Richard has worked in the Energy and Utilities sector since the early 1990s and has held key positions nationally and internationally. In the last four years Richard has focused on aviation and managed all aspects of the energy supply chain. In his current role, he provides leadership and direction for BAA in all aspects of energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emission reductions from its fixed assets. The role is challenging and with increased staff and business partners and growing public awareness of climate change, his work is under the spotlight. Richard is a Chartered Engineer with degrees in Chemical Engineering and Energy Systems and the Environment.

Tell us about what are you working on right now.

"I am working on the airports' 2020 energy strategies, which form one part of the BAA CO2 Strategy and are pivotal to the achievement of BAA's 2020 goal: to reduce CO2 emissions from fixed sources by 30% below the 1990 level.

"The airports, especially Heathrow Airport, have an infrastructure and population equivalent to a large town. The airport energy strategies must meet the mandatory requirements of environmental legislation and our self-imposed targets and deliver solutions against challenging planning requirements. This is framed within the boundary of managing financial risks in terms of escalating energy and infrastructure cost and the management of capital expenditure.

"After all of this has been done, I need to ensure that stakeholders receive this communication and are engaged with the strategy."

What are your proudest 'green' achievements?

"I am proud to say I am part of an organisation which is delivering innovation at an unprecedented pace, providing a platform for BAA and consultants and stakeholders to showcase their skills, share best practice and reduce our emissions impact.

"Examples include: Heathrow East Terminal, which will replace Terminals One and Two and deliver a world class facility for our passengers, cutting CO2 emissions by around 40% compared to the buildings it replaces. This will be achieved through more efficient buildings and use of renewable energy supply technologies.

"Heathrow East Energy Centre has been developed in conjunction with the London Climate Change Agency. It will house a combined cooling heating and power system (CCHP) that uses waste heat from electricity generation to warm and cool the building. The CCHP plant will be able to run on renewable biofuels. Heathrow East will also have photovoltaic tiles on the roof to convert the sun's energy to electricity.

"Our combined heat and power (CHP) plant, on the west side of the airport simultaneously generates electricity and heat and 85% of Terminal Five's heat demands are provided by this CHP system."

What are the biggest challenges you face in your role and how do you deal with them?

"BAA and the airports it operates are highly complex. Around 120,000 people work at our seven UK airports, with over 90% working for third party employers. We work with over 1,000 suppliers, ranging from printers to utilities providers. The key challenges are communication and engagement. A plan is no good if it sits on the shelf, it takes people to make it happen.

"I see my challenge as developing the vision, gaining agreement and using influence to persuade people to take ownership and then deliver the agreed output. It's all about communication and finding common ground. It is important people feel you understand their challenges and share the pain as well as the success. I am providing support via forums, among others."

What are the key ingredients for any successful low carbon initiative?

"The key ingredients are: to have board or executive level sponsorship; clear governance; a clear project brief with financial and non financial deliverables; allocated resource; and a milestone programme."

Are current UK Government climate change targets realistic?

"Yes but the targets are challenging. As a country, we have drifted in an 'environmental wilderness' for decades. The challenge is to manage the key elements of sustainability - the social, environmental and financial impacts. These targets provide a legitimate challenge to UK plc and provide us with the vehicle to stretch our capabilities, knowledge and improve our Climate Change performance."

What energy usage or low carbon technology trends do you predict?

"Energy from waste will become more prominent as landfill sites close down. The opportunities around tri-generation and biogas are exciting and present us with many more ways to mitigate our environmental impact. There will be more international organisations wanting to make public commitments to reduce their carbon footprint, so the focus on low to zero carbon buildings will greatly increase."

What would you advise someone taking on a role similar to yours?

"Concentrate on your people skills. The first thing is to understand your communications network and the responsibilities and accountabilities in your organisation. You will also need patience and the tenacity to drive towards your vision. Look out for 'greenwash' or as, I now affectionately call it, 'EcoBling' and stay clear! It is our role to drive environmental change, but not at any cost."

Board Report

Low Carbon Leader: The Champion In The Boardroom

Global warming is a global problem, and tackling it effectively requires all parts of society to play a part, including the business community. We need our business leaders to take an active role, not just because their own organisations emit greenhouse gases, but also because individual companies have a significant influence over a range of external bodies: suppliers, customers, partners, and governments.

