How did you get into what you do?

In the words of Bob Ross, it was a happy little accident. I got an internship at an engineering consultancy to produce a research note on the impacts of plants of air quality. It was meant to be 3 months and I stayed 7.5 years.

How has your career progressed since?

I spent almost a decade in the consultancy working on a very broad range of projects, from airports to art museums, from large office buildings to a single house. I even once worked on a mega yacht. At each stage I’ve strived to make projects that balance the client’s expectations while from a mega yacht to a small conservatory and reducing the impact on the environment. Apart from the mega yacht, it did gallons to the mile, not miles to the gallon, no saving that one.

What skills do you need to be good at your job?

Problem-solving and persuasion. Advances in sustainability are frequently on the bleeding edge, I quite often get problems which no one else has ever faced before, therefore you have to calculate and solve in new and interesting ways. Persuasion because sustainability is rarely cheap and easy, persuading people to do the right thing is not always the easiest thing.

What do you enjoy most about your current role at Phoenix?

The broad range of problems to solve.

Why is the Environmental Department important in our business?

In the post pandemic world, clients are trying to set themselves apart and frequently using sustainability. Each of our new jobs are looking to outcompete each other to show their sustainability credentials. This puts pressure on Phoenix to perform, and the sustainability team is here to support on any sustainability requirements that may arise.

How do you challenge yourself to reach new heights?

Pushing and challenging yourself is often a path to burnout rather than performance. Quite often the challenge is to step back and look to see if there are improvements to processes rather than banging your head against the wall

What has been your proudest achievement at Phoenix so far?

Convincing more people that the sustainability team is here to help, not to just add unnecessary paperwork and tick boxes.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into what you do?

Do your research and act on it, you cannot be a sustainability professional without the passion for making the world a better place.

Why Phoenix?

Phoenix has a tendency to do the right thing, not to check a box, not for likes on LinkedIn, but because it’s the right thing. I’ve been too many company conferences where sustainability was used every other sentence, but in day to day work it is barely a consideration. Phoenix are the opposite, they do things because it makes sense, because it is the right thing to do.