Steve

STEVEN OGDEN - Director

It is said that: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’ My career experience leads me to believe this observation is equally applicable to the business world. I began my career in manufacturing in the late 1990s, dealing with waste and energy issues, before moving into waste management consultancy with Resource Futures. The concept of ‘sustainable development’ was still confusing to many businesses and much of my work was exploratory. I supported government agencies such as WRAP, Defra, and the Environment Agency to conduct research to fully understand material markets for the first time. I also worked with high profile clients including Halfords, Waterstones, Lafarge, and The Crown Estate to help them address end-of-process waste issues.

I worked for two years as an Envirowise Advisor and witnessed, first-hand, businesses going beyond waste management to embrace a broader ‘resource efficient’ approach. I then joined and helped to grow an innovative regional programme called CO2Sense and by this point I was supporting businesses to link their impacts and costs to carbon reduction. I supported forward thinking businesses to innovate and adapt their products through eco-design. I co-ordinated an investment fund to support new green technologies to develop and grow. Businesses had adapted again and were now seeing ‘green technology’ as an opportunity for investment, growth and prosperity. At Green Gain, I am continuing with the ethos of ‘strength through adaptation’ by supporting organisations to innovate, and explore new ways of working – this time through circular models of business where organisations maintain control over their resources and impact and lead the way for others.