Lydia Carrington works as the sustainability manager for the iconic cricket stadium Edgbaston, which is something of a beacon when it comes to promoting green sporting events. Edgbaston Stadium's commitment to changing its carbon emissions for the better is particularly 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.

But Lydia admits she had no clear career plan when leaving college and wasn't sure she wanted to go to university. She loved geography but was clear on one thing – she didn't want to to be a teacher.

Despite those reservations Lydia studied for a degree in geography and enjoyed taking modules in international development and Scope 3 greenhouse gas tracking.

Her first job after graduating was as a project controller assisting with documentation – nothing to do with sustainability but she knew there were environmental roles within the company and one day asked her boss if she could write environmental management plans for a couple of the sites within her own job and her career took off from there.

Her second job used more of her training, and she came across her current role at Edgbaston Stadium through her network on LinkedIn. Interview rounds successfully completed, the job was hers.

Lydia emphasises that she has been able to make her own mark on what was a brand new role. And to anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps Lydia says:

• stay open-minded about where you'll work at first – provided it meets your values

• the number of sustainability jobs is rising

• green opportunities lay in all sectors

Mentioned in this podcast:

Edgbaston Stadium

Pledgeball

BASIS

MITIE

Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas protocols

Host Sandra Kessell and her guests talk about how they progressed into their Green, Ethical, Sustainable or Socially responsible jobs and offer real-world insights into courses and pathways for following in their footsteps.

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Music © Lyze Kessell

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