A day in the life of a Natural Capital Implementation Manager

Rebecca Speed tells us about a typical day as a Natural Capital Implementation Manager at United Utilities

Rebecca Speed has worked for United Utilities for 7 years, starting her career as a Business Analyst and now specialises in natural capital in the water sector.

What does a typical day look like?

As a hybrid worker, I split my time between our head office in Warrington and working from home. Typically, I start my day by catching up on emails and setting out tasks to complete for the day. Much of my work is ongoing, so it helps to break down large projects into smaller objectives to keep track of progress.

I also like to keep updated with advancements in natural capital and nature-related reporting by attending webinars and occasionally speaking as a panel member to contribute to the conversation. An important part of my role is maintaining industry contacts and sharing experiences with colleagues to ensure I can bring best practices to my activities.

Tell us about your team

I’m part of the ESG team that works to embed value-based decision-making and maximise the value to United Utilities from participation in ESG ratings. It’s a great advantage to be surrounded by sustainability, ESG and water industry experts as we can discuss and resolve our challenges.

What is the purpose of your role?

My main driver is to work to embed natural capital in decision-making. I do this through internal engagement by working with my colleagues to help educate them on how their role impacts and depends on nature. This also includes valuing increases in benefits of the ecosystem service our nature-based solutions provide.

External engagement is also a key part of my activities. I’m a member of several natural capital working groups internally within the company and externally across the region. These sessions are excellent for sharing information beyond the water sector.

Tell us about a recent project

I led the delivery of our Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) report within our Integrated Annual Report. This involves reporting how nature-related matters are considered in our governance structure, short to long-term environment planning and land management strategies, risk and impact management, and metrics and targets.

What do you love about your role?

I love building relationships with internal and external colleagues, who are passionate about protecting the environment. These relationships keep me up to date with new developments in the sector and build on my knowledge of the field. I also love how varied my role is, so no two days are the same and there is plenty to get involved with.

What challenges do you face?

Public perception of the water industry is currently a challenge everyone is facing. My role specifically highlights the good work that my colleagues are doing to protect and enhance the environment. I see and value the benefits directly when a nature-based solution is completed in place of a more traditionally engineered solution, but it is a challenge when the water industry faces negative publicity.

What skills do you need for your role?

An appreciation of the complexity of nature and a background in finance and analytics would benefit anyone wanting to move into the natural capital field.

What would you say to someone wanting to do your role?

Build your network, make connections at events, or reach out to people in the field who you can learn a lot from, and create your own opportunities.

How do you work with nature?

I drive colleagues to consider natural capital and wider environmental outcomes, assisting with the behavioural shift towards value-based decision-making.

How does CIWEM benefit you?

I have been an Environmental Partner at CIWEM for the past two years. I also sit as an early-career professional on CIWEM’s Natural Capital Panel and help develop policy documents.

I receive regular professional guidance from a CIWEM Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) within United Utilities and value the experience I’ve gained from this relationship as I work towards becoming Chartered (C.WEM).

This article was first published on Thursday 22 August 2024.