CEnv Profile | Head of Air Quality & Emissions | Sarah Horrocks

What does an average day look like in your career?

If I could define an average day, I probably wouldn’t still be doing this job after 25 years!  In any single week I might be in the office checking dispersion modelling or helping team members navigate complex projects, writing bids to win new work, exploring emerging pollutants or mitigation technology; or I might be out on a construction site auditing contractor working methods, meeting clients to present air quality monitoring findings, liaising with legal teams on planning consultations or planning the IAQM committee agenda.  There is so much variety in the role, even as a technical specialist in a relatively narrow field such as air quality.  

What are the top three key knowledge areas that are crucial to your role?

1. It’s important to have a robust understanding of how pollutants are emitted and transported vis the classic “source, pathway, receptor” route.  This will help you to be able to identify what the best options are from anything from how to design a monitoring survey to how you go about reducing the impacts of emissions.  
2. Having insight into how policy works, be that experience on jobs or a secondment, is crucial to being a better consultant, as it helps you to make more pragmatic and proportionate recommendations.
3. Finally, being able to present your findings in a way that is accessible, be that in written, graphic or oral form, is essential to gaining the most benefit from your hard work.  I learnt a lot in the early stages of my career about the importance of clear information delivery.  This has helped me in all sorts of situations, from talking to members of the public at a consultation event, to making a case for adopting a certain approach to a client and presenting evidence at a public enquiry.

What part of your job do you find the most exciting?

Air quality sits at the intersection of science, policy, and people’s lives.  What we know about air pollution, who is affected by it, what specific pollutants we need to be concerned about, and how they interact, is continually evolving as new research findings come out.  Meanwhile the opportunities to do something about it continually change too, while technology and politics moves at pace.  That makes it so exciting as the role is constantly evolving.   

How has achieving CEnv registration impacted your work?

Becoming a Chartered Environmentalist opened up new doors for me, as I was able to demonstrate achievement of a wide range of technical competencies, cross disciplinary understanding and a commitment to maintain professional standards.  

This meant I was eligible to act as the lead air quality expert on high profile projects and provide evidence at public inquiries.  

As an award finalist, how has that recognition helped you?

Making the final cut for the Environmental Professional of the Year Award meant so much to me.  It was a great sign of recognition of the work that I’ve done to improve cross disciplinary collaboration on brownfield sites to address air emissions, as well as the contributions I’ve made to the Institute of Air Quality Management, developing new guidelines and procedures.

Why would you encourage others in your sector to aspire to become a registered environmental professional?

It allows you to reflect on your achievements to date and encourages you to own them which is really empowering!  You will need to think about how the knowledge you’ve gained has helped the environment and society, and demonstrate your commitment to furthering that through professional development.  Once registered, there are benefits such as attending events where you will meet likeminded individuals from a multitude of backgrounds.