The Society for the Environment are pleased to announce the Environmental Professional of the Year as Jerome Baddley, Chartered Environmentalist and Head of Unit - the National Sustainable Development Unit for the NHS, Public Health and Social Care at the NHS and Public Health England.
The Society’s World Environment Day Awards and Lectures were held yesterday (4 June) on the eve of World Environment Day and attended by more than one hundred people. The agenda for the day, hosted by Kew Gardens who also acted as venue sponsor, included the presentation of a number of honours and an expert line-up of topical talks. The grand finale saw the announcement of the Environmental Professional of the Year 2019, which was presented to Jerome Baddley CEnv, Head of Unit - the National Sustainable Development Unit for the NHS, Public Health and Social Care at the NHS and Public Health England and Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).
The prestigious Environmental Professional of the Year award recognises the outstanding work of Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech) registrants. The Award showcases the achievements of those striving to protect and enhance the environment on a daily basis and attracts a diverse range of outstanding nominations each year from across sectors and continents. Previous winners of the award include David Stubbs CEnv, registered via the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM); Martin Bigg CEnv, registered via the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA); and last year’s winner, Graham Powell CEnv, registered via the Institute of Water (IWater).
Jerome has worked in the environmental sector for twenty years, leading on globally significant areas of work. He produced the very first NHS carbon reduction plans; supporting two trusts to cut their footprints by twenty-five per cent. In 2009 he produced the UK’s first city-wide energy and carbon strategy for Nottingham; resulting in Nottingham cutting its carbon footprint by fifty per cent. He also chairs the National Working Group for Low Carbon Inhalers, a group that includes National Directors, leaders and even a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Alongside this, he also co-chairs the National Task Group on low carbon anaesthetics, and cycles to every meeting; even managing to take his folding bike into Parliament when giving evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee.
Reacting to the honour of being crowned Environmental Professional of the Year, Jerome said:
“This is a real honour; however, I am just a small cog in a very large machine. I have been blessed to work with amazing teams, supportive management and great leadership. Really this is an award for them.”
He added, “The role of the environmental professional is changing rapidly from 'making the case' to guiding and delivering the urgent changes needed in the fastest, most efficient and most equitable way possible.”
Owing to an extremely high standard across the nominations, awards were also presented to two highly commended finalists, Professor Carolyn Roberts, Self Employed Environmental Consultant, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Keele University and a CEnv via the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES); and Diana Pound, Director and Lead Dialogue Designer/Facilitator of
Dialogue Matters and a CEnv via the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).
The event, which was sponsored by Severn Trent Water, also marked fifteen years since the Society was established and saw the presentation of three new Honorary Fellows of the Society for the Environment (HonFSE). The hugely deserving new Honorary Fellows are:
· Sir Graham Wynne HonFSE
· Jennifer Blumhof HonFSE CEnv
· Keith Lawrey HonFSE
Jennifer said, “I was very honoured to receive the award of Honorary Fellowship of the Society for the Environment. The Society’s role in the advancement of environmental professionalism over the past fifteen years has been exemplary and long may it continue.”
They join a revered group of individuals who have been recognised for their outstanding environmental work and/or their contributions to the Society.
A number of expert speakers completed the event with insightful and challenging talks, along the theme of ‘A Spotlight on Net Gain’. The highly engaging speakers included:
· Richard Deverell, Director of Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
· Michael Way CEnv, Partnership Coordinator (Americas), Conservation Science Department, Kew
· Claire Wansbury CEnv, Associate Director of Ecology: Infrastructure, UK & Europe, SNC Lavalin’s Atkins
· Nick Blyth CEnv, Policy & Engagement Lead, IEMA
· Dr Thérèse Coffey MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
The Society would like to thank everyone who attended the event as well as those who made it happen and looks ahead to an even bigger and better event in 2020.
About the Society for the Environment
The Society for the Environment (SocEnv) is comprised of 24 Licenced Bodies, with over 500,000 members between them. It received a Royal Charter in 2004, which empowers it to regulate the Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech) professional registrations globally. There are now over 7,000 environmental professionals currently registered who share a common vision of delivering sustainability through environmental professionalism. www.socenv.org.uk