Member Story: Alex Hindson, Partner & Head of Sustainability, Crowe U.K. LLP

How did you get into CR&S, and why did you choose this profession?

My original profession was as a chartered chemical engineer and as such I studied environmental engineers modules at university. I started my career in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and was heavily involved in the early development of ‘green chemistry’, looking to design-in more sustainability production process at source. I went on to study an MSc. In Integrated Environmental Management by distance learning at the University of Bath before moving into risk management and what was at the time, Corporate Responsibility, in AstraZeneca plc’s head office.

What makes your sector unique from a CRS perspective?

I have spent the last 15 years working in the insurance sector either as Chief Risk & Sustainability Officer or a Consultant. The insurance sector has some unique regulatory challenges and the Prudential Regulatory Authority has been quite forward-thinking in pressing banks and insurance companies to integrated climate risk into their risk management frameworks. The danger is because the industry is used to quantifying risks to support a risk-based capital regulatory framework, they believe all sustainability risks can be quantified and by implication, if they cannot be quantified, they are less important. I have been helping organisations take a step back and think about what sustainability means for their strategies and their reputation and particularly how it fits with the purpose and values. This is very important in terms of their employee value propositions.

What do you need to do your job brilliantly?

To make a real difference you need sponsorship from the top of the organisation, and a fully engaged board of directors. The organisation needs to see sustainability as a strategic issues and understand how it is part of its future growth plans and not see it as a ‘reluctant purchase’ for regulatory reasons.

What are the most essential skills for working in CRS?

To be influential and successful in this sector I believe you need to have the following skills and attributes:

• Curious and engaged – you need to interested in the wider business context of whatever organisation you are working for or supporting. It is not enough to be excellent at sustainability, you need to translate this into the language of that organisation. Make the case in their language. That implies taking the time to listen and learn.

• Managing change – you need to be comfortable working through soft influence not hard authority, at the end of the day it is about selling a story about why sustainability is part of the future of the organisation. You have to take people on that journey.

• Think strategically and look to the long-term – you need to be patient but persistent. It will take time to drive change but you need to be confident in your purpose, whilst being prepared to adapt what needs doing to the context, culture and maturity of the organisation you are working with.