Sarah Falconer has over 25 years of experience in the environment field, specializing in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and consenting for large complex infrastructure projects. Sarah is passionate about net zero and working with our clients to help them achieve their decarbonization goals. Sarah is responsible for growth within the Energy sector across our Environment and Sustainability range of services. She leads complex energy consenting/EIA projects and develops long term client relationships.

What inspired you to join the industry?

Upon graduating, I embarked on a career in environmental consulting, where I quickly encountered a diverse array of projects and gained a wealth of experiences that the field has to offer. It was this diversity, along with working in partnership with our clients to help them to solve challenging problems, that I found so motivating, and still do. It is a pleasure to help clients to navigate their way through complex and evolving planning processes as well as finding innovative solutions to environmental impacts that result from new infrastructure projects. No two projects are ever the same, and there has never been a more exciting time to work in energy. The urgency and scale of the energy transition make this moment truly transformative.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

I recently led two consenting projects for new hydrogen power development projects. It’s been exciting to see new technologies moving into mainstream developments. Any novel technologies always pose new and challenging consenting risks that need to be considered fully to give regulators and stakeholders comfort and buy in to the projects and this was no exception on these projects. As Project Director, I took ultimate responsibility for delivering to client satisfaction and ensuring that as a project team we met all regulatory requirements. It has been really satisfying to see both projects successfully progress through the consenting process and to receive positive client feedback on our collaborative working.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

Engaging with the local community is a critical aspect of any proposed new development. One of the rewarding parts of my role is working with ArchTam and clients to identify opportunities for creating value for communities within new proposed developments. This could include bringing local small and medium enterprises onto the project team, using our ArchTam volunteering days to support local initiatives, and supporting STEM training through local schools and bringing apprenticeships into the team. For example, we have recently been commissioned to deliver three large onshore wind farms for a renewable energy developer and as part of our submission we were proud to establish ten social value commitments which we will implement as the projects progress. These include the use of local supply chain, engagement with schools, colleges and universities, provision of support to local community energy groups and prioritizing local delivery.

Share a piece of career advice.

Be open and try to take every opportunity offered to you, even if it doesn’t seem like the obvious career step. We all learn from new experiences giving us the confidence to develop individual skills and careers further. Often, it is the unexpected opportunities that lead to the greatest rewards.

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Katie Berry joined ArchTam in 2021 as a graduate engineer based in our Glasgow office. She is now a chemical and process engineer with our Energy Transition team in our Bristol office. Her work mostly focuses on carbon capture on power generation and Power-to-X projects, such as solar photovoltaic projects with green hydrogen production.

What inspired you to join the industry? 

The aspect of the energy industry that appealed to me the most was the level of innovation involved in the energy transition to address the climate crisis. I enjoy learning new things and, in this industry, there are infinite opportunities to learn. Additionally, due to the nature of our work, many of our projects will be first-of-their-kind. I feel empowered to play a part in shifting the world’s energy system in a new direction and contributing to tackling the climate crisis firsthand. 

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?  

One of my favourite ArchTam projects I’ve worked on so far is a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study completed in collaboration with our U.S. process engineering team for Avnos Inc. for a hybrid direct air capture (HDAC) system — a type of carbon capture technology. Avnos recently started up a pilot unit in Bakersfield, California, removing up to 30 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. It is a first-of-its-kind technology. ArchTam’s role was to design a larger demonstration unit building based on the lessons learned from the pilot plant. One of the learnings from the pilot plant was the importance of keeping the design of the absorber bed simple and not overcomplicate its operation. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to work on this project that removes CO2 from the atmosphere, making it a negative emissions technology. Most of our carbon capture work to date has been on a point source of emissions rather than drawing directly from the atmosphere, so these would be classed as carbon mitigation technologies rather than removal. 

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. 

I recently used my ArchTam social value hours to carry out a project in Peru with WindAid. Every employee at ArchTam is allocated 2 days (16 hours) per year to use on a social value project of their choice. I worked with a team of other volunteers and interns to construct a 500-watt wind turbine for a local family. Many communities in Peru live in rural areas, where 37 percent of households do not have access to electricity. This limits their communication with other households and communities and keeps them from carrying out tasks such as completing homework after daylight hours. Our installation of the wind turbine provided this family (including two young children) with light and an electricity supply to charge their phones. In addition to providing renewable electricity, WindAid engaged with the local university on projects and provided internships to students from the university. 

Share a piece of career advice. 

Always make decisions for yourself and try not to be too easily influenced by others. Don’t worry if it takes time to work out what exactly it is you want to do with your career and life — it’s better to take your time rather than rush into something which is inevitably unfulfilling. I think it’s easy to get pulled in certain directions because of the expectations of other people around you, or because it seems like the quickest route to being ‘successful’. But ultimately, it’s your career and your life, and it is not a competition or a race.  

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This time, we connected with Toby Uppington, senior vice president and global energy/hydrogen markets lead, to discover how he chose the path he’s on today.    

Hi Toby. What do you do for ArchTam? 

I am in my 21st year with ArchTam and currently leading our push into the emerging hydrogen economy. I also look after our client account management relationship with our largest private sector client – Shell. After travelling the world and living on three different continents, I have settled in London where I continue to hone my skills in various international BBQ styles with my wife and children.

Tell us about your journey and how you got here. 

