Tag: Ethical careers

How do I know if ‘sustainable’ companies are just Greenwashing?

Posted on by Careers Service

Blog post written by Emma Quekett

woman peeking over green leaf plant taken at daytime

When large companies have teams of people creating the ‘perfect’ image, they can appear eco-friendly without putting in the work. In fact, only 5% of the largest 100 public companies in the UK have credible net-zero 2050 plans. A survey by Prospects shows that three-quarters of graduates said they would be more likely to apply to a company with strong sustainable practices. With a bit of critical analysis and knowing where to look, you can quickly spot Greenwashing.

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Creating a Climate-Conscious Legal Career 

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Hi, I’m Joely and I’m studying Law, with study in Continental Europe.

A photo of Joely, smiling to the camera.

I’m a Sustainability Champion for the Law School. In this role I want to try and integrate sustainability into the curriculum and encourage as many students as possible to consider climate-conscious careers. 

From intense rainstorms, severe droughts, and tropical cyclones to extreme heat waves, rising sea levels and biodiversity loss, the impacts of climate change are felt, mainly by the global South, on an almost daily basis.  

What can lawyers do about it? 

“law firms play an integral role in the evolution and outcome of our world’s climate crisis. Including transactions that finance fossil fuel development and litigation that prevents climate accountability.”  

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My SME Internship: Christa – Extracellular 

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Hi, my name is Christa and towards the end of my third year studying for MSci Biology I took part in an SME Internship with Extracellular.

Throughout the internship, I undertook a variety of roles in and out of the laboratory working to support my colleagues and complete my own projects independently.

A photo of Christa smiling in the sunshine.

About Extracellular

Extracellular's logo.

Extracellular is a start-up company focusing on supporting cultivated meat companies to get their products to market. Cultivated meat is produced by cultivating animal cells, removing the need to raise and farm animals for food. 

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Want a career that makes a difference?

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Earlier this year we hosted an alumni panel event with Niranjali Amerasinghe, Jenny Cook and Nyika Suttie, whose jobs all focus on making a tangible difference.

Their role titles are:  

  • Niranjali Amerasinghe – Executive Director (Action Aid USA).
  • Jenny Cook – Technical Advisor for Strategic Partnerships and Gender Inclusion and Diversity (PIARC World Road Association).
  • Nyika Suttie – Student Culture and Inclusion Training Officer (University of Bath).
Photos of Niranjali, Jenny and Nyika.
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Challenges of tomorrow – festivals and events

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Glastonbury festival at night

Events are a major element of the UK economy, with an estimated £3.3 billion revenue in 2023.

We ran the “Challenges of tomorrow – festivals & events” panel to give students an insight into how to get into this exciting sector, with expert input from Pauline Bourdon, Stevie Lee-Bennett and Charlie Wall.

Here is a quick introduction to our panellists, their backgrounds, and current roles:

Pauline Bourdon

Pauline Bourdon is a Director at Soliphilia (a green touring & sustainability consultancy), a lecturer in event sustainability at BIMM Bristol, a sustainability consultant with UNSW Cardiff, and the Head of Sustainability & Social Cohesion at Team Love – an event production company producing 6 festivals a year including Love Saves the Day in Bristol, Silver Hayes at Glastonbury Festival and Waterworks, London.

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How to get into green jobs: the takeaways

Posted on by Careers Service

In November, the Careers Service hosted speakers from a variety of environmental career paths who are each tackling the biggest sustainability issues we currently face using their own unique skills and experiences.

Meet the panellists:

Ann Cousins, Associate, Resilience and Climate Change Advisory, ARUP

Ann is the lead in the resilience, energy and climate change advisory team at Arup which is a sustainability consultancy firm. The team is multidisciplinary including engineers, psychologists, and lawyers. Ann started as a receptionist with Arup after graduating with a French and Italian degree at the University of Bristol and worked her way up to their leading consultancy role.

Recently, Ann also assisted in setting up the Bristol One City environmental plan.

Pierce Griffith, Principal Economist (Chemical), the Environment Agency

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My SME Internship: Emelia – Rubbish Ideas 

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It’s World Environment Day! We’re celebrating by recognising the great work that our SME Interns do with organisations that are making a difference. 

Emelia

“Hi, my name is Emelia. I am in my fourth year of my Maths MSci and last summer I completed an internship with Rubbish Ideas as part of the SME Internship Scheme.  

Rubbish Ideas provides products and services to their clients relating to improving the lifecycle of rubbish. This takes a few different forms, such as education, design ideas, and web applications. 

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Looking to find an employer that shares your values?

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According to Paul Polman’s 2023 Net Positive Employee Barometer, half of UK Gen Z employees report having previously resigned from a job because their company’s values didn’t align with their own.

Indeed, it’s widely reported that young people today want to make a difference in their job, favouring companies with sustainability plans and policies.

As a university, we understand the importance of sustainability when it comes to our students researching their career options. We also appreciate that reviewing a potential employer’s website and reports for information about their mission, purpose, and social and environmental impact is time-consuming and that each company presents their data in varying formats.

That’s why we’re delighted to be able to point you towards Windō, a great free resource for students to easily access, digest and compare the sustainability plans and progress that employers are making.

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PEEQUAL: The 2021 New Enterprise Competition winners- Growth Stage

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PEEQUAL co-founders presenting at an event

It has almost been an entire year since Amber Probyn and Hazel McShane, the co-founders of PEEQUAL, won the New Enterprise Competition (NEC) – Growth Stage. We were keen to catch-up with them, to hear all about their success since winning £15,000 in last year’s NEC competition. 

 

Can you summarise what PEEQUAL is? 

PEEQUAL is the UK’s first free-standing women’s urinal, making it quick, safe, and sustainable for women to pee at events.   

Why did you choose to apply for the NEC last year? 

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