We hosted our annual awards ceremony on Wednesday 4th June 2025, during this jam-packed afternoon the 2025 Rising Star award was presented to Chantelle Brandwood REnvP. In this blog, Chantelle tells us all about how she got into sustainability, what the Rising Star award means to her and outlines her aspirations for the future.
2025 Rising Star: Chantelle Brandwood REnvP
When I began my career at 18, I never imagined that decades later I’d be running my own business, let alone winning an award for it. Like many people working in this field today, I didn’t start out in the environmental profession, but I have always been a huge nature and animal lover. I didn’t go to university, and for a long time I assumed that would limit my options. In reality, it’s given me a different kind of foundation with practical experience, curiosity, and always saying yes to unexpected opportunities.
In my previous roles, I spent 19 years working in commercial positions across the human health and veterinary industries, where I gained invaluable understanding of how businesses operate and what drives decision making.
Environmental Professional Journey
My journey into sustainability began with big upheaval. In 2019, just a couple of weeks after returning to work from maternity leave, I was made redundant. That experience (both unexpected and confidence killing!) forced me to stop and think not only about what kind of work I wanted to do, but what kind of impact I wanted to have.
Around the same time, a close colleague invited me to support a new community interest company focused on veterinary sustainability (Vet Sustain – they do amazing work, check them out). They asked if I’d help with gaining commercial sponsorship and supporter packages while I figured out my next move. I said yes, and that opportunity set the wheels in motion for everything that followed.
Sustainability had always been a personal and professional interest, particularly in the context of preventative healthcare, animal welfare, and the environmental impacts of veterinary medicines and parasiticides. This new experience helped me use those values with my commercial background in a way that felt connected, and it was a real turning point.
After that, I made a conscious decision not to return to conventional employment. I wanted to build something on my own terms and create a business that would help others take practical, credible climate action. I began taking courses, joined IEMA, and eventually completed the Certificate in Environmental Management. I worked with early clients on a voluntary basis, using the experience to learn, build case studies, and refine my approach. In December 2020, I secured my first paying client and launched my consultancy, Eco Action.
Since then, I’ve supported a wide range of organisations, from SMEs to global brands, across sectors including pet care, insurance, health and beauty, veterinary services, legal, and retail. I help clients map out their environmental impact, set science-based targets, engage teams through Carbon Literacy training, and develop environmental strategies that are ambitious but achievable. I’m passionate about making sustainability simple, strategic, and part of the everyday, not just another policy.
I became a Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP) in 2023 through IEMA, which was an exciting professional milestone for me. I applied for the Rising Star Award because I believe there’s real value in showing the breadth of people who make up the sustainability profession, including those who bring experience from other sectors and don’t have a conventional academic background.
The Award
Winning the Rising Star Award is something I’m incredibly proud of. It’s wonderful to have recognition from the industry (and helps with the imposter syndrome!) and hopefully, it encourages others to step into sustainability, whether they’re just starting out or shifting direction mid-career. The award also gives me a platform to continue advocating for accessible, no-nonsense sustainability that can work in any business. This is something I think is vital if we’re to move from ambition to action.
Looking ahead, I’m focused on growing Eco Action and continuing to support clients in aligning with credible climate and environmental frameworks. I’m expanding our Carbon Literacy training offer into new sectors, supporting more clients through their SBTi journey, and helping businesses better understand and communicate their environmental impact. I’m aiming for Full membership of IEMA, with Chartered Environmentalist hopefully to follow. I’d also like to mentor others who are entering the field later in life or from adjacent industries. The more diverse the profession becomes, in background, experience, and perspective, the stronger it will be.
Outside of Eco Action, I’m proud to work as a Trustee for Wildlife Vets International, and I support vulnerable women returning to the workforce as a volunteer coach with Smart Works. I also serve as a Climate Ambassador in schools – helping to bring sustainability into the classroom. These roles are opportunities to give back and show that sustainability and climate action doesn’t just happen in boardrooms, it happens in communities, classrooms, and conversations too.
I’m hugely grateful to both the Society for the Environment and IEMA for supporting early-career professionals and for recognising the value of different paths into environmental work. I hope my story helps show that it’s never too late to step into a new field and try to make a difference.
By Chantelle Brandwood REnvP
Statements on this blog reflect the views and opinions of the author(s) credited and they do not always represent the views or policies of SocEnv. The blogs shared on the SocEnv website are intended to be thought-provoking articles for informative and educational purposes only.
Useful Information & Resources
REnvP Registration 101: Your Questions Answered
How to Apply for Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP)
IEMA Spotlight Webinars // CEnv & REnvP Insights
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