the more interesting contracts was supporting Balfour Beatty Workplace (BBW) on its facilities management tender for Defra. BBW was one of the first to incorporate sustainability into the scoring process. Given that it did not have a sustainability strategy in place, I advised on what was needed. In 2009, I was offered an opportunity to work for Romec, one of Balfour Beatty’s joint ventures, as a sustainability manager, later becoming group sustainability manager.
What does your job involve?
I am responsible for providing strategic sustainability focus to Balfour Beatty’s divisions around the world. This involves liaising with the boards of our operating businesses, engaging senior managers, undertaking sustainability audits against Balfour Beatty’s Blueprint strategy, producing guidance, and managing, checking and analysing non-financial data. I also coordinate third-party verification of scope 1 and 2 emissions, and manage assurance of our data globally. I also manage a team of energy practitioners for CRC and ESOS.
How has your role changed over the past few years?
I am more involved in helping business units reduce operating costs by driving fuel and energy saving programmes and working closely with suppliers.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
Balancing time spent on developing long-term strategy with day-to-day delivery needs. Although I have clear targets to improve our sustainability performance, I also need to work on our long-term strategy and ensure that we engage and support all of our businesses on our sustainability journey.
What is/are the most important skill(s) for your role and why?
I believe that being able to listen, communicate and negotiate are all key skills that are vital for making practitioners effective.
What was the last event you attended and what did you bring back to your job?
I attended IEMA’s 2015 sustainability conference, which I helped to organise. We had an extremely interesting discussion about labour standards and human rights, which I shared with Balfour Beatty’s ethics and supply chain team.
Where do you see the profession going?
Sustainability is becoming mainstream and it is only a matter of time before all companies start incorporating it into their business strategies.
Where would you like to be in five years’ time?
Where I can effect positive change on a larger scale.
What advice would you give to someone entering the profession?
Learn how to put forward a successful business case. If you fail, unpick the business case with a friendly colleague and learn from your mistakes.
How do you use IEMA’s environmental skills map?
Balfour Beatty was one the first firms to adopt it and are currently supporting a number of staff working towards full membership.
Career file
Qualifications:
FIEMA, CENV, MSc, BSc
Career history:
2012 to now group sustainability manager, Balfour Beatty
2009 to 2012 sustainability manager, Romec
2007 to 2009 London environment manager (head of business) and director, Groundwork
2004 to 2007 environmental business manager, director of environmental services and director, Groundwork
2001 to 2004 environmental adviser, Groundwork West London
1999 to 2001 volunteer and environmental business assistant, Groundwork West London
1998 researcher
