Michaela Lindridge

Hi there Change Agents of the past,present and future.  

 

Where it all began 

When I landed my first job in the UK in sustainability, I was lucky enough that it was one of the internal roles at CAUK. Together with Jas K, we ran the WiSEE project. A fully funded project for women who wanted to run their own social or environmental enterprises. It was a fabulous experience and I stayed on for few years after. I worked in both a part-time and full time capacity, whatever project work was available I took it on, as I absolutely LOVED it. I loved the railway office, the people I met and the never-ending spirit of ‘sustainability optimism’ that we all had in common. Some were passionate about energy, some about waste, some about recruiting the future ‘change agents’ – but we learned that working in a small not-for-profit you have to wear many hats and do a lot with a little. A skill that stayed with me throughout my career.  

 

The journey to Head of ESG 

When I moved on to other opportunities, I was lucky to stay true to environment and sustainability. I have learnt how to engage colleagues, drive behaviour change and have learnt a lot about compliance and standards. I have also learnt a lot about the importance of building partnerships and how to run strategies around environment, social impact and governance. Each role I held gave me a different skillset and helped me hone each skill. I landed in construction by chance but I’ve stuck with it as it's a really interesting sector to work in as a sustainability professional. It’s all about making the industry better, less dirty and educate the people on the ground to build (no pun intended) practical solutions – which benefit not just the people, but efficiencies and sustainability too.  

 

Future Aims 

I’m still passionate about making a difference in my day to day job, which I think is the case for all of us working in sustainability! Whilst I occasionally consider whether the ‘Chief Sustainability Officer’ barbie doll (yep, she does exists!) is something I would want to become, I really enjoy hands on delivery.  

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I want to be working within sustainability, no matter the sector, with people. Someone once told me: “Sustainability is like a bar of chocolate. Each individual small piece belongs to someone within the organisation”, and I want to be the one to help them own (and eat) it! 

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It’s been 10 years since CAUK but I still come across them regularly. Recently, I was in the Climate STEM ambassadors training led by current Change Agents – a lovely surprise! Another time I was looking for some training on sustainability for my team members to develop their soft skills and leadership. And you know what? CAUK runs sustainability leadership training that just filled in the gap for me! I also thought: what a great way to give back a little. Whilst I don’t have any vacancies to recruit at the moment, I loved reconnecting with change agents.