A coffee with Andy Frost

TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE AS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CLIMATE CHANGE & SUSTAINABILITY

"My role focuses on developing and delivering the Climate Change and Sustainability service offering for Thomson environmental consultants and to support the internal ESG strategy. It is a broad ranging role that considers climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience of our built and natural environment. Carbon foot printing and reporting at product, project and company level and life cycle assessment. Impact reduction through renewables, demand side management and training. Sustainability strategy development, implementation and reporting and nature-based solutions that enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, improve nutrient cycling, reduce flood risk and provide a valuable resource for local communities."

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER. HAVE YOU ALWAYS WORKED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR?

"On leaving school I started life in the Services. After suffering a back injury, I returned to education as a mature student, taking my A level equivalents at evening classes. I then attended Lancaster University where I read Environmental Science and graduated with a 1st class BSc (Hons). I then found my way into sustainability, initially via the Concrete Centre as their Sustainability Manager, developing the cement, aggregates and concrete sustainability strategy and reporting framework. Since then, I have worked in sustainability at BRE, Willmott Dixon Re-Thinking, HS2, TRL, Connected Places Catapult, DB Group (Holdings) Limited and now at Thomson environmental consultants. I have also set up and run a renewable energy business, Aqua Forte Limited. My roles have included Standards work at UK, European and international level, having written BES 6001 whilst at BRE, sat on several UK Standards committees, ASTM Standards committees and been involved in several working groups on CEN TS 350 Sustainability of Construction Works. My time in sustainability has covered the built environment, natural environment, and transportation."

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE ROLE AT THOMSON?

"Thomson occupies an interesting space, creating, maintaining and monitoring the natural environment at its interface with the built environment. It has a passion for ‘joining the dots’, innovating, and offering its services in the most sustainable way. They also have a great ethos and values that are important to me."

HOW DO YOU HELP MAKE INNOVATIVE IDEAS A REALITY?

"Hard work! Innovation does not happen easily, though the concept is simple, take two (or more) things that exist and put them together in a new way. Innovation does not happen in an isotropic environment, it happens in a rugged environment, where the planets need to align e.g., the innovative idea, right environment, right time, right cost, right demand, and right enablers need to exist at the same time for the innovation to gain traction. If they don’t, it will fail. A classic example of this is the shipping container that failed several times before successful adoption."

WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON QUESTION YOU’RE CURRENTLY BEING ASKED BY CLIENTS?

"It depends on the clients and where they are on their journey. Climate change and sustainability are complex areas, with intrinsically linked themes. How can they address climate change mitigation and adaptation and how do they ensure their business and assets are climate change resilient can be a conundrum, especially when trying to balance other impacts and issues. Scope 3 emissions are a complex area, especially when delving into the supply chain and the materials they use. Meaningful methods of reducing energy requirements and reducing carbon also emerge, especially around demand side management. Circularity is a growing area, as people begin to realise the benefits in resource depletion, waste, and carbon emissions from applying circularity principles to products and projects. There is also a growing interest in nature-based solutions and natural capital, from the carbon sequestration benefits biodiversity net gain can bring to valorising the climate change resilience and sustainability benefits a scheme can bring."

TELL US ABOUT A RECENT PROJECT

"Recent work has focussed on supporting the development of innovative circular economy, low carbon construction products, addressing the barriers to their adoption (test data, Standards and Specifications) and brining them to market. This has included carbon foot printing, life cycle assessment (LCA) and the production of environmental product declarations (EPDs)."

WHAT DO YOUR CLIENTS REALLY VALUE FROM YOU?

"Broad knowledge base, ability to join the dots, hard work, pragmatism, energy, enthusiasm, honesty, transparency, and quality of outcomes."

WHAT OTHER INTERESTS DO YOU HAVE OUTSIDE WORK?

"I love being outdoors. When I am not supporting my children at their sporting endeavours, I run, cycle, kayak, climb, hill walk and open water swim. We have a smallholding on the outskirts of Farnham, Surrey and spend the rest of my time looking after that and, out in my workshop, where I turn wood and make electric guitars (for my son). That’s if the dogs aren’t demanding another walk! I also love rocks and fossils…"

WHAT’S ONE THING THAT PEOPLE WOULD FIND SURPRISING ABOUT YOU?

"Like many others, cancer has had a massive impact on my life so I do what I can to raise money for Cancer Research and other cancer related charities. So far, I have run 52 full marathons and 30 half marathons."

Find out more at www.thomsonec.com