Building the Sustainability Talent Pipeline
About this Event
PLEASE NOTE: This event is primarily aimed at early-career sustainability professionals, including those who are newly qualified or in the first few years of their career. Places are limited, so we encourage those who fit this audience to register their interest.
The sustainability profession needs to build a skilled workforce in order to deliver the transition to a more sustainable future. But with more young people than ever interested in a sustainable career, why are so many early careers struggling to find opportunities to enter the sector?
Bringing together our ISEP Fellows and our ISEP Futures networks, this panel event will explore the challenges facing the talent pipeline. Where is the disconnect? Is there really a skills gap? Are educators and employers aligned on the skills needed, and what more can be done to help emerging talent move from education into meaningful careers? We’ll be building on the conversation from our recent Education and Employment roundtable and bringing in some insights from ISEP’s latest State of the Profession Survey, as well as sharing the views and experiences of our members on the panel.
The event will also feature a presentation delivered by ISEP Education Partner, University of Leeds. They will present findings from their LITE (Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence) scholarship project exploring how higher education can better support students to develop, evidence, and articulate sustainability skills and competencies. Their research examines when, where, and how students build sustainability knowledge, skills, and competencies, and how higher education can better support this within and beyond the university experience. They will share emerging peer-to-peer approaches that help students recognise and communicate their sustainability learning, identify strengths, and begin to shape their own development pathways.
The discussion will then continue through facilitated table conversations, giving attendees the opportunity to share their own experiences, explore practical solutions and consider what needs to change for us to develop a more accessible and effective sustainability workforce
Venue
The Crown Estate, 1 St James's Market, London, SW1Y 4AH
Host
This event is kindly being hosted by the Crown Estate. Thank you to Lamé Verre, Sustainability Director - Net Zero, for giving us this opportunity.
Speakers:
Sarah Mukerjee MBE | CEO, ISEP | Sarah Mukherjee, MBE is the CEO of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP). Previously Sarah was the BBC’s Environment correspondent, presenting on national and international BBC radio and television, winning awards across the world. After leaving the corporation, she held leadership roles in various sectors including utilities and agriculture. Sarah was a panel member for the National Parks Review and the Glover Review and also sat on the National Food Strategy Advisory Panel. She is co-chair of the Natural England Landscape Advisory Panel as well as Non-executive Director on the Board of the Environment Agency. In 2021 Sarah was awarded an MBE for her services to agriculture and farmer well-being.
Amy Dickenson FISEP | ESG Director, Egis
Amy Dickinson is a Sustainability Director for Egis Europe and Africa, with 19 years' experience and two complementary roles. Internally, she leads a multidisciplinary sustainability team across 46 countries and works to embed sustainability into everything Egis does and offers—bringing climate risk, biodiversity, carbon, water and social value into strategy, project delivery and the skills of colleagues across the business. Externally, she supports clients with their own sustainability challenges, helping them turn ambitions into practical action. Her current work includes a climate resilience assessment of Iarnród Éireann's 2,400 km rail network, supporting the sustainability delivery on HS2, and co-authoring the ACI EUROPE's sustainability framework for European airports.
Previously, as Head of Sustainability at South Western Railway, she helped lead a team that developed the operator's first sustainability strategy, secured Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) endorsement and delivered biodiversity projects at more than 60 stations with community partners and the RSPB, culminating in a National Rail Award.
A Fellow of ISEP and Chartered Environmentalist, Amy is also a Climate Fresk facilitator and ISEP-approved trainer, passionate about building practical sustainability skills across the profession. She leads STEM school projects and learning initiatives designed to inspire the engineers of the future, broaden participation and diversity within the sector, and encourage the next generation to put sustainability at the heart of engineering.
