Green Tech 10

transforming supply chains, reducing carbon emissions and building a sustainable future.”

Lisa Furlong, Managing Director of constructionbased civil engineers, Mole Group Utilities, based on the Wirral, has also benefited from LCEI.

Having already pioneered its unique horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technologies to excavate underground pathways for cables, pipes and network links, Lisa used a funded internship to develop a marketing and communications plan which demonstrated its environmental credentials and unique methods.

LCEi is delivered by Lancaster University’s Centre for Global Eco-Innovation led by Jess Davies, Professor in Sustainability.

Jess, an engineer and environmental scientist, said: “Engineers bring problem-solving skill sets to the table, which are really important to developing sustainable practices, products or services across many areas including traditional areas like energy, transport and wastewater, but also they have much to offer other challenges such as supporting biodiversity.

“One of the main challenges for women starting out in engineering is seeing it as a profession for them – having great female role models is incredibly important.

“Irma and Lisa are great examples to show what women can achieve in engineering and we are thrilled to hear that the kind of access to opportunities, resources and support we have offered through our programme has helped with their development as eco-innovation leaders.

“As a programme, we want to champion SMEs to play a leading role in addressing climate and environmental emergencies. But it is also important that we champion the diversity of these innovators to help overcome barriers and change the traditional culture and norms. We can help drive change by diversifying networks. We need diverse perspectives and lived experiences to form a better understanding of the many dimensions of the problem and we are going to need all the creativity that comes with diversity to help us find good solutions to the major environmental problems of our times.” LCEI is a business R&D consortium, backed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and led by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) alongside partners Lancaster University and the University of Liverpool.

Since its launch in 2015, the Low Carbon EcoInnovatory has supported 350 businesses on projects which have saved 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Read more about Lancaster University’s eco-innovatory.

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