Lydia Parnell

Q. What attracted you to join Turner & Townsend? 

A. The people, their passion for using their influence and expertise to create positive change, and the opportunity to contribute to our corporate responsibility journey. I have seen this drive and commitment only grow as we expand our ESG and sustainability expertise worldwide and I connect with more and more colleagues who are keen to address climate change or make their working world and communities more inclusive.

From initially working on community programmes, I now oversee our entire approach to ESG and guide our business towards making purposeful decisions every day. 

Q. Which project are you most proud of being involved in at Turner & Townsend?

A. There are many, but launching our MTD Fund was a major milestone for me, for our business, and for our commitment to addressing some of the world’s biggest challenges. While our people do fantastic work with charitable partnerships at a local and regional level, our MTD Fund aims to scale up our support to causes which cut across borders and generate new long-term, collaborative opportunities.

Our first partnership with Barefoot College International is a great example of this commitment in action. It has been a privilege to work with them to empower women in rural areas by training them as solar engineers, entrepreneurs and educators. 

Q. How do you contribute to Turner & Townsend making a difference?  

A. In my role, I work across our global business and function as a facilitator, bringing people together and connecting them to our purpose and values, ensuring that they drive responsible practices forward and contribute to our various CR initiatives.

Defining and developing our purpose in 2021 as transforming performance for a green, inclusive and productive world has helped inform everything we do as a business – from encouraging values of strength through unity, to bringing out the best in our people, to embedding these in our proposition and business model to transform major projects and programmes. We are all driving towards a common goal, and I feel that collaboration is key as we work together with senior stakeholders, subject matter experts and our people to be the change we want to see in the industry. 

Q. Detail any specialist skills or experience for which you are known 

A. I have developed skills and experience in ESG strategy, including environmental sustainability and net zero. I also have experience in developing community investment programmes (including fund management) while considering human and labour rights and diversity and inclusion in corporate structures. 

Q. Describe your typical day.

A. I like to start each day with a coffee as I catch up with members of my team, both in the UK where I’m based and across the world, and review emails and correspondence. My role involves a lot of creativity and collaboration, so during the day, I will most likely be involved in developing new strategies and policies that advance our ESG objectives or working with senior leadership to embed purposeful thinking and decision-making across our business. 

Q. What is the emerging trend in your industry specialism and how are you responding to this? 

A. Addressing climate change is a monumental task and in the built environment and we are well positioned to play a crucial role in preventing and adapting to the challenges that lie ahead. Through our business’ NewLeaf investments, we are transitioning to renewable energy and increasingly working with suppliers and clients to drive industry-wide change while placing sustainability services as a key  offering to clients too.

As a growing business, reducing emissions at scale is a challenging task, however, the actions we are taking in our NewLeaf agenda are having a meaningful impact and setting the stage for our long-term transition to a low carbon future.