Strategic Recruitment at Carbon Architecture

Sustainability

Strategic Recruitment at Carbon Architecture

About Carbon Architecture

Carbon Architecture is an energy and sustainability consultancy that began as a small, independent firm focused on energy efficiency. Over the years, it has evolved into a leading company offering a wide range of solutions, including decarbonisation and energy management. Carbon Architecture has built a reputation for delivering cutting-edge, innovative solutions to help businesses reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. As a forward-thinking consultancy, they have consistently invested in the growth and development of their team, recognising that attracting the right talent is crucial to their success.

Partnership Initiation

From the early days of Carbon Architecture, we have been a trusted recruitment partner, helping them build the team that has fuelled their growth. The company was experiencing rapid expansion and required a strategic approach to recruitment that would enable them to continue delivering high-quality services to their clients. The challenge was to recruit a diverse range of professionals, from recent graduates to senior-level consultants and a new Head of Department, who could not only meet the technical demands of the roles but also align with the company’s culture of innovation and sustainability.

Challenges & Our Consultative Solutions

We worked closely with Carbon Architecture to develop a deep understanding of their business objectives and talent needs, allowing us to tailor our recruitment approach, ensuring that we deliver candidates who not only had the required expertise but also shared the company’s vision and values.

The recruitment process for Carbon Architecture presented several challenges. As the company continued to expand, they needed to fill multiple roles across different levels, from graduates to senior consultants. Additionally, the Head of Department role was crucial in guiding the company’s strategic direction and scaling operations, making it essential to find the right fit for this leadership position.

By understanding complexity of the recruitment requirements, we adopted a consultative approach. We worked with Carbon Architecture’s leadership team to refine job specifications, ensuring that each role was clearly defined and aligned with the company’s growth strategy. Our tailored recruitment efforts focused on identifying candidates with both the technical expertise and the passion for sustainability that Carbon Architecture values.

To source the right talent, we leveraged our extensive industry network, as well as specialised job platforms, to target professionals with proven experience in energy efficiency, carbon management, and sustainability. For senior roles, we employed headhunting techniques and relied on referrals to attract seasoned experts with strong leadership capabilities.

The Outcomes

Through our partnership, we successfully placed 19 candidates in key roles, enabling the company to expand its team and continue its growth. This included five graduates who have brought fresh perspectives and enthusiasm to the team, three mid-level energy consultants who are contributing to practical expertise to client projects, and three senior energy consultants who are driving high-impact initiatives and mentoring junior staff.

We additionally filled the Head of Department role with a visionary leader who has been instrumental in scaling the company’s operations and refining its service offerings. This appointment has helped Carbon Architecture strengthen its position as a leader in the energy efficiency and sustainability sectors.

Our collaborative approach ensured that all new hires were successfully integrated into the company, with ongoing support provided through the recruitment process. The results have been a robust and dynamic team that is well-equipped to meet the growing demands of the industry.

Through our collaborative approach, we have played an instrumental role in supporting Carbon Architecture’s ongoing growth and success. Our ability to navigate the complexities of the recruitment process, while aligning with the company’s strategic goals, has enabled us to deliver results that have strengthened their workforce and reinforced their position in the energy efficiency and sustainability space.

Interested in collaborating? Let’s work together to make a difference. Reach out to our team here.

Otherwise, our UK Sustainability page might provide you with the insights and information you are seeking regarding our presence and expertise in this dynamic market. We look forward to working together!

Advancing ESG and Sustainability Growth for a Global Real Estate Company

About The Client

Our client is a global leader in real estate services, employing over 40,000 professionals across more than 700 offices worldwide. Headquartered in London and listed on the FTSE 250, they provides expert advice to corporate, institutional, and private clients, assisting them in acquiring, leasing, developing, or maximising the value of residential and commercial property in key global markets.

The Partnership

Our partnership was initiated by one of our most experienced consultants, David Ward, in September 2021. David has played a pivotal role in delivering tailored recruitment solutions to support their sustainability and ESG growth, utilising his deep expertise in navigating the complexities of this evolving field. Since the partnership's inception in September 2021, he has closely collaborated with the client to provide strategic recruitment support for key sustainability and ESG roles, helping them achieve ambitious goals in a highly competitive, rapidly evolving market.

Over the past three years, this collaboration has evolved into a trusted and enduring relationship. Most recently, the real estate corporation re-engaged with us to assist with two critical hires: Associate Director - ESG Reporting, and Principal Consultant - ESG Built Environment.

These roles were vital to our clients efforts to meet their growing sustainability goals and ensure the success of key projects. Having previously benefited from our strong candidate network and market expertise, Our client relied on this partnership to deliver high-quality results in a short timeframe.

Challenges and Solutions

The ESG Reporting, Associate Director role presented an interesting challenge. Originally designed as a fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave, the role required a candidate capable of quickly adapting to a dynamic and technical position. Our in-depth understanding of their needs enabled us to identify a variety of strong candidates who exceeded expectations. This hire impressed the client to the extent that the position was converted into a full-time role rather than FTC, showcasing both the candidate’s capabilities and the strategic foresight of our approach.

For the Principal Consultant - ESG Built Environment role, a recruiting hiatus had left our client with little time to fill the position. Given the strong candidate pool for the ESG Reporting role, another position was opened. However, the tight deadline and specific requirements added complexity to the process. We utilised our extensive candidate network to identify and redeploy a candidate initially considered for the ESG Reporting role. This proactive approach ensured that the client secured a highly capable professional without any delay, highlighting our ability to deliver under pressure.

