Green Careers Week: Q&A with Andy Waylen and Chloe Barratt
As part of Green Careers Week, we spoke to Andy and Chloe to find out more about their roles at Business West and how they've involved to be more green.
This week is Green Careers Week (2nd – 7th November), giving people and businesses the chance to discover green jobs, roles and career pathways.
To recognise this, we caught up with Andy Waylen, Process Improvement Manager, and Chloe Barratt, Project Manager and Green Lead, to chat more about their roles at Business West and how they have evolved to become greener over recent years.
They speak about skills they’ve needed to learn, how things have changed and share reflections for those looking to move into a green role.
Andy, what is your role at Business West and how has it evolved to become greener?
My role initially focused primarily on quality management. However, as government and the wider business community placed greater emphasis on environmental responsibility and climate awareness, organisations became increasingly interested in managing their environmental impacts.
In response, Business West established a Green Team to gather ideas and encourage staff engagement. This initiative was followed by the development of an Environmental Management System and certification to ISO 14001, which is an internationally recognised standard and helps companies and public organisations identify, manage and reduce their environmental impacts.
As external attention shifted towards carbon emissions and net zero, we developed objectives and targets for carbon reduction and examined the activities contributing to our emissions in greater detail.
Since your role has evolved, are there any green skills you have had to develop, and how did you do this?
Alongside building my knowledge of ISO 14001 requirements, I also needed to develop expertise in carbon-footprint measurement. This involved self-directed learning, reviewing a wide range of guidance and examining how other organisations measure and report their carbon emissions.
It soon became clear that there was a lack of standardised, accessible guidance for organisations beginning their net-zero journey, and some important questions remain unresolved. Although several free carbon calculators are available, they vary in scope and in the types of data they require.
Our experience demonstrates that organisations can take a pragmatic approach: begin with the information available, then strengthen and refine their methods over time. Our initial approach was not perfect, but within the constraints of limited guidance and resources, we were able to establish meaningful targets and create a basis for continued improvement.
What advice would you give to organisations that are just starting out on their carbon measurement and net zero journey?
Start by measuring the emissions data that is readily available, for example electricity and gas usage from meter readings or from invoices, then expand and improve your measurement systems gradually.
Treat net zero as a continuous learning journey. The more thoroughly you investigate your impacts, the more informed and effective your actions will become.
Chloe, what is your role at Business West and how has it evolved to become greener?
I started at Business West as a Net Zero Intern and then moved into the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) team as a Project Coordinator but, as the project developed, we had an increasing requirement from government to consider the skills needs for net zero, adaptation to climate change and other environmental goals. This included considering the green jobs and skills needs of businesses and my role has adapted to reflect this.
I now work as a Project Manager and Green Lead – I lead on our green skills and wider sustainability research and engagements on the LSIPs and support some of our internal sustainability activities at Business West, including sustainability focused events, partnerships, marketing and communications.
Since your role has evolved, are there any green skills you have had to develop, and how did you do this?
Our work on the LSIPs is across several industries and sectors so the skills I’ve had to develop have been things such as project management, research, analysis, and stakeholder engagement. I previously studied Law, and later Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, which definitely helped me develop these skills. However, I’ve predominantly developed these skills on the job and have learnt a lot from those around me. Regularly attending sustainability focused events also helps me to develop my skills and knowledge in specific areas skills (Bristol Climate Nature Partnership have a great programme of events I couldn’t recommend enough).
Do you have any advice for others looking to move into a green career or wanting to develop their green skills?
For existing employees, I would say identify what skills you already have (and enjoy using) and see how you can use these skills more – whether that’s in your current role, through wider company initiatives, or perhaps during volunteering.
A green career is a career that helps reduce human environmental impact, lower carbon emissions, protect nature, and support net zero, so we need to value and maximise a whole range of skill sets and perspectives to help achieve this.
Consider what you have and can develop more first- there are some great resources online, and we’ll be sharing a wrap up of some sites that are helpful to look at in this area later in the week on our social channels.
Do you have any other reflections or takeaways from events and conversations you have had?
From an industry perspective, green skills should be embedded and valued across organisations, with a recognition of how roles outside of the typical ‘green job’ can support more sustainable outcomes.
For example, marketing and comms teams can help share the message about what a business is doing, events teams can reduce environmental impacts through venue choice, travel, catering and waste decisions and finance teams can assess the costs and benefits of sustainability investments, plus report on climate-related risks. HR can also build sustainability into recruitment and help to develop green skills across the workforce. The same applies to procurement, facilities, IT and more. The risks if this is not achieved are huge, as staff focused on sustainability may leave the company, taking with them their knowledge and skills, which also risks the company falling behind on any sustainability commitments and plans they might have had.
From an education perspective, exposing learners to what a green career looks like for their industry is key. This includes raising awareness of environmental sustainability and green skills across all courses, and ensuring learners have information they need to see the types of green jobs that exist, and what green skill needs there are.
What do you enjoy most about the green elements of your job?
Internally, I really enjoy that it allows me to work with different sub-teams and departments at Business West, and similarly it means I’m often working with businesses and stakeholders from a whole range of industries and backgrounds. It’s the people and engagement side of my role that I enjoy the most.