STEERING GROUP

Senior Environmental Manager – Kier Utilities & Rail

After graduating from Bath Spa university in 2004 I embarked on my environmental career. I had a brief spell working for a local water company as a sampler before swiftly moving into the civil engineering.

I spent my first year in construction as an Environmental Advisor at Land & Marine,
working on high profile and high value projects all over the UK. I left that role looking for bigger challenges and found them at May Gurney where I continued working as an Environmental Advisor until I took on the Group Environmental Manager position which I maintained until the company was taken over by Kier in 2013.

I am still with Kier, now focused on Utilities & Rail but I have built up a wealth of knowledge within Highways, Environmental Services, Fleet & Passenger Services, Housing Maintenance and Facilities Management. I have been fortunate enough to have been involved a very diverse range of contracts and schemes ranging from gritting highways to delivery of 30km cross country pipelines.

On my journey I have also completed an MSc in Ecological Impact Assessment, hold Natural England class licences for dormice, great crested newts and barn owls and won multiple awards for environmental aspects on projects, ecological enhancements, charity projects and corporate responsibility.

Senior Environmental Manager – Kier Utilities & Rail

After graduating from Bath Spa university in 2004 I embarked on my environmental career. I had a brief spell working for a local water company as a sampler before swiftly moving into the civil engineering.

Environment Manager (PIEMA) – Construction, Climate Adaptation, Flood management, SKANSKA

I am an Environmental Manager, working for Skanska UK Plc, managing sustainability performance on four of the company’s rail projects. The sustainability industry has been a natural calling for me, as I have always been fascinated by the complex relationships between our natural environmental and our human societies.

I have worked as an environmental professional in the UK for 9 years, both in construction in the private sector and in flood risk management (tidal and surface water) in the Environment Agency. I have also worked in online marketing and customer services. I am a worldwide traveller, having lived and studied in Gabon (Central Africa), France and New Zealand.

As a Chartered Environmentalist, I believe that managing our impact on the environment positively is not only achievable, but also the only way to build better and smarter for future generations.

I think that knowledge sharing is absolutely key in order to influence businesses to consider sustainability drivers when making strategic and commercial decisions. This is the reason why I chose this career and decided to support the EBN as a steering group member.

Environment Manager (PIEMA) – Construction, Climate Adaptation, Flood management, SKANSKA

I am an Environmental Manager, working for Skanska UK Plc, managing sustainability performance on four of the company’s rail projects. The sustainability industry has been a natural calling for me, as I have always been fascinated by the complex relationships between our natural environmental and our human societies.

Partner, Ashurst

I lead the London Environment and Safety practice at international law firm, Ashurst, and am a member of Ashurst’s Business Conduct and Risk Group. I specialise in environmental and health & safety law, with a particular focus on environmental and safety liability management, including:

• Incident response and crisis management
• Responding to and advising on regulatory investigations and enforcement action
• Private law claims and contractual disputes
• Interpreting regulatory obligations
• Permits, consents and regulatory authorisations

I advise clients in the built environment, resources, waste, energy, transport and infrastructure sectors on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious environmental and safety matters.

I am also a member of the UK Environmental Law Association and the UK Health and Safety Lawyers’ Association and are ranked in legal directories as a leading environmental lawyer.

Partner, Ashurst

I lead the London Environment and Safety practice at international law firm, Ashurst, and am a member of Ashurst’s Business Conduct and Risk Group.

Geoarchaeology and Environmental – Wessex Archaeology

I head up the Geoarchaeology and Environmental departments, as part of the wider Geoservices team at Wessex Archaeology. Geoservices brings together these disciplines, along with geomatics and terrestrial and marine geophysics, in order to provide a suite of integrated innovative solutions to archaeological problems.

I am very active in business development for the company as a whole, and am passionate about using archaeology and heritage to enable sustainable development. Currently I'm focussing on the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) market in the UK, and on providing services to the US Offshore Wind sector via CEWA, our joint venture with US partners Coastal Environments Inc. based in Louisiana.

