Having been appalled by the levels of poverty and environmental destruction in the communities she visited, she felt the calling to change the way humans interact with the planet.
Julie subsequently secured a place on an MSc course at Edinburgh University, studying Environmental Protection and Management, and then swiftly enrolled on a further work placement based Masters at Middlesex University in Leadership for Sustainable Development.
With these two postgrads under her belt, she co-founded a small consultancy – Environmental Governance – with two other environmental enthusiasts. This small sustainability consultancy was dedicated to working with property businesses on their environmental and sustainability policies. Slightly ahead of its time, the consultancy evolved quickly and soon rebranded to Upstream experiencing rapid growth in the late 2000s until it was sold to JLL in 2007.
Julie worked at JLL for seven years, culminating in a role as UK Head of Sustainability and on the Executive Board. In 2015, she moved to her current position of CEO of the UK Green Building Council, where she is today.
UKGBC is uniting the UK building industry using sustainability as a catalyst to positively transform the places people use every day. A charity with over 600 member organisations spanning the entire sector, they represent the voice of the industry’s current and future leaders who are striving for transformational change.
Julie holds fond memories of her time at More House, having made some of her best friends there.
At More House, we were encouraged to follow our passion. If you do that then your work aligns with your personal purpose and you feel fulfilled by what you do. It will never be “just a job.”