IEMA Foundation in Environmental Management | What's it All About

Sustainability training has always seemed like a rite of passage at Techbuyer – you have people from all departments coming together to learn the fundamentals in order to spread environmental best practice throughout the business. And it genuinely works! We’ve seen some amazing projects being picked up throughout different departments, innovating how we use technology all the way through to how we package goods.

Undertaking the training makes me think of where I can make the next big change from within my own department, and how I can share what I have learned with those within my team. You never know what somebody else’s perspective will be and what ideas they’ll be able to bring to the table, so I’m excited to see where this can lead.

My Experience

As Content and Campaigns Manager at Techbuyer, I received the opportunity to undertake the IEMA Foundation in Environmental Managment course offered by our accredited training centre.

Having completed the Sustainable Skills for the Workforce Training over a year ago, this course felt like the natural next step to improve my understanding of environmental best practice and legislation, as well as how this knowledge can be applied to my role at Techbuyer.

Having worked in Marketing at Techbuyer for over three years now, with a particular focus on advertising our sustainability work, accreditations and social value, taking the next steps in IEMA sustainability training was a no brainer for me.

 

I write daily on the environmental impact of what we do as a business, and I am constantly trying to deepen my understanding of the consequences of our actions on the environment – this was a big reason as to why I ended up joining Techbuyer back in the day!

 

However, undertaking training also allows me to examine a previously unexplored project in Techbuyer, and that is how we can make our marketing more sustainable. For a company that understands that data is not a figment of our imagination but is actually something that we store, we house a lot of it as part of our marketing.

 

By undertaking the training and talking with others on the course, I can learn what I need to know to bring forward exciting projects designed to improve the impact of our marketing activities on the environment.

 

How is the Course Going?

We’re currently about halfway through the course, having spread the learning out to make it manageable to balance with current workload but the content that we have covered and the conversations that we have had so far have already proved inspiring and useful.

 

I come out of every session with ideas on how I can make improvements within my own department, as well as on a wider scale – all of which I’m excited to get started with if I pass the final exam (fingers crossed!).

 

With a mix of both Techbuyer’s internal staff, as well as team members from another organisation, we’ve been able to share different perspectives, focuses and priorities.

 

Taking such a deep dive into sustainability legislation, issues, opportunities and innovations is not only interesting but I feel armed with tools and knowledge needed to make a difference from within my own role.

 

How Important is Knowledge Sharing?

“Techbuyer has always been very supportive of giving certified training to our staff. It means we hugely expand our ability to complete projects that improve our environmental performance. We are looking forward to helping people who have chosen to take the Foundation Certificate this quarter to qualify as practitioners by carrying out projects over the coming months,” explained Astrid Wynne, Head of Public Sector and Sustainability.

 

Techbuyer’s IEMA Training

Techbuyer is an IEMA accredited training centre, offering sustainability courses for all levels and understanding. We provide in-person training sessions with our accredited IEMA practitioners, and these sessions can be held at our own facility in Harrogate, or within your premises. Find out more about our training course, including costs and details here.