BA MSc MCIfA

Geoarchaeology and Environmental – Wessex Archaeology

I head up the Geoarchaeology and Environmental departments, as part of the wider Geoservices team at Wessex Archaeology. Geoservices brings together these disciplines, along with geomatics and terrestrial and marine geophysics, in order to provide a suite of integrated innovative solutions to archaeological problems.

Environmental Manager – Kier

I have a varied environmental background which covers the fields of analytical science, measurement and monitoring, quality assurance, waste water treatment, waste management construction projects within the oil and gas industry and environmental impact assessment.

I began my career in a chemistry laboratory as an analytical scientist for a local water company. The position gave me a good insight into the analysis of different sample types from potable and waste water samples to those from trade effluent sources. To expand my knowledge further, I transferred
internally to the Environmental Monitoring team which involved performance monitoring of waste water treatment works, flow measurement and sampling commercial and industrial sources affecting those works. The proportion of this work was driven by legal requirement so regular interaction and auditing by the regulator was common place.

Through progression within this team, I became Environmental Monitoring Manager with responsibility for designing monitoring plans and managing a team of nine individuals.

After nearly 10 years in the water industry, I decided it was time for a change and consequently was successful in gaining a position as Environmental Manager for an engineering company which undertook work on land and marine environments for the oil and gas industry. The types of work involved a diversity of construction projects all over the UK from terrestrial and marine gas pipelines, pressure reduction stations, Horizontal Direct Drilling and installation of fuel mains on MoD sites.

I was responsible for four Environmental Advisors, two of which were project based and two were centrally based at the company’s HQ. My main responsibilities included managing the environmental team and overseeing the Environmental Management System which included document control and audit programmes, compiling tender responses, chairing environmental forums (which inc. client reps), lead auditing projects and ensuring there was good continuity and transition from the initial environmental Impact assessment phase into the pre-construction phase. After three years in this role I became Group Environmental Manger and after a further two years I decided to change direction and apply for the role of Environmental Manager at May Gurney (now Kier).

At Kier, over a six year period, I have undertaken duties as an Environmental Manger in the Highways, Environmental Services and currently (three years) in the construction side of the business.

MSc, BSc (Hons) PIEMA

Environmental Manager – Kier

I have a varied environmental background which covers the fields of analytical science, measurement and monitoring, quality assurance, waste water treatment, waste management construction projects within the oil and gas industry and environmental impact assessment.

Founder, Innovation Broking and Independent Consultant

I am an entrepreneur and a chartered insurance broker – building my career by creating novel insurance solutions for new, emerging and adapting technologies. In the current world this means batteries, cement, emission cleaning, recycling, decentralised generation, supply chain and a host of new consultancy and software solutions.

Having run 9 businesses, and two consultancies employing between 1000 staff, and a two person start up, I bring a strong SME perspective to the steering group.

It is my belief that small businesses are really concerned about:

• Hiring and retaining staff, who now expect evidenced social and environmental commitment
• Being ready and able to meet the now inevitable environmental supply chain demands of their customers and clients
• Being able to borrow from the bank, by maintaining a good environmental credit score

Founder, Innovation Broking and Independent Consultant

I am an entrepreneur and a chartered insurance broker – building my career by creating novel insurance solutions for new, emerging and adapting technologies. In the current world this means batteries, cement, emission cleaning, recycling, decentralised generation, supply chain and a host of new consultancy and software solutions.

Co-founder – B-People

Ralph is Co-founder of B-People a consultancy specialising in Inclusive Search and People, Leadership & ESG Strategy. Prior to B-People Ralph was Chief People Officer and Executive ESG Lead for Ascential plc a FTSE 200 Data & Information Services company.

He joined Ascential from Sky plc, Europe’s largest entertainment company, where he was Director for People for the UK and Ireland. Prior to Sky, Ralph was part of the team that created Getty Images, where he was Vice President of Human Resources.

