Meet Abbie who is part of the Sustainability Graduate Programme

My graduate programme, why I chose it, and why I chose Babcock:
I chose Babcock as the business has values that closely align with my own. The company does not take a tick-box approach to delivering corporate goals and provides strong evidence of the meaningful work that is being done to achieve its goals including diversity and inclusion targets and emission reduction targets.

On the Sustainability Graduate Programme, I have opportunities to be part of the Babcock Plan Zero 40 project to achieve emission reduction targets. My work also contributes to a range of other sustainability initiatives including enhancing biodiversity, reducing waste brought onto site via sustainable procurement and ensuring waste goes through the appropriate waste hierarchy, reducing water consumption and creating an overall greener business as usual approach, ensuring that the business can thrive in future without any detrimental impacts on the planet.

I have also been given the opportunity to undertake a social sustainability placement, promoting the importance of social value and creating long lasting and meaningful engagement with internal and external stakeholders.

My typical day:
My typical day involves a combination of office and onsite working. In the office you can find me creating environmental management plans, exploring the potential for new low carbon technologies onsite, identifying green initiatives for projects, and engaging with the local community. Onsite, I could be conducting building condition surveys and exploring energy reduction opportunities. I regularly go on visits off-site to local charities and schools to promote further community engagement. I also regularly attend conferences and panel discussions on sustainability to bring back new, exciting knowledge and ideas to share with the team.

My favourite part of the job:
My favourite part of the job is inspiring other people to consider how they can incorporate sustainability into their working and personal life. Inspiring internal and external stakeholders to join and support the transition to a more sustainable way of working is an exciting part of my role. I love sharing the importance of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) across the business and I look forward to the exciting opportunities this will bring in the future.

The most challenging thing I’ve ever done to date:
The most challenging thing I have done to date at Babcock is enhancing my networking skills. I found networking something to be really new, daunting and scary to me.

However, I am grateful for the numerous opportunities, both locally and internationally, to travel and engage in various events. Through these experiences, I’ve improved my networking abilities and strengthened my overall confidence.