I would never have expected to work as a Sustainability Officer for a brass valves and fittings manufacturing plant in Doncaster. I am originally from Slovenia and came to the UK to study shoe design at the University of the Arts London. Shoes were my world, and I began my career as a design assistant for a luxury footwear brand. During my time there, I was introduced to sustainability. Very gradually, as I focused on improving our office recycling and researching recyclable and compostable materials, it seemed to become more and more present in everything I did. As I learned more about it on the job, I naturally wanted to find out more about it at home. In about a year, my life values changed, as did my career ambitions. Realizing the enormity of the problems that are climate change and pollution, I understood that I could never again work in a job that did not contribute to sustainability in a major way. I began searching for full-time sustainability positions, not really caring which industry I landed in. As fate would have it, I started as a Sustainability Officer for a British brass and valve manufacturer, Aalberts Integrated Piping Systems (formerly known as Pegler), in Doncaster in July 2022. My day-to-day now consists of calculating the embodied carbon of our products, developing EPDs, responding to customer information requests, and championing sustainable change on-site – from education and employee empowerment to improved recycling and the introduction of paper tape.

Statement:

Because we have no other choice.