International Women's Day 2024 At GCC

Mary Jones

Director of Operations

Could you tell us about one of your hobbies? How has this hobby contributed towards your professional life?

I love nature, gardening, and green spaces, and my own journey led me to a unique perspective on homeownership. While many seek their 'dream house,' I found mine for its 'dream garden.' Transforming it into an organic allotment, a cut flower haven, and a thriving wildlife habitat became my passion, giving my daughter and me a front-row seat to the wonders of nature.

Over the course of 18 years cultivating my garden, I've witnessed the tangible impacts of climate change, from droughts to heavy rainfall, and have personally seen the adverse effects on wildlife and food cultivation.

In my role at GCC, I'm empowered to align my passion with purpose, strengthening my commitment to protecting the planet. I'm dedicated to assisting organisations in their transition to a Clean Economy and contributing to sustainability for future generations.

Akanksha Gole

Renewable Energy Administrator

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

My role as a Renewable Energy Administrator entails managing the operation and compliance of renewable energy facilities, with each day bringing both challenges and rewards, fuelled by my dedication to sustainability.

How does teamwork play into your day-to-day activities?

The collaborative nature of my role requires constant interaction with team members to address challenges and solve problems. I enjoy engaging with cross-functional teams in research on regulatory requirements worldwide to ensure that our facility registration checks are aligned with evolving standards.

What long-term goals would you like to contribute to, in the sustainability sector?

In the long term, I aspire to be a catalyst for positive change, influencing the sustainability sector through my work, expertise, and commitment to advancing renewable energy solutions that address the urgent challenges posed by climate change.

Claudia Gonzalez

Renewable Energy Administrator

Could you tell us about one of your hobbies? How has this hobby contributed towards your professional life?

I enjoy walking in the countryside and exploring parks and gardens. This hobby has heightened my awareness of the importance of preserving and caring for our environment. It also inspires me to excel in my work.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

A typical workday for me is always engaging because it involves learning something new. Each day, I receive new information from various countries on my computer, which I need to research, analyse, and read about. This makes my workday enjoyable and fulfilling.

How does teamwork play into your day-to-day activities?

Teamwork is crucial in my role. We share and verify information with each other. In moments of uncertainty, I turn to my colleagues for support. They play a significant role in my daily professional life, and we even share moments of laughter together.

What long-term goals would you like to contribute to, in the sustainability sector?

One of my long-term goals is to improve communication about our company's work in sustainability. I aim to raise awareness among those around me, many of whom are not familiar with sustainability concepts. By doing this, I hope to inspire them to research and adopt sustainable practices, no matter how small. Every effort counts in preserving our planet.

Tahira Erkan

Renewable Energy Administrator

Could you tell us about one of your hobbies? How has this hobby contributed towards your professional life?

My primary hobby centres around nature photography. Nature photography reminds us of the beauty and fragility of our planet and motivates us to act accordingly. I have always had a deep affinity for nature which led me to pursue further education and dedicate my professional life to environmental well-being. When I face challenges at work, I revisit my photos and let them inspire me for fresh ideas and renewed commitment. I can see how my hobby encourages and educates the people around me and make them appreciate the natural world.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

Each typical workday is filled with exciting new challenges. Despite the daily workload, the supportive and collaborative team environment ensures that I remain energised and motivated.

How does teamwork play into your day-to-day activities?

Effective teamwork is crucial in the workplace. Professionalism and dedication of our team fosters a relaxed environment and ensures efficient work completion.

What long-term goals would you like to contribute to, in the sustainability sector?

I would continue to work in projects that encourage the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources that is crucial for a sustainable future. Also, empowering individuals and businesses with knowledge can drive positive change.

Esme Barber

Renewable Energy Administrator

Could you tell us about one of your hobbies? How has this hobby contributed towards your professional life?

With the Peak District right on my doorstep, I've got access to hundreds of miles of footpaths less than an hour from home. When the weather is holding up, I like to get outside and go for walks. In the past couple of years, I've planned some long-distance outdoors holidays, one bikepacking, one backpacking. Getting outside for a week in nature with a route from A to B is one of my favourite activities. I enjoy camping, route planning, and living back to basics with only essential backpacking equipment.

