I-SEE Seminar

‘Making the Railway Greener – embedding sustainability in a large, complex, devolved infrastructure organisation’

Dr Rossa Donovan MCIEEM CEcol, Head of Environment and Sustainability at Network Rail

This Zoom Webinar seminar will explore the aspirations, challenges and actions that are being taken by Network Rail to improve sustainability performance and help deliver a greener, cleaner railway. Rail travel is regarded as the greenest form of mass transit in the UK, but it could be greener still. Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thunberg and ‘The Blue Planet’ have rightly highlighted the issues of climate crisis, biodiversity loss and ubiquitous pollution resulting in a heightened focus on sustainability issues and calls for immediate action. The Government has responded with policies and targets designed to address these threats to society requiring action from individuals, businesses and government bodies. Network Rail manages the infrastructure that keeps our railways running. As one of the largest landowners in the UK and the largest energy consumer it has an important role to play in helping deliver Government policy and sustainability targets. But delivering transformational change in a large, complex, devolved organisation is a difficult task.

Dr Rossa Donovan is the Head of Environment and Sustainability at Network Rail. He is a Chartered Ecologist, licensed bat worker, ornithologist and (improving) wildlife photographer with over 30 years’ experience working in academia and the environmental sector. Rossa’s academic research interests include how trees influence air quality in polluted urban environments, the ecology of urban habitat patches and how sustainability is embedded into the planning and development process. Prior to joining Network Rail, Rossa was Director of Ecology for two large multi-disciplinary consultancies providing environmental advice for a range of clients and projects. In his role at Network Rail he leads a team of environmental and sustainability specialists and manages a portfolio of change programmes and projects which aim to improve the sustainability performance of UK’s railway.

• I-SEE seminars are free and open for all to attend with the Eventbrite registration to be completed in advance.

• Link to join Webinar : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83900281958

• You may join the live lecture at 16:30

https://www.bath.ac.uk/corporate-information/institute-for-sustainable-energy-and-the-environment-i-see-seminars-2020/