As another Earth Day has come and gone, the world is again reminded of the urgency of the climate crisis. It is one of the most pressing priorities of our lifetime, and this decade in particular will be critical for tackling the emergency. Energy plays an enormous role in contributing to climate change, as do urban areas, with over two-thirds of the world’s energy being consumed by cities. This not only means that change must start with our cities, but also that we need to be smarter and more efficient with energy use. In recognition of this, we are very pleased to welcome Sarah Butler to the team as our new Smart Energy Specialist. We’ll let Sarah take over from here to introduce herself and share what she hopes to achieve with DG Cities.

I’ve been working closely with the DG Cities team for years, and have known many of its members since the company’s inception. As my career has grown and developed, so too has DG Cities, and I’m thrilled to now join the team part-time as their Smart Energy Specialist.

After leaving university armed with a Master’s degree in Environmental Sustainability and Green Technology, I was fresh faced and ready to do something about climate change. I started my career working at the United Nations researching climate change mitigation. I gained invaluable insights and experiences during my time there, but I was also eager to do more on-the-ground work, so I made the decision to shift to local government. For the past several years I’ve been working for the Royal Borough of Greenwich council, running sustainability and energy projects.

The majority of my time has been spent delivering the EU funded Sharing Cities programme. This project has big goals and also real local results, introducing new technologies, digital and data approaches to improve services, lives, and reduce the environmental impact of housing, energy and transport systems in cities. Highlights from Sharing Cities have included: 

• Low carbon technologies to heat homes 

• Sensors and connected devices which can help remotely monitor energy assets and buildings

• Algorithms and cloud-hosted software solutions which help citizens and organisations control and optimise their use of energy

• Involving consumers in energy network flexibility and demand response

Through this work I have seen firsthand and with growing enthusiasm how new technologies and approaches can be applied with the aim of decarbonisation; and how to deliver on the vision of smart, sustainable, local energy systems needed to meet the challenges of today.

I’ve realised that delivering this vision, particularly in the energy sector, isn’t just a job for the traditional engineer. It requires a range of viewpoints and disciplines, and there is value in these differences. This is what is so exciting about DG Cities: an array of specialisms, and a shared ethos of technology working to meet the needs and challenges of the city and its citizens. As someone who is passionate about benefit for both the planet AND people, it’s a perfect fit!

Over the coming weeks and months at DG Cities I’ll be starting to look at harnessing the expertise of the team, and of course drawing from my own experience and specialisms to explore new opportunities in the world of smart energy. I hope to focus on helping organisations and cities capitalise on opportunities that new technology and approaches bring to the energy sector, and to decarbonising our cities. I’m eager to see what this next chapter brings for me and the team as we continue our work of creating greener and cleaner cities for all.