Sustainability Consultant at Turner & Townsend
Please tell us a little bit about yourself
My name is Imogen Stewart-Green and I graduated from Royal Holloway in 2022 with a BSc in Economics.
Why did you choose to study Economics at Royal Holloway and what did you enjoy most about your course?
My favourite subject from A-levels was Economics and from then I knew this is what I wanted to study at University. I loved learning about how the economy works and why. Choosing Royal Holloway was an easy decision for me as I hadn’t done math’s A-level prior, the support offered for this by the university was the reason I chose to do economics there.
How was your personal experience of being part of the Economics community as a close-knit group of staff and students?
My experience as an economics student at Royal Holloway was great. The mandatory modules and the optional modules offered a great range of topics. In my final year I particularly enjoyed undertaking my dissertation with my supervisor. The help and the expertise from my supervisor made my dissertation a smooth and enjoyable experience. Overall, the support from the staff and the cohort of students is what makes Royal Holloway a great choice.
How did Royal Holloway help you to discover opportunities and prepare you for life after university or find your purpose in life?
Royal Holloway’s Economics department offered a module which helped prepare for life after university. This came in forms such as offering support in applications to internships and graduate schemes. The wide range of societies also meant that outside of studies you could gain experience in other areas to understand what you enjoy.
Tell us about your career journey since graduating and what you do now. What do you enjoy most or find most rewarding about your current role?
Since graduating from Royal Holloway, I went on to do a masters in global prosperity at University College London. Throughout my time at UCL I applied to graduate schemes in multiple different sectors from economics and finance to sustainability. However, as my time learning about sustainability and its importance went on, I decided that this was the direction I wanted to go in. I then landed a 2-year graduate scheme at Turner & Townsend as a sustainability consultant. Choosing to pursue a career in a sector that I am passionate about gave me the ability to get the most out of the job. I find this sector particularly rewarding for example, in my most recent commission working as part of the Mayor of London’s business climate challenge, I get to undertake energy audits for SMEs across Camden and Bent council and help them to understand how they can become more energy efficient. Offering the smaller businesses help on their net zero journey is rewarding as these are the business that need help the most with less resources to do so.
What are your top tips for students thinking about a career in your line of work/study?
For those looking to get into sustainability who don’t necessarily have a degree that fits into the career path (like me), I suggest spending any spare time you have, researching the different sustainability policies not only in the UK and globally. Understanding current affairs and being able to discuss this is very important as this industry is rapidly changing. Its important to showcase your passion for the subject and knowledge in interviews. Additionally, some great advice for interviews is to research the company, understand their values and use this by naming them in your interviews!