Because of this active support from directors is essential, yet boardroom involvement was highlighted as an issue in need of improvement in a recent report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which examined UK FTSE 350 companies. “There remains room for improvement in quantitative and qualitative disclosures on the business risks and opportunities presented by climate change, particularly given requirements for directors to consider and disclose material environmental risks under stricter EU reporting standards, as well as increased board-level accountability regarding the environmental impacts of operations,” CDP concluded.

A new champion for a new cause

Some companies, recognising the urgent need for action, have appointed a “champion” at board level to lead the way and others are considering doing so. How well such a role fits in with the existing responsibilities of directors, whether a new position needs to be created, or whether such a director should be formally identified as a “champion” will need careful consideration.

The answers will depend largely on the culture and complexity of the individual company, but the arguments in favour of giving at least one director responsibility for carbon reduction are clear. It identifies a single person within a company as having the power to co-ordinate changes across bureaucratic boundaries, suggests Bruce Stanford, BT’s Environment Champion. “The challenge of climate change emerges everywhere in a company. A champion must direct their attention and support across the business to ensure that all have the climate change agenda,” he says.

Whether known as the “low carbon”, “climate change”, or “environment” champion, the key aim is to make a difference to the way the company conducts its business, he emphasises. “The reality is to focus on those things that are going to make an impact, within operational divisions and across them. Think about BT’s retail business – selling phones and services – and the possibilities for reducing energy consumption: billing, recycling, the buildings we operate,” says Stanford. “Then there are opportunities for improvements in energy purchase, which ranges across operational divisions,” he says.

Providing focus for employees

The champion doesn’t just take an overall view of carbon reduction in the company, Stanford says. He or she is also a recognised figure of authority for staff – many of whom will feel strongly motivated – to approach for advice and guidance. “There is a genuine thirst for knowledge. Champions can be created at all levels of the business – there can be ‘carbon busters’ among middle managers, for example. Having a champion at director level gives them somewhere to go,” says Stanford.

In a company the size of BT, the need to give a focus to carbon reduction efforts is very important, he says. “I can’t see how it would be better to have say, 15 people with narrow roles instead,” he says. “Some parts of the business will do better than others, and the championship role enables us to make sure that we really drive the agenda where necessary,” he says. More formally, the champion is also responsible for advising board members on whether the company should implement recognised standards and ensure progress against these is included in annual reports.

The champion will also provide focus for fellow directors, says Stanford. Like the head of Corporate Social Responsibility, the climate change champion will take a leading role in building the values and culture in an organisation, he says. Last but not least, the board-level champion will have access to the company’s finance director, which has clear advantages, he says. “If you can make the investment case you can get everyone’s attention faster, says Stanford.

Counting the cost of carbon

The business case for reducing carbon emissions is compelling, says Dr Martin Blake, Head of Sustainability at Royal Mail Group. “Carbon costs money. Why pay for carbon several times over?” Blake argues that companies failing to reduce emissions will incur the cost of the energy consumed, plus either a levy or tax if they exceed quotas, or the cost of offsetting this excess. On top of these costs a company will also run the risk of damaging its reputation, he says.

Whether or not he or she is identified as a “champion” is less important than that someone at board level is tasked with leading the carbon reduction effort, suggests Blake. And while some companies have appointed an external adviser to take this role – because of their specialist knowledge or experience – Blake is keen to emphasise the importance of integrating carbon reduction into day-to-day activities. “It needs to be embedded into ‘business as usual’, made part of the DNA of a company,” he says.

As well as defining its internal workings, the “DNA” of a company also shapes interactions with external bodies, another key reason why it’s essential for someone at board level to take responsibility for carbon reduction. Effective action requires someone who can reach inside and outside the company, suggests Blake. “Part of their responsibility should be to provide lines of communication into the boardroom. They will have an external horizon too, engaging with peers and competitors,” he says.

Obstacles must be overcome

All companies experience difficulties driving through changes, and carbon reduction is unlikely to be different, says Blake. “The paradigm organisation has its own defence mechanisms,” he says. Some form of resistance may well be encountered inside as well as outside boardrooms, he suggests. “For example, in many businesses, the energy budget is managed centrally, with the result that electricity is thought of as free issue. A possible response is to devolve responsibility for energy budgets down to site level. But that will mean wrestling the budget away from its existing holder,” he says.

So what can fellow directors do to help the low carbon champion? “Assist in the removal of impediments,” he suggests.