Last year I completed a long-distance hike in Scotland - the West Highland Way. I'm currently planning another solo trip for this year - maybe in Wales! In 2025, my goal is to backpack somewhere in one of Europe's warmer countries, where I can enjoy local hospitality and experience new landscapes.

My hobby keeps me grounded and connected with nature and the outdoors. Getting outside is crucial for my mental and physical wellbeing, and spending extended periods outdoors in the elements away from everyday life gives me a great appreciation of our world.

Hiking was an excellent way for me to explore my home when I lived abroad in Arizona and Wyoming and has truly sparked an interest in global environments and how we can use natural resources in a healthy way, with renewable energy facilities being developed in different regions depending on their climate and geography.

When I travel and see wind farms in the landscape, it reminds me of our work certifying these projects, and how much potential there is to grow the certification market to support renewable energy development.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

My work focuses most on monitoring the GCC Helpdesk and, as point of contact for IREC Local Issuers, I work closely with Issuers to deliver training sessions and ongoing support with onboarding, facility registrations, and issue requests in their regions. Our office in Sheffield is situated very close to a great park with some big views of the city, so my lunch breaks are spent outside whenever I can (weather dependent) or reading my book with a coffee in the local cafe. Day to day, I support members of the team with processing the many facility registrations or issue requests, and offer guidance and expertise for many queries sent to our Helpdesk.

How does teamwork play into your day-to-day activities?

The Operations Team at GCC couldn't be so successful without teamwork at our core. Each of our processes requires (at least) a two-step verification and approval check, with checklists, notes, supporting documents and regional specific checks being used consistently by each team member. We work together to help with difficult queries, specific registration cases, and consistently high workload. In my job, I help to coordinate daily tasks, develop training guides, deliver booster training, and support with operational duties where needed. In our team, we all recognise that knowledge-sharing and consistency is integral to our success, as we adapt to maintain excellent standards with ever-growing workloads.

What long-term goals would you like to contribute to, in the sustainability sector?

The UNFCCC Paris Agreement to limit global temperature warming is the driving factor for most sustainability work. Working at GCC allows me to contribute to this goal by supporting the growth of IREC(E)s and the certification market. Specifically in my role, I am proud to support the growth of IREC(E) in new regions where renewable energy is far more localised to smaller communities and can have often have a greater impact. Ultimately, I believe that expanding renewable energy production, incentivised with robust EACs such as IREC(E), will contribute greatly to meet global sustainability targets.

Sundus Rizvi

Renewable Energy Administrator

Could you tell us about one of your hobbies? How has this hobby contributed towards your professional life?

I am quite fond of reading and listening to podcasts pertaining to topics around global affairs, politics and issues around energy, sustainability, and ethical use of technology as it develops, whenever time allows.

All my work is related to understanding how the world is progressing towards building a more sustainable future. Having knowledge of the current issues in the field and helping organisations around the world in developing their resources to meet their sustainability targets, not only makes work more interesting to me, but also helps me keep my passion ignited.

I get to know more about the kind of technology that is being used by the market players and how the trends in the energy world are shifting, and this in turn makes work increasingly intriguing every day.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

My typical workday begins with responding to global organisations about registering their renewable energy facilities on the Evident registry for I-REC issuance. After addressing these queries, I focus on facility approval and I-REC issuance checks, which includes verifying due diligence for each facility's documents. Following this, I issue I-RECs as needed.

How does teamwork play into your day-to-day activities?

Working in Operations means that teamwork is the only way to do it. Our team thrives on effective communication, and collective contribution of all members to achieve the daily targets. We come in as individuals every day, but once we are here, we work as a unit to fulfil our commitments towards all the organisations we work with around the world.

What long-term goals would you like to contribute to, in the sustainability sector?

In the coming years, I would really like to be in a position to help build projects/products that contribute towards energy efficiency and sustainability development. I would also like to gain more knowledge about the latest policies of different regions related to renewable energy and achieving Net Zero.