NGHS Alumna, Rachel Wibberley (Class of 2017) came back to school to talk to our students about her role as Consultant in Deloitte’s Sustainability and Climate Strategy team as part of our Green Month in January 2024.

She shared with us her career journey, and that she’s always had a passion for working in sustainability, particularly since attending Sixth Form here at NGHS during which time her interest in green issues really took hold. Her presentation to a mixed year group was fascinating, engaging and thought-provoking as she went through the many devastating impacts of climate change and human behaviour on the environment around the world. 

She was also fascinated to hear what NGHS has been doing to become more sustainable and was particularly impressed with the recent food waste project undertaken at the Infant and Junior School. Food waste was measured over a three-day period and following the results, suggestions were made and acted upon as to how waste might be reduced.

 

 

The students and staff who attended Rachel’s talk were really interested in everything she had to say. The Year 6 girls were very mature and measured in their questions and responses, and the Sixth Form students especially had lots of questions about her career path, which subjects were important at school (her two former Geography teachers were delighted to hear that Geography was right up there) and what she went on to study when she left. Rachel stressed the importance of ‘green jobs’ for the future and how they will be vital if we are to save the planet. She used a quote which really resonated with everybody:

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
Robert Swan OBE

But she also stressed that making small changes was better than doing nothing at all. Eating less meat, flying less, switching off power and saving water are all things we can be doing to help.

We value bringing alumnae back to talk to our pupils and know this has a positive impact. We were delighted to hear that one of our Year 13 students used quotes and facts from Rachel’s talk as part of her German Speaking interview, talking about the German Electronic Car industry and sustainability. 

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Rachel is a Consultant in Deloitte’s Sustainability and Climate Strategy team with previous experience in public sector policy and strategic communications. She served as a Delegate to the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women and the UN Human Rights Council, where she prioritised the empowerment of women and girls in global environmental governance. 

Rachel earned her MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy at the University of Oxford while acting as an inaugural research fellow at the University of Oxford’s UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Impact Lab, working on global sustainability challenges. She also holds a first class degree from King’s College London after studying at Nottingham Girls’ High School from 2015 – 2017.

Rachel’s career highlights include leading the strategy of a cross government major programme to facilitate better climate policy making, partnering with NATO to deliver their Global Britain campaign, working with UN Women on Gender and Climate Change policy, and supporting an industry leading sustainability strategy for a major airline company.