Esther Adenuga | Sustainability Analyst, The Crown Estate
Esther Adenuga is a Sustainability Analyst at The Crown Estate, working across the Windsor, Rural and Coastal portfolios. Her role supports the delivery of sustainability and net zero objectives, with a focus on using environmental data and insight to inform decision-making. Her work spans carbon and sustainability reporting, emissions baselining, decarbonisation planning, and strengthening the quality and use of sustainability data. Before moving into sustainability, Esther worked in People & Culture, most recently specialising in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Her career transition has shaped her interest in widening access to sustainability careers and developing the diverse talent and skills needed to support the transition to a more sustainable future.
Peter Egan FISEP | Head of Sustainability and Innovation (Defence), VINCI Facilities | Peter Egan is a dedicated sustainability professional with a strong focus on decarbonisation and biodiversity across the built environment. Having worked across the Ministry of Defence, United Nations and wider sector organisations including the British Museum giving him an extensive understanding of sector drivers and requirements. As the Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Vinci Facilities Defence, he leads the alignment of the businesses ISO:140001, PAS:2080, social value and climate risk strategies focused on integrating our carbon reduction approach and sustainable practices across both our Facilities and Projects teams. Peter also spearheads professional competence cross the sector as a member of the BSI panel for BS8670-3 for environmental and sustainability competence, while driving professional registration as a Trustee and Vice Chair of the Society for the Environment. His passion for driving systemic change, bridges operational delivery with strategic sustainability goals, ensuring long-term environmental and social impact within the built environment.
Maryam Irekeola | UX and PhD Researcher | Maryam Irekeola is a PhD researcher at Kingston University exploring corporate sustainability and leadership decision-making. She is also the founder of InsightSpace, a community supporting PhD researcher in communicating their ideas for real-world impact, and a Committee Associate on the British Academy of Management Early Career Academic Network. Originally from Nigeria, Maryam brings both research and lived perspective to conversations about navigating early career pathways in sustainability.
Clare Jackson | University of Leeds | Clare Jackson is the Strategy & Engagement Lead for the Sustainable Curriculum principle at the University of Leeds. This is a university-wide programme designed to amplify opportunities for students to gain sustainability knowledge and skills through their courses and wider student experience. Clare has a programme management background having led a number of higher education change programmes, and a strategic projects and planning team at Leeds Beckett University. As a Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence Fellow, she is progressing a scholarship project to explore holistic and inclusive definitions of sustainability competencies and student perceptions of these.
Vasiliki Kioupi | University of Leeds | Vasiliki Kioupi is an Associate Professor in Sustainable Curriculum at the Sustainability Research Institute of the University of Leeds and a member of the leadership team implementing the Sustainable Curriculum principle of the university’s Climate Plan. She holds a doctoral degree in Education for Sustainable Development from the Centre for Environmental Policy of Imperial College London, for which she received a prestigious President’s PhD Scholarship. Her research investigates sustainability transitions in Higher Education and the role of sustainability competencies in empowering young people to act for the climate and sustainability. She is also a Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence Fellow completing a scholarship project on more holistic and inclusive definition, conceptualisation, teaching, and assessment of sustainability competencies in Higher Education to support students and staff in building a sustainable future.
This event counts as 2 hours of ISEP recognised CPD. Please see our CPD guidance pages for further details on how to do this.
Agenda
🕑: 05:00 PM - 05:15 PM
Arrival
🕑: 05:15 PM - 05:30 PM
Welcome and Housekeeping
Host: Sarah Mukherjee MBE
🕑: 05:30 PM - 05:45 PM
Introductory Presentation
Host: Vasiliki Kioupi
Info: We are delighted to feature ISEP Education Partner, University of Leeds, who will share the insights from their Advancing Sustainability Competencies in Higher Education: Insights from the University of Leeds LITE (Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence) Fellowship project.
🕑: 05:45 PM - 06:30 PM
Panel Discussion
Host: Peter Egan FISEP
🕑: 06:30 PM - 06:40 PM
Break
🕑: 06:40 PM - 07:10 PM
Facilitated Roundtable Discussions
🕑: 07:10 PM - 07:45 PM
Informal Networking
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
