Get to know Izzy
Izzy enjoys the daily challenges of working in the sustainability delivery team, which involve problem-solving and generating creative ideas to meet our sustainability targets.
Tell us about your role
As a member of the sustainability delivery team, I play a key role in supporting operational projects across the business to help achieve our global sustainability targets in carbon, water, and waste. I report into the Sustainability Delivery Director but work with multiple stakeholders across the business ranging from the corporate affairs team, the divisional sustainability leads and site Health, Safety and Environment managers.
Does sustainability play a part of your role?
Evidently, sustainability is the core component of my role, and what is really important for me is that the company I'm working for shares my passion in a way that is genuine and void of 'greenwashing'. It's this commitment to genuine sustainability that sets us apart. DS Smith definitely demonstrates that sustainability is not just a 'nice to have', but a core component of its business model and future success as an industry leader.
What do you like most about your job?
One of the most exciting aspects of my job is the opportunity to travel, expand my internal network and learn from experts at different sites. This hands-on experience of seeing how our products are made and understanding sustainability initiatives at the site level has been incredibly valuable to succeeding in my role. Additionally, the cultural experience of exploring the European towns where our sites are based has been a nice bonus!
How do you explain your job to friends and family?
I feel like people relate best to my role when I talk about it in terms of the sustainability practices we should adopt in our personal lives; reusing and recycling where possible, conserving energy by using smart meters, improving home insulation, and saving water by taking showers instead of baths. Picture sustainability initiatives you'd action in your own home, but on a much larger scale and with a lot more exciting challenges and opportunities.
What excites you most about coming to work?
Each day brings something new within the sustainability delivery team, as we are constantly problem solving and coming up with creative ideas to hit our sustainability targets. What is particularly exciting is learning about new technologies, such as those in the green energy space, and keeping up to date with government affairs and the latest industry developments. The variety of initiatives we get involved with, combined with the fact that we are collaborating to drive meaningful change make this role so enjoyable.
In your opinion, what is DS Smith good at?
We’re a large organisation that’s really good at proposing solutions to problems. The people in this organisation pull together to make things happen and get things done. Recently we’ve faced crises such as the pandemic, a global paper shortage, and the war in Ukraine. We are very good at coming together to find solutions.