Everything we do is designed to help finance companies whose main activities are on pathways to a net zero emissions (not just carbon!) outcome. I see climate change as the biggest threat to the environment and solving it is complex.
Adam Forsyth CEnv MEI
Longspur Capital, Head of Research
What does an average day look like in your career?
The deviation around my average is quite large but the common feature is an early start. If I am not travelling, my days start at 7am as this is when the London Stock Exchange news service opens. If any of my client companies has news out this is when I will see it and I, or one of my colleagues, will try to get written comment on it out to investors by 8am at which point we will also brief our internal team.
We will also check a range of overnight news services which might add to our understanding of developing situations. Then I may work on a longer piece of research which may include economic modelling, technological readiness level assessment or decarbonisation pathway evaluation.
There are likely to be several online meetings through the day with company managements and industry experts. Better still are days when I travel either to meet company management personally or to visit sites which can range from factories, to clean energy project locations.
How did you get to where you are now?
After completing my civil engineering degree, I worked for an environmental charity and then took an MBA. This started a career in investment research covering electricity and then clean energy companies. My first research note was on Scottish Hydro Electric, and I found I wanted to focus more on clean energy technologies and was eventually able to specialise in this area with a company itself leading the way in clean energy financing.
With changes to the regulation around investment research I saw an opportunity to launch a new business with a different model. I already had a relationship with Longspur Capital who were exclusively focused on clean energy and I developed my clean energy research business with their support. This is now the leading provider of clean energy investment research in the UK.
In what way does your role consider and protect the environment?
Everything we do is designed to help finance companies whose main activities are on pathways to a net zero emissions (not just carbon!) outcome. I see climate change as the biggest threat to the environment and solving it is complex. We help to educate investors so they can make the right decisions to support these solutions.
We need an educated body of professionals who understand the environment and the need to protect it. By seeking the CEnv recognition you show your commitment to this and can become a strong part of the solution.
What are the top three key knowledge areas that are crucial to your role?
I need to know the basic physics around energy (I make a lot of use of mass and energy balances), financial modelling and valuation techniques, and finally knowing how to communicate effectively.
How has your focus on environmental impacts changed over the course of your career?
While at one level I have become more focused on climate impacts, but because many mitigation solutions have other environmental impacts I also find I have had to widen my focus to cover these. This includes the impacts of the use of biomass and biofuels on biodiversity and food production, other land use impacts including soil disruption, and water abstraction issues.
While most of my work is focused around the energy industry I have had to develop away from single solution thinking to a more systems-based approach.
What part of your job do you find the most exciting?
Visiting projects where I can see the hard work and clever ideas being undertaken to develop climate mitigating solutions and put them into practice.
What are your 3 top tips for those applying for CEnv?
- Get on and do it. The work may seem a little daunting, but it is a very rewarding process of self-examination.
- Think about your work and experience in the widest sense. Don’t limit yourself to your daily tasks but think about how the deliver outcomes.
- Finally, you should view the whole application as the start of a journey and not see the CEnv as an end point in itself.
Why would you encourage others in your sector to aspire to become a CEnv?
We need an educated body of professionals who understand the environment and the need to protect it. By seeking the CEnv recognition you show your commitment to this and can become a strong part of the solution.
Where does “trust” fit into your CEnv journey?
Investment in decarbonisation will not happen if investors do not trust the proposition. That is both financial and environmental with the latter perhaps the more important. Investors do not want to find out that something that was supposed to reduce emissions does no such thing. As a result, having a CEnv helps to establish that trust and the skills that got me the CEnv allow me to develop it.
Profile correct as of April 2026.
Adam Forsyth’s CEnv registration:
Adam is registered as a CEnv via membership of the Energy Institute.
Useful links:
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