Laila discusses her positive influence on the environmental impact in organisations, and shares advice on small steps you can do now that will help your future green career.
“Employers value seeing people have learnt practical skills and can translate that to the world of work.”
Highlights:
Laila’s role helps other organisations find ways they can have more of a positive environmental impact by making greener choices
She loves that her knowledge is always developing as she must tailor her skills to the circumstances of each organisation and individual
Laila shares her advice on what you can do now to help with your future in the green industry
I work for a major consultancy where I advise clients, mostly those in the public service sector, on the key sustainability issues in their organisation and the impact that these issues have internally and externally. This means we look at how the organisation operates and their strategies to establish where they could be having a negative environmental impact. I then help them to determine what actions they can take to have more of a positive environmental impact by building strategies for these changes to implement green decision making within that organisation.
The consultancy environment is one where you are constantly learning. You learn about a variety of different facets of organisations and how best to work with a variety of people and settings. You learn how to adapt your knowledge in sustainability to different circumstances and different people. So it keeps it very interesting. Every day is a learning day.
Generally, my role has a positive influence in the green agenda by helping organisations strategise a plan of action for becoming greener. As a part of my role, I examine where there are green skills needed in organisations. We have worked with IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment) to create a report and use it as a resource for organisations to have structure in finding what knowledge or technical skills are required for that role, whether you’re in marketing, I.T., or an executive etc.
Historically, there has been a perception that you must be a science or environmental graduate to be in a green career. The world of work has changed and we need lots of people from a variety of backgrounds to be sustainable and green. You could work in the business world and learn about green business practices. Or you might work in supply chain management or construction. Any type of job has the potential to be a green job and we need all jobs to be greener. My advice to someone that wants to work in the green industry is to think about what you enjoy doing as a discipline. This might be in the areas of conservation or environmentalism or science, or it might be a practical, vocational area such as health or construction. Think about in what capacity you want to work in that industry and how you want to make that industry greener.
As in every career, doing volunteering or community roles in these areas can help you further down the line in your career. You could do this at your school by collecting recycling, or making a pond to benefit wildlife, or growing your own food. You may not consider the positive impact this may bring to a future job, but actually, in this industry employers value seeing people have learnt practical skills and can translate that to the world of work.
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