Both roles carried high expectations for technical expertise and alignment with our clients values. Our experience in the sustainability sector enabled us to identify candidates who not only met these criteria but also adopted a forward-thinking approach in their roles.

Over the course of the partnership, we have consistently gone beyond recruitment to provide value-added services tailored to the clients needs:

Salary guidance: We collaborated with the client to refine salary bands, ensuring competitive offers within budget constraints.
Market insights: We provided regular updates on hiring trends, candidate availability, and skill demand to support informed decision-making.
Project-specific advice: We helped the client identify key skills to align hiring strategies with ongoing and future sustainability projects.

By delivering these consultative services alongside recruitment, we helped the client strengthen its talent acquisition strategy and establish a foundation for long-term success in sustainability.

The successful placements and ongoing collaboration have deepened our relationship, resulting in an increased scope of work for 2025 and reinforcing our role as a trusted partner in helping the client achieve its sustainability and ESG aspirations.

The Outcomes

We submitted five candidates, two interviewed, with two successful placements. Filling both roles quickly and effectively ensured our client maintained momentum in its sustainability initiatives without compromising quality.

Candidates:
"I've always found David to be extremely efficient. He takes time to get to know you and only focuses on companies and roles that are most suited to your requirements. He has great contacts in the industry and can make things happen quickly. He’s also happy to explore leftfield options if agreed. I’d definitely recommend David if you’re looking for your next role or have a role to fill."

“David is a highly professional and efficient recruitment professional, with an excellent understanding of the sustainability industry. David was responsible for helping me find my latest employment, providing unparalleled support and communication throughout the application and interview process. I found his knowledge and experience to be invaluable, especially in this increasingly competitive market”.

Client:
“David has assisted us to hire multiple roles over the last few years, bringing good quality candidates and acting as an effective conduit between us and the candidates. Sustainability is a broad skill set, and David has an eye for candidates that meet our specific requirements, particularly for senior positions. He makes the process as simple as possible.”

Our partnership with the client continues to thrive. The successful placements and ongoing support have led the client to increase its terms, reflecting the trust and value built over three years. This adjustment will facilitate additional roles in 2025, further solidifying our role as a key partner in helping them achieve their sustainability and ESG objectives.

Interested in collaborating? Let’s work together to make a difference. Reach out to David at dward@climate.17.com or on +44 (0)7761 800201.

Sustainability

Filling Key Positions for ecosecurities

About ecosecurities

ecosecurities is one of the most reputable and well-established companies in the global carbon markets, with almost 3 decades of experience in sourcing, developing and financing emissions reduction and removal projects around the world. Highly impact-driven, they develop high-quality carbon projects based on the principles of environmental integrity, transparency and good practice that contribute not only to climate change mitigation but also to sustainable and inclusive development. They offer experience and tailored services in the origination, development, financing and commercialisation of nature-based solutions (NbS) projects, renewable energy, as well as technology-based carbon solutions.

Partnership Initiation

Climate17 has been recruiting in carbon markets since 2007. Following the financial crash and since the revival of the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) in recent years, we have been reconnecting with previous relationships. One of these is ecosecurities, who needed assistance to source and secure two strategically critical roles; a Global Head of Technology Based Solutions and a Global Head of Technical, Carbon Methodologies.

Through full vacancy briefings, we gained deep knowledge and insights into the client and their needs and fully understood the nuances of the roles and their requirements. Subsequently, we delivered on the two roles within 6 weeks.

Our Tailored Recruitment Solutions

Recruiting in carbon markets is challenging due to a limited talent pool with specialised expertise. The rapid growth of the sector since its resurgence has created high demand, leading to fierce competition for qualified professionals and difficulties in retaining talent. Evolving regulations, lack of standardisation, and the need for interdisciplinary skills, including finance, environmental science, and data analytics, further complicates finding and securing the talent. Additionally, sourcing candidates with regional expertise and adaptability to emerging technologies presents challenges of its own.

Following these two successful placements, ecosecurities showed interest in strengthening our partnership and turned to us with new vacancies to fill. We then agreed on a commercially attractive and exclusive project-based partnership.

Similar to our previous approach, we started with full vacancy briefings with hiring managers, followed by regular check-ins and summary reports. We conducted a focused headhunt using our own networks and LinkedIn to tease out the more passive candidates, in addition to advertising on our website, LinkedIn page and other paid prominent jobsites. With identified candidates, we arranged and conducted screening calls to ensure they met the role requirements, were the right cultural fit, and that expectations like salary, location etc were aligned. Once qualified, we sent CVs with profile summaries for review to the ecosecurities hiring team. We set up all Teams interviews and managed all candidates throughout the hiring process.

We strive to always find candidates who genuinely believe in the work being done, and approach the search with focus, determination and perseverance, alongside utilising our strong network of extensive connections.

We always remained flexible in our approach and tailored our services according to ecosecurities’ evolving needs. Staying in close contact and continually asking for feedback and adjusting and refining the search as needed, allowed us to build up a strong rapport with the key team members and hiring managers.

The Outcomes

Through a collaborative approach and shared commitment to positive impact, Climate17 has been instrumental in building ecosecurities’ workforce and supporting its ongoing growth and success.

Interested in collaborating? Let’s work together to make a difference. Reach out to me at amy@climate.17.com or on +44 (0)7754853847.

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Sustainability