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Lydia Carrington works for the iconic Edgbaston cricket stadium, which is something of a beacon when it comes to promoting sustainable sporting events.
Now the stadium's sustainability manager, she admits she had no clear path when leaving college and was only sure of one thing – that she didn't want to be a geography teacher, despite enjoying the subject.
At university Lydia took modules that proved to be game changers as far as her career plans were concerned. She studied international development modules and learned about Scope 3 greenhouse gas tracking.
And even though Lydia's first role after leaving uni was as a project controller assisting with documentation – nothing to do with sustainability – she made great use of her knowledge by simply asking her employers if she could provide an environmental plan for a couple of the sites she was working at. You could say the rest is history, but the rest was actually a scene-setter for Lydia's future.
From there Lydia worked for MITIE facilities management, concentrating largely on what happened with energy, waste and water at hospitals and shopping malls, but she knew she wanted to work for a company in-house, rather than on a consultancy basis.
Though by her own admission, Lydia's not a sports fan, she came across the Edgbaston Stadium job through her networks, in this instance LinkedIn. And several interview rounds later, the job was hers.
One of Lydia's key points for listeners is that her role – and many in her field – are brand-new and provide exciting opportunities for anyone who wants to make their mark in a green job.
And to anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps she says:
Edgbaston Stadium's commitment to changing its carbon emissions for the better is at its most noticable on match days, when as many as 25,000 people watch from the stadium and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) more watch or listen through media channels. By encouraging spectators – and staff – to be greener about how they travel, what they eat and even by simply bringing along a refillable water bottle, Lydia and the team have seen huge reductions in Edgbaston's CO2 emissions.
Scope 3 emissions
Edgbaston Stadium
Pledgeball
BASIS
Coming soon in Season 2: Kurt Henderson, talking about flight free travel, being an entrepreneur and the importance of giving back, even when you're young.
Season 1 Episode 10: Duncan Goose talking about Global Ethics and One Water
