July Newsletter

Newsletter

Welcome to the second instalment of our Newsletter. As we enter the Summer Holiday Season, with a new Prime Minister in Office from today, it will certainly be interesting to see what the next few months bring and what possible changes in may mean for our industry.

Getting to know the face behind RB Energy & Sustainability Services

People often ask how one gets into the career of Energy Assessment. It’s certainly not a job you would hear about at school! In my case it was a happy accident and I have never looked back since discovering the trade.

After graduating with a degree in Geography and Environmental Management from UWE in Bristol, I went to work for SITA monitoring active and decommissioned landfill sites. It was very interesting getting to look behind the scenes of places most would never be able to go, with a lot of walking and lifting involved collecting ground water, gas and leachate samples amongst other things!

From SITA I went on the work for CEFAS (the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) as a Shellfish Technician – this encompassed statistical analysis and lots of GIS mapping, while there I learned a lot about the conditions of our UK waters and published and presented a scientific paper, but as I think the illustrating photo below shows, it wasn’t quite right for me!

While trawling the local paper back in 2010, I saw an advert with local builders CG Fry & Son for a “Sustainability Assessor” – the demands of the Code for Sustainable Homes and SAP Compliance were just starting to ramp up, and they wanted someone in house. I had never heard of the role before, but it piqued my interest having had a lifetime interest in Architecture, so I went for it and happily got the job!  Working within the busy drawing office of the firm I knew I had found my forever trade, I learned a lot on and off site, trained as a Passivhaus Consultant and led numerous staff CPD sessions to develop our knowledge and ability to deliver a high standard of housing. In 2013 it was clear that the challenges of being neurodiverse weren’t quite suited to the conventional demands of employment, and my wonderful boss suggested I try self-employment – I haven’t looked back and will be forever grateful to them!

13 years on, I am still trading and building on my experience and skills and have not lost any of that passion I still have for the job. I continue to enjoy sharing my knowledge with others and helping people navigate their projects from conception to completion. It will be interesting to see how the industry changes and rises to meet the challenges over the next few years.

As always, RB Energy & Sustainability Services is here to help you navigate these changes and find the best solution for your project.