Posted 18/08/2022

Sustainability enthusiast completes work experience alongside Swan’s Head of Sustainability

Last month, Swan’s Head of Sustainability, Ben Coombes, was joined on the job by recent sixth-form leaver, Max. With a passion for sustainability, Max shadowed Ben for two weeks to gain some valuable work experience.

Planning to pursue a career in sustainability, the placement allowed Max to not only get hands-on experience in his chosen field, but also get an understanding of the work that goes into helping Swan to love the planet.

Throughout his time with Swan, Max got involved in a number of different tasks, including environmental audits of our offices; testing how energy efficient they are and looking for ways to improve. He also visited Swan’s Exmouth Estate, in East London, as part of the Grow Back Greener scheme, meeting with a customer and a contractor and looking for ways to make the estate greener. Getting out and about is what Max told us he enjoyed most about his work experience.

He said: “I liked the hands-on work at Exmouth, where I looked at it with more of a design view. We were looking at different areas on the estate where we could add plants and more green areas for the residents. I liked visualizing and seeing how it could take place and what could be changed. I liked that idea of transforming something for the better.”

Ben and Max also attended the Essex Net Zero Innovation Network Conference, although sadly the hot weather prevented them from attending the conference in person. However, the change of plan did not dampen Max’s spirits and enthusiasm for the work he was completing.

Ben equally enjoyed working alongside Max and told us how his passion for sustainability led him to complete high-level work throughout his placement.

He said: “I really have [enjoyed working with him]. Max has been genuinely helpful to me…and really took to it well’.

Speaking about some work they did together on checking energy performance certificates for Swan homes, Ben also added: “Max picked it up super quick and was spotting some quite technical stuff around insulation which really is excellent.”

Following his placement, Max was appreciative of the opportunity and is now more determined than ever to pursue a career in sustainability.

Good luck Max from everyone at Swan!