Sustainability is the new business as usual

Sheila Duncan

UK HR Director, ScottishPower

As businesses across the country get to work on achieving the green recovery needed to support the UK’s economic and environmental future, it’s vital that companies ensure their overall business strategy and their commitment to sustainability are completely aligned.

To put it simply, in order to achieve green recovery, companies are not just talking about being a sustainable business, but actually practising what they preach and making sustainability part of the business-as-usual approach.

As a company, we are committed to ensuring we can all enjoy a cleaner, greener and better future, quicker and tackling the climate emergency in a number of ways. We are producing only clean renewable energy, actively working to reduce our own carbon emissions, and supporting the growth of green jobs.

People will help us achieve net zero

It will be people who will help us win the race to net zero, and more and more green jobs will be needed to achieve the country’s ambitious climate change targets. That means people transitioning from more traditional industries into renewables and new jobs being created as more green projects – like windfarms and electric vehicle infrastructure – get off the ground.

These jobs won’t only support businesses to be more sustainable – they will also offer a sustainable and long-term career for those getting in the door now.

Two young women who know all about that are 18-year-old Jovita Beeston from Norwich and 17-year-old Hope Reynolds from Lowestoft who were recently appointed as ScottishPower Renewables’ first-ever offshore wind apprentices.

The two mechatronics maintenance apprentice technicians are now hard at work on their three-year apprenticeship programme, which will see them working 30 miles off the Suffolk coast on the recently completed East Anglia ONE windfarm.

During the programme, Jovita and Hope will receive on the job learning and unique work experience opportunities, which will bring classroom studies, such as programming and mechanical assembly, to life. 

It will be people who will help us win the race to net zero, and more and more green jobs will be needed to achieve the country’s ambitious climate change targets.

Playing your part in securing a green future

Jovita was inspired to join after studying engineering at college as well as gaining practical work experience in the offshore wind sector. She says: “I not only really enjoyed the experience of working in the offshore industry – I was also really fascinated about the impact of renewable energy and how it was growing as a key sector for the country. It’s so big now and I want to see how it develops and play my part in creating a green future.”

Hope was excited about the opportunities the industry offers for a long-term career and the chance to do something different. She says: “Having seen how much other people enjoy working in the industry and the real variety it offers in terms of job roles and career progression, I knew this was for me. It’s really exciting to get started and know that what we’ll be doing will be helping create a brighter and better future for everyone.”

People like Jovita and Hope are at the very heart of achieving net zero, making more green energy available and supporting all sorts of businesses to become more sustainable.

People see what’s going on with climate change. They want to be part of the move to net zero. They want to be associated with a company that is taking this seriously. ScottishPower is certainly taking it seriously, with significant investment and jobs planned over the next five years.

These jobs and investment will not only make the green recovery a reality – they will help deliver a cleaner and greener future, move us closer to climate change targets, and help make sustainability business as usual for companies across the country.