I started my professional career keen to deploy the academic skills I learned as a geographer and hydrologist. This led me to opportunities in groundwater and contaminated land clean-up, and diverse projects including the construction of one of the UK’s largest CCGT Power Stations, Seabank 1, with Golder Associates as a contaminated land hydrogeologist. This gave me a taste for major infrastructure projects. 

After a few years, I took a break from Golder when I was sponsored by Shell to do a master’s program at Imperial College. I moved to Northern Canada where I helped develop innovative remediation technologies and directional drilling techniques. After that, I returned to Golder as a senior environmental scientist and took advantage of their employee development program. I transferred to Melbourne, Australia, where I continued to expand my direct client management skills and invested in adopting a suite of digital technologies to change the way our services were performed. 

After completing the program, I returned to the UK and continued to expand my professional skills with Golder, before joining URS to become the operational leader for the Environment team in Wimbledon and the oil and gas market sector lead in Europe. These roles taught me the complexity of bidding on major projects and managing diverse teams of people. 

I was then asked to join the Strategy and Growth team where my first task was to develop the Corporate Client Account Management Program and work-winning best practices. I also developed URS’ growth strategy for Europe, Africa and India. When URS transitioned into ArchTam, I helped lead the integration of the two diverse delivery teams with a specific focus on assessing market opportunities and functional strategy for all business lines in the region. One of the most interesting initiatives I championed was the development of ArchTam’s advancement into modern methods of construction by setting up a modular housing business in the UK in partnership with a major architect. This role allowed me to fully understand the Buildings + Places business and integration of all our professional design procurement and construction services for a product rather than professional services market.

Following the success of those projects, I was then asked to consider how ArchTam could reposition itself in the energy market in line with our Sustainable Legacies strategy. As the senior vice president and global energy/hydrogen markets lead, I focus on implementing one of the four core initiatives of our growth strategy in the energy sector, specifically in positioning ArchTam for the emerging hydrogen economy that is changing the way many of our clients consider their energy decarbonization options. 

I was also keen to maintain direct connection to external customers and work-winning, so as a dual responsibility, I took on the client account manager role for Shell – a customer I have continuously worked with for most of my career. 

What is the best part of your job? 

I never know what my inbox will bring me in the morning, and I continue to be excited and surprised by the next challenge that awaits – be it reconstruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure or a request to present to school children on what net zero means to them in practice. 

What has been your proudest moment? 

Of all the things I’ve been involved in, developing a modular housing product that tenants now live in that are located across the UK amazes me to this day. It was definitely the hardest thing to bring together! 

If not this path, what would have been your career plan B? 

Forestry – I was offered the chance to live in the Amazon for a couple of years when I was leaving university. Maybe that was something I should have told the younger me: Don’t be afraid! 

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Adelin Oles joined ArchTam in 2014 as a deputy project manager and is based in The Hague, Netherlands. He has a broad range of experience in complex project delivery across the energy sector.

What inspired you to join the industry?

While pursuing my engineering degree, I was fortunate to have my very first industry internship in a consultancy company in Poland supporting a large, fast moving consumer goods company abroad. Through this experience, I was exposed early in my career to a professional and international set up, which paved the way for my future growth.

I was surprised to find an environment which wasn’t so visible during my studies. In university, we either learned about designing buildings or building them as a contractor. I discovered that behind each project, besides the design and actual construction, was a wealth of other activities including initial budgeting and cost estimations, portfolio planning, risk management and stakeholder management. I knew from that moment that this is the right environment for my professional development.

What is your favourite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

I’ve enjoyed all my projects as they are quite diverse, and each laid a brick for my career. Of course, my favourite one is the very first hydrogen project done for an energy company in the Netherlands. Back then, hydrogen was relatively new, so our team had to navigate and identify the project related risks at an early stage, keeping all relevant stakeholders onboard and aligning expectations through the supply chain.

The project was the very first hydrogen refueling station operated by the client within the BeNeLux region. The goal of the project was to assure that the required hydrogen refueling infrastructure was available on the main transportation corridor for Western Europe so early adopters can use it. Integrating such infrastructure to an existing site comes with the typical challenges of organizing the execution on a live site where existing traffic needs to be managed accordingly. The project was a great example of cross border collaboration as the teams came from different countries to contribute to the successful delivery, testing and commissioning.

It was challenging and a steep learning curve. However, I was fortunate to work with our highly skilled and passionate team. Without a motivated team of professionals and diverse experts, these projects wouldn’t be possible. Together, we can make energy transition happen faster without leaving anybody behind.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

One impactful project that sticks out for me was a Dutch project where the end client was transitioning its diesel operated buses to hydrogen. The project involved adding a heavy-duty hydrogen refilling station in an existing bus depot, which now refuels twenty hydrogen buses daily and supports cleaner public transportation in the Groningen area.

I was the project manager from the project’s inception, early budgeting and planning stages, up until the testing and commissioning of the station under the engineering, procurement and construction management delivery method.

This project demonstrated how important the shift towards more sustainable alternatives is for surrounding communities in eliminating noise and improving air quality. Supporting local and government authorities, raising public awareness, and demonstrating the value derived from cleaner energy sources are important elements of transport decarbonization and the overall energy transition.

Share a piece of career advice.

I have always been proactive and led the development of my own career. Although patience is important, I think doing more than your job description will add greater value to not only you, but also your organisation. I would also advise long term planning, collaboration and learning from subject matter experts – which is easily done in a large, diverse company like ArchTam with a pool of top industry experts one click away!

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