Alejandro Mar Morales is a Whole Life Carbon and Sustainability Consultant at Cundall, a global design and engineering consultancy. Originally from a geoscience background, he now focuses on providing carbon accounting*, working with private companies in construction developments located around the UK to reduce their carbon footprint. You can get in touch with Alejandro on Twitter.
Ever since I was a child, I have always been passionate about science. I enjoyed all science topics at school and decided to study petroleum engineering and geoscience at university. I remember finding the whole sector fascinating. Throughout my 5 years as an undergraduate, I learned a lot about engineering, chemical processes and the science of energy resources. But there was always a lingering feeling that I didn’t know what I wanted to focus on in my professional life – the sector is vast, with many options to go for. I struggled to find my true calling.
I decided to do a Master’s degree in Reservoir Evaluation and Management at Heriot Watt University in the UK, where I could enjoy an entire course in a specific area of petroleum geoscience. It was my first time studying outside of my home country of Mexico. Studying in Scotland opened so many doors to me, and the way of studying was different. The course provided me with opportunities for field trips, lab experiments and research which ultimately sparked an interest to continue studying and explore what innovative contributions I could make to the field.
The topic I enjoyed most at this time was Carbon Capture and Storage. It is such a new field and there is so much to learn. It is a section of research that will contribute to countries achieving Net Zero carbon.
After my first Master’s, and a break at home in Mexico, I decided to transition from petroleum geoscience to the environmental and sustainability sector. I wanted to use my experience to support the transitioning of the energy industry to carbon-friendly options. To help me work out what to do next, while living in Mexico I enrolled in all the online courses I could on that topic, studying carbon capture and storage, renewable energy and introduction to sustainability. I found I was particularly motivated by sustainability challenges. For this reason, I chose to apply for a second Master’s degree studying Sustainability and Environmental Studies at the University of Strathclyde.
The course highlighted the importance of tackling climate change, and of achieving carbon neutrality through new energy technologies. Most importantly, it gave me new skills and showed me how I could use my valuable geoscience experience in the sustainability sector.
During my studies, I had the opportunity to work in research at an innovative agricultural company, Seawater Solutions. The experience taught me the many ways to achieve carbon reduction, via natural systems through the use of carbon credits or by creating artificial systems within natural ecosystems (in other words, farming in places that you wouldn’t normally expect a farm, like in a salt marsh ecosystem).
For my dissertation research project I worked with the University Energy Centre and sustainability team to tackle another aspect of carbon reduction- carbon accounting and low carbon heating. This is a relatively new framework to understand how much greenhouse gas an organisation, project or action emits. I conducted a Carbon Life Cycle Assessment to determine the carbon intensity of the Combined Heat and Power District Heating Network (a source of energy capable of producing electricity and heating to a development) installed at Strathclyde. My research shone a light on methods that can be applied to improve the environmental efficiency of heating infrastructure and other types of heating and energy developments.
After completing my studies I worked on university research projects that involved carbon capture, carbon credits (earnt by organisations through lowering their carbon emissions), and carbon accounting. I was estimating the emissions generated from clothes, cafeteria utensils, office supplies, and construction sites. This research was far from what I originally studied, but made me understand that I wanted to continue to work in carbon accounting- because if you can use these studies for something as simple as clothing, you can use them to understand the carbon emissions of heating districts powered by geothermal sites and reduce carbon emissions.
I now work in sustainability consultancy at Cundall, a construction and engineering company. I work directly on whole-life carbon and life cycle assessments on construction developments, calculating estimated carbon emissions of projects and providing carbon reduction recommendations in order for the project to achieve current and future Net Zero targets.
Studying geoscience provided me with the tools to easily transition into the sustainability sector. Skills such as systemic thinking and understanding supply chains are ones I continue to use in my job when assessing the carbon life cycle of a project. Studying geoscience sparked my respect for the planet, and made me want to find ways to support its preservation.
In the future, I may return to academia to pursue a PhD, where I could develop carbon accounting studies within the geothermal and heating sector. It has been a long journey for me to arrive at where I am, but I now know I’m on the right path to achieve my goals.
*Carbon Accounting is a framework of methods to measure and track how much greenhouse gas an organization emits.
Please note: This piece represents the personal views of the author and not of their organisation