GEP Environmental Welcomes to the Team: Grace Ryder

We’re so glad you’ve joined the team, Grace. Can you tell us a bit about your previous role and experiences, and why you wanted to work in the environmental sector?

I have always had a passion for the natural environment and learning about ways to protect the world we live in. It may sound silly, but as a child I always imagined I’d grow up to be a storm chaser, chasing down tornadoes in the American Midwest before I quickly realised that storm chasing isn’t as simple as jumping in a car and hoping for the best! Still fascinated with the hazards we face in from the natural world, I did the next best thing and completed a degree in Environmental Science, specialising in Environmental Hazards (BScHons) specifically studying earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, tornadoes and other environmental events alongside other environmental specialisms.

After graduating I trained to be a secondary school physics teacher but decided that I wanted to progress in the environmental field and look for roles more specific to my degree. Since then, I’ve worked as an Environmental Specialist for over 10 years within the Public and Private Sector, starting my career on cruise ships as an Energy Efficiency Controller, to working as an energy and sustainability manager in the NHS before pivoting to environmental consultancy.

At GEP Environmental, I specialise in topics such as energy efficiency, carbon management, climate risk and adaptation, carbon foot printing, Net Zero Strategies, ISO 14001 & ISO 50001 design, implementation and auditing, energy and environmental compliance, and stakeholder engagement.

What projects are you most excited to work on at GEP Environmental?

For me, one of the most exciting parts of my job at GEP is managing a team - I manage a team of six environmental and sustainability consultants. I try to remain as approachable and trustworthy as possible – someone that they can come to with questions. Because I began my career at a time when environmental science was quite new, I felt a bit like I had to teach myself a lot in the beginning – and have a lot of hard-won experience that I want to share.

One of the biggest successes of the past six months has been watching my team expand their knowledge, and it’s nice to think that my guidance could help someone else as we move into more complicated projects, such as Science-Based Targets, climate change mitigation and supply chain management.

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us, Grace, and a big welcome from the GEP Environmental team!