Take 5 with our ‘Sustainability Champions’ In this series we will be meeting some of our ‘Sustainability Champions’ to find out how they bring their passion to the workplace. Working across all areas within Volta Trucks, our champions are vital part of our delivery of our sustainability actions and projects, promoting awareness of issues amongst their colleagues and encouraging environmental action.
Here we meet Peter Nelson, SQA (Supplier Quality Assurance) Engineer at Volta Trucks…
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability in business to me means developing cultures, business models and processes that are appropriate when considered in the context of climate
change, alongside other social and ecological issues. Where regulations exist, it means complying with them, but equally looking beyond to ask what as a
business we should be doing even if that is not controlled by current legislation.
What action that you have taken has had the most impact during
your time at Volta Trucks?
I look forward to working on topics as they arise. I am optimistic that within Volta Trucks, there is an opportunity to build a business culture with sustainability at its heart and look forward to many sustainability projects going forward.
How are you helping colleagues to understand your role in sustainability and also what they can do within their own work?
I believe the best way to do this will be through projects that are visible to the wider team. Volta Trucks is a company built on a culture of dynamism and getting things done and to make an impact here I think it is important to lean into this culture.
If you identify an area where Volta Trucks can improve the
environmental impact, what do you do? How does that become a
reality?
I would say to bring it to the attention of the Sustainability Team. It is important to be willing to take a lead on any initiative. Amongst the Sustainability Champions there are others who may be able to help to make the idea into a reality.
How do you stay up to date on the latest trends in sustainability?
I don’t know that I am particularly up to date! I have been involved in environmentalism and sustainability most of my adult life having worked as a Renewable Energy Engineer shortly after graduating some decades ago. I have also been involved in environmental campaigning outside of my working life and held various sustainability and Environment Management roles.
In all that time the core challenges of sustainability have not changed that significantly – although some of the technological solutions, especially renewables, have developed in scale. Sustainability and responding to the challenges of it in a fossil fuel-dependent economy is a long game and I hope that I can bring some experience to that struggle within Volta Trucks.
Did you know that just one Volta Zero can remove up to five smaller vans from the roads? Find out more here.