A Q&A with Erica Kemp, recently appointed managing director of multidisciplinary environmental consultancy Ecus Ltd. She reflects on the skills required to succeed in her sector, and other issues.
• How did you come to be managing director of Ecus?
I originally joined Ecus as an ecologist in 2002 and have now been here for over 15 years. I helped to build the ecology team and later the EIA team over the years and was very pleased to be appointed to the board as commercial director in 2010. As well as my technical background I have a strong interest in business management and over the past seven years I have helped the company grow from a small single office business to a national multidisciplinary environmental consultancy. I was delighted last year to be asked to be managing director last year by the Ecus board to help us to deliver our five-year plan to further grow the company and as we have a great team behind us, I am really excited about the future.
• What’s a typical day like?
A typical day would see me working from any one of our five regional offices as I like to ensure I visit each of offices every few weeks or so. I spend most of my time either on the road, on the phone or in meetings. As MD my time tends to be split between supporting my teams, meeting clients and developing and refining our processes and strategies as well as monitoring the day-to-day running of the company.
• Where do you see the most significant growth areas in the field of environmental consultancy at present?
The environmental consultancy sector as a whole is forecast to experience modest growth over the coming years, however the trend has been for fewer larger companies to dominate the market. This tendency has led to a decrease in the number of smaller companies that are able to provide an integrated multi-disciplinary service within the sector. Companies such as Ecus, are able to provide a much more bespoke service and develop flexible tailored approaches to meeting their clients’ needs. I see this as an important gap in the market and think more client’s will require a more personal, innovative and collaborative approach to help address their requirements in an uncertain future operating environment. Although the macro-economic outlook is uncertain, there is some stability within infrastructure and development. The volume of currently active large infrastructure projects has led to a shortfall in skills and there is currently high demand for ecologists at all levels. Brexit also has the potential to affect the sector but going forward we would imagine that certain disciplines are likely to become of greater importance such as air quality, noise and flood risk assessments.
• Do you feel the work of environmental consultants is well understood by the general public and potential clients?
I see the role of an environmental consultant as being to help meet a client’s needs, manage and minimise their environmental burden and lawfully facilitate projects as smoothly as possible, and I think this is understood by our clients. Historically the role has been poorly understood by both the industries it serves and the general public. However, this is progressively changing and we have close and collaborative relationships with our clients as we manage their risk effectively. Through our graduate program we are also seeing graduates and interns entering the industry with a better understanding of the profession.
• What are the most challenging types of project with which you get involved?
This is a tough question! Because we are a multi-disciplinary company working across a range of sectors so deal with a very wide variety of projects, many of which have their own individual issues. Managing large multi-disciplinary EIA projects to tight timescales presents a different set of challenges to facilitating the delivery of a multi-million pound track improvement project along a busy railway line. Each project has its own challenges but here at Ecus we are fortunate enough to have a lot of excellent project managers as well as a formal management process to avoid or overcome any issues.
• What type of skills do you think are most important to succeed in environmental consultancy?
Obviously technical knowledge in your specific discipline is essential but I think it is really important to have a degree of commercial awareness along with an awareness and appreciation of the environmental requirements and responsibilities faced by clients from a variety of sectors, so that you can fully understand your client’s needs. For example, one of our key areas of work is providing pre-planning support for residential developments. This requires an understanding of the planning system and how LPAs work, however, we also support contractors on large infrastructure schemes and provide support directly to Network Rail. These clients have different needs, and it is important to understand the various roles and responsibilities each may have for example through NECC contracts or as a statutory undertaker. In addition you need to be motivated not just by environmental issues, but by working with clients to help them achieve their desired outcomes.
• Is Brexit having a noticeable impact in this sector? What are your feelings about it in relation to the environment?
There is general concern about the effects of Brexit throughout the environmental consultancy sector, although at a company level we have yet to see any definite effect. However, we do a lot of work for the development sector, which is frequently one of the first to affected by changes in the economy so we have to be vigilant. The impact of Brexit on the environment is uncertain and it really depends on the conditions of our exit. I think it is a bit early to say but hope that it doesn’t result in ‘watering down’ of environmental protection. In relation to planning and construction, I think we can probably expect continued streamlining of regulation and a shift of emphasis away from regulatory advice on to developers and contractors (and their environmental consultants) to interpret the requirements to manage their risks as they see fit.
• What single measure or policy would you recommend as likely to have the biggest impact on the environment?
This is a very difficult question and to answer it we need to consider all the factors that affect the environment. Energy and waste are key issues nationally and globally and well thought-out and implemented legislation and policies to secure sustainability in these areas needs to be a priority. Whilst we can all do our bit to help the environment by making small changes to our day-to-day lives, if we are to achieve the kind of step change needed to minimise the effects of climate change we need to support industry to put sustainability at its heart.
Ecus Ltd has a turnover of £3.6 million and 60 staff employed throughout the UK.
