One Year at Goal7: From Chemical Scientist to Sustainability Analyst

It's already been one year since joining Goal7, and I've been reflecting on my journey so far. Returning to Scotland from my time down south has been a great experience, allowing me to reconnect with family and friends. This past year has been full of opportunities for personal development and learning as I transitioned my career from chemical scientist to sustainability analyst.

How did I end up working for Goal7?

After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with a master's degree in chemistry, I moved to England to work as a scientist in process chemistry. Here I applied the skills I had developed through my degree in a pharmaceutical laboratory, developing chemical processes for pilot-scale industrial production. This role was a fantastic way to build my skills at the interface of science and engineering, feeding into my love of continued learning and interest in chemical safety.

Then, while deciding whether I wanted to make a move, I noticed a vacancy back up in Scotland looking for someone with experience in chemistry. I was intrigued by the role, particularly because the world of sustainable energy was quite new to me. However, after meeting the founders online, their passion for making a real difference in society was contagious, and I knew I wanted to be part of Goal7's mission. Now one year later, I am a fully-fledged member of the team and have learned more than I ever expected since joining – from energy solutions and chemical engineering to corporate sustainability.

Life at Goal7

For me, working with Goal7 has been a bit of life on the road (or train). The hybrid working style has given me the ability to spend much more time with friends and family in my home town in the west of Scotland, which means I'm often travelling across the central belt during the working week. Our coworking space at Collabor8te in the centre of Glasgow is perfectly positioned – easy to access from home and close to all the places I enjoy visiting.

Hybrid working was new to me when I first started, and while I'm more of an in-the-office than an at-home person, I've really valued the flexibility it offers. Usually twice a week, we come together at Collabor8te to catch up face-to-face with the other central-belters on the team, host in-person meetings, and grab a sandwich in the city.

Once a month, the whole team meets in Inverurie for our in-person session, where we host team input sessions and project knowledge shares. I always look forward to these events – working in the central belt has made me really value the face-to-face time with colleagues I spend so much virtual time with. The team also organises an activity during or after the session to break up the day. The activities this year have been wonderfully varied – from pickleball and bowling to sewing, quiz nights, and even a site visit to an anaerobic digestion plant at BrewDog.

New skills learned

This year has been, above all else, a great learning experience. I've been involved in so many projects in the relatively short time, each one requiring me to learn about a new topic or pick up a new skill. At first, I was worried about the learning curve needed to get to grips with many of the fundamentals and jargon in the sustainable energy space. However, I was reassured to find, during the foundational learning training sessions, how compatible much of my existing experience and knowledge as a chemist was with the topics covered around carbon capture, hydrogen, and wider sustainability.

While the learning curve was certainly challenging, it has also been rewarding. This year I have enjoyed learning new technical skills, particularly in process simulations as I dip into the world of chemical process engineering. Here my understanding of chemical properties and phases has been vital for learning the ropes in setting up and running simulations to assess processing and transportation steps in carbon capture value chains.

My role as an analyst at Goal7

As a chemist, the term analyst typically meant someone who analyses chemical samples, producing analytical data. However, analysis can take on many different meanings for me now! It has meant analysing policy information for clients to bring market insights. It has also meant analysing the technical feasibility of a project, screening viable options based on technical research. And finally, it has meant analysing sustainability reporting against standards to suggest improvements for internal processes and compliance.

My favourite types of projects are carbon capture value chain assessments. This year I have been part of several projects investigating the feasibility of transportation and storage of captured CO₂ across various regions in Europe. These are fascinating projects which have taught me a lot about both the technical and economic challenges involved in fluid transportation. I've found it fascinating to compare transportation methods across different distances, and I particularly enjoy tackling the technical challenges that come with more novel solutions – this is where my chemistry and research experience really helps.

Conclusions

If I were to summarise working at Goal7 in a single word, it would be Variety. It is a constant journey of learning and improving to deliver on so many different types of projects. Since starting a year ago, not a single project has been quite alike, and it would have surprised me to learn when starting just how many different topics and initiatives are involved in a role in sustainability. From commercial strategy and emissions reductions to company reporting and compliance, there's so much more to the energy transition than just solar panels, CCUS, and hydrogen.