Well known for his insights on technological disruption and HR transformation, Ralph is a regular speaker at conferences & events and a contributor to the CIPD’s “Future Of…” scenario planning series. At Sky, Ralph’s team won various industry Awards, including awards for Diversity/Women in Leadership and the BitC Award for Best UK Employer of Young People.

Co-founder – B-People

Ralph is Co-founder of B-People a consultancy specialising in Inclusive Search and People, Leadership & ESG Strategy. Prior to B-People Ralph was Chief People Officer and Executive ESG Lead for Ascential plc a FTSE 200 Data & Information Services company.

Environmental lecturer and researcher

After studying a BA Environmental Management and an MSc in Pollution and Environmental Control at the University of Manchester, I further achieved a PhD in urban ecology from the University of Birmingham in 2013. Between my MSc and PhD, I worked as an Environmental Consultant for Cascade Consulting in Manchester (now a part of Ricardo PLC). In addition to working in the private sector, I have been an ecology advisor to county and district councils and assessed small-scale policy and planning developments through to those of national concern (e.g.
HS2 and East-West Rail). Thereafter, I worked for the Earthwatch Institute – a not-for-profit specialising in citizen science and corporate sustainability, before returning to academia with
Bath Spa University and now the University of Manchester.

During my career I have worked or researched in a range of disciplines including freshwater ecology and biodiversity in both temperate and tropical environments, citizen science, digital platform development (GIS), planning and bioacoustics. At Bath Spa University I led the IEMA-accredited MSc Environmental Management and contributed to the Environmental Science, Geography and Biology with Conservation pathways. I achieved a Readership in Ecology and Conservation at Bath Spa University, before taking on a lectureship in Planning and Environmental Management at the University of Manchester. I am a full member of the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management (MCIEEM) and a member of the British Ecological Society Publications Committee as well as being an Associate Editor for their journals People and Nature, and Ecological Solutions and Evidence; which has a heavy
practitioner focus.

I am particularly interested in bridging the gap between academia and industry. I am keen to see this progress in several ways i) building stronger links between soon-to-be graduates and practitioners, ii) undertaking research informed by industry demand or with clear practical
benefit, iii) disseminating relevant research to practitioners to reduce the frequent lag between research and practice.

Environmental lecturer and researcher

After studying a BA Environmental Management and an MSc in Pollution and Environmental Control at the University of Manchester, I further achieved a PhD in urban ecology from the University of Birmingham in 2013.

Press Lead, Ashden

I am Press Lead at climate solutions charity Ashden and have worked in the environment, development and human rights sectors all my life, working in communications for various NGOs and charities both big and small and writing about environmental issues, business and climate change as a freelance journalist.

My role at Ashden involves sharing stories with the global media of the pioneering climate solutionists identified through the Ashden Awards and its UK and international programmes in order to amplify low carbon solutions happening around the world.

Learning from each other, collaborating, replicating and scaling up what works in order to decarbonise at speed is a crucial element in creating a just transition out of the climate crisis. I’m excited to be part of so many networks of people doing just that, including the EBN.

Press Lead, Ashden

I am Press Lead at climate solutions charity Ashden and have worked in the environment, development and human rights sectors all my life, working in communications for various NGOs and charities both big and small and writing about environmental issues, business and climate change as a freelance journalist. 

Channel Manager, Landmark Information Group

Mark has been with Landmark Information Group for over 10 years. He is both an experienced consultant as well as an account manager, ensuring each of our clients receive the best possible reports and services for their specific requirements.

His knowledge of risk reporting has helped him develop relationships across multiple sectors including legal, SIPPs, investment management and planning. Mark specialises in flood risk but is also an associate environmental auditor with the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

Channel Manger – Landmark Information Group

Mark has been with Landmark Information Group for over 10 years. He is both an experienced consultant as well as an account manager, ensuring each of our clients receive the best possible reports and services for their specific requirements.