Unfazed by change and focused on impact, the Re_Set Junior Consultant shares what gets her excited about her work and building a more sustainable world
I quit my job in the middle of the pandemic and haven’t looked back. I had my “moment of lift” while delivering a project for the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. I became convinced that enabling the transition towards a more conscious kind of capitalism was the most exciting space to work, so I took a Msc in Management and Corporate Sustainability at Cranfield School of Management. There I learnt the power of harnessing private enterprise for tackling systemic problems, and how to present the business case for investing in sustainability to the sceptical.
I’m fascinated by travel and the world. Prior to the above, I studied at University of Edinburgh, with an exchange year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), then lived in Mumbai, India. Back in the UK, I joined a leadership consultancy working with boards to match organisational needs and ambitions with C-suite talent.
Re_Set’s transformational work with Primark and Sue Garrard was what convinced me to join. I first heard about Re_Set through a Visiting Professor at Cranfield, when she described the co-creation of the Primark Cares strategy (which covers touchpoints as broad as living wage, material sourcing, circularity and durability). A month later I saw Re_Set’s Co-Founder James Bidwell speak at the edie Sustainability Leaders Forum. I got the sense immediately that Re_Set was driven by purpose and impact.
One of the best things about Re_Set is getting the chance to step up. I joined the company first as an intern then became a Junior Consultant in January 2022. It’s fun working for a small(ish) team. And it differs from a traditional consultancy in that we all, regardless of our seniority, take a role in driving marketing and business development. As well as working on interesting client briefs, I like learning how to scale a business.
It’s exciting to be part of the charge striving for a cleaner, greener, more equitable world. We just need to up the pace!
Sophie Coleridge, Junior Consultant, Re_Set
Working for a B Corp is important to me. B Corps have a purpose greater than the single-minded pursuit of profits. They demonstrate how profit-making businesses should simultaneously make a positive impact on society and be in service to the health of the natural and social systems in which they fundamentally depend. Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics explains this concept more eloquently than me!
My at-work superpower is adjustability. I’m unfazed by change and the unexpected and positively embrace situations involving ambiguity or uncertainty. Whether I’m working on an innovation brief for Tesco or knocking heads together to strengthen Re_Set’s internal systems and processes – I find variety energising. My kryptonite is sitting still. A former boss once likened me to a dog that needs to be walked! If I don’t regularly get fresh air into my lungs and my 10,000 steps a day, I begin to wilt.
I feel a sense of both fear and optimism about the future. On the one hand, we’re facing ecological degradation, widening socio-economic inequality, climate related war, migration, and resource scarcity. But on the other hand, we have the technology, the resources and innovation capability to fix the problems we face. The opportunity to contribute to the transition economy – supporting corporates to become regenerative and more resilient by embracing new business models – is what gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s exciting to be part of the charge striving for a cleaner, greener, more equitable world. We just need to up the pace!
In a meeting, you can count on me to bring a good attitude. I’m an optimist and can usually find the positives. I also get a buzz working on the business development and account planning side of things – I like connecting people with people to move agendas along.
To become a consultant, you have to lean in to your curiosity
Sophie Coleridge, Junior Consultant, Re_Set
Don’t get me started on the country, India. I’ve been more than ten times and feel I’ve only scratched the surface. There is nowhere more beautiful or exhilarating and I’d like to visit every state in my lifetime.
Clients should come to me to help align their sustainability strategy with their people strategies. Peter Drucker famously said: “culture eats strategy for breakfast” and I couldn’t agree more. Having the right strategy is important – but aligning this to the context of an organisation’s people is critical for making it stick.
Did you know? taking an interest in where your pension is invested is probably the most impactful thing you can do for the planet. It can be 21 times more effective at reducing your carbon footprint than giving up flying, going veggie and switching energy provider combined. Richard Curtis launched the NGO ‘Make my Money Matter’ to drive money invested in UK pensions to be put towards more sustainable outcomes. He’s worth listening to on the topic here. And, if your pension is connected to a company scheme, ask if it can be transferred to sustainable funds.
In 2022, I predict we’ll hear more about AI. Listening to Professor Stuart Russel’s Reith Lecture series it seems inevitable that the business world will become increasingly reliant on super-powerful AI. Whether that’s for better or worse remains to be seen!
My advice for anyone looking to get into consulting is to lean into your curiosity. Read books and listen to podcasts about topics you find interesting. Consulting is such a human-centred business, so build relationships with like-minded and interesting people where you can.
On my dream weekend, you’ll find me walking. I don’t mind whether it’s through London’s parks, markets or somewhere remote in the countryside. I’d finish it off with and a long dinner party with friends where we chat non-stop.
Sophie is a Consultant at Re_Set. To speak to her about sustainability and culture strategies, email her. Meet the rest of the team here
