Nicola is a Chartered Environmentalist with over twelve years’ practical sustainability experience across a range of sectors including construction, retail and manufacturing. These years have been spent working within industry and in her local community and over this time Nicola has developed real hands on experience in successfully delivering sustainable projects.
Prior to establishing Soul Sustainability, Nicola worked in industry for over eight years, for large organisations including Bovis Lend Lease, Lend Lease Developments, and the Co-operative, within their respective sustainability teams. With Bovis Lend Lease she initially worked as an environmental manager where she was responsible for advising the construction sites on the Companies’ certified environmental management requirements.
She then worked as a senior manager within the corporate sustainability unit for four years during which time she was part of a team who developed and implemented an industry leading sustainability strategy which won multiple prestigious national awards, including the Business Commitment to the Environment Sir Peter Parker Environmental Leadership Award.
Prior to working for Bovis Lend Lease she worked within the Social Accountability Unit at the Co-operative as the environmental manager for the Specialist Retail Division. She was responsible for the environmental performance of three major businesses, Travelcare (the UKs largest independent travel agent), Funeralcare (the UKs largest independent funeral parlour), and Co-operative Pharmacy (the fourth largest UK chemist). During her time at the Co-operative she developed and implemented an environmental management system across each of the three businesses, a total of over 1200 sites.
For six years she has been heavily involved in her local community of Bollington in Cheshire, driving forward low carbon and sustainability projects such as an environmental behaviour change training programme, a tree planting scheme, community garden, local food purchasing club and assessing the feasibility of creating community energy. She also helped form the low carbon Transition group in Macclesfield and has advised a number of other local community groups undertaking similar work in the region.
She is a qualified trainer, registered environmental auditor, and trained in BREEAM Commercial and Education. Educated with a BSc hons in Geography and MSc in Environmental Management and Technology, she has an NVQ Level 4 in Learning and Development, and is a Full Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.
Nicola is a steering group member for Manchester ‘A Certain Future’, Manchester’s carbon reduction plan, where she as led the update of the 2013-15 plan. She is a member of the Greater Manchester Low Carbon Hub Buildings Group, and sits on the Manchester Carbon Literacy Programme, which is exploring how to provide access to every person who lives, works or studies in Manchester, with eight hours of carbon training by 2014, and which has recently created a carbon literacy training standard. She was also a committee panel member for the Peak District Sustainable Development Fund for five years, which awards funding to local sustainability projects throughout Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
Nicola brings with her a network of highly skilled, professional associates throughout the UK, giving her the ability to assemble a multidisciplinary team to suit clients’ needs. Amongst her associates are specialists in the fields of community development, renewables, sustainable building design and assessment, and software development.
