Students from the University of Bath have teamed up with Dick Lovett to complete the “Practice Track” consultancy project. In this partnership, two teams of international students, currently completing their Masters in Sustainability & Management, presented research and modelling on the key subject of “Net-Zero” for consideration to the Sustainability team at Dick Lovett.
Companies often face pressures to become socially and environmentally sustainable, and sometimes need to redesign their business strategies to achieve this.
The University of Bath offer the partnership as a benefit to companies to help them define their priorities and set up sustainability goals. Dick Lovett sought to receive practical ideas that we could implement with our stakeholders and within the business, and the University of Bath were keen to work with us, as a prominent Automotive company in the South West.
This 8-week project, titled “How can an organisation turn the theory on “Net-Zero” into a business strategy and action plan?” included recommendations of what a “Net-Zero” strategy document should include, how a business should create, monitor, and manage emission targets, and how an organisation should market their CO2 journey achievements.
After completing thorough research, the project culminated in August with a presentation of recommendations from the students at our head office in Swindon, where the two teams put forward their suggestions to assist Dick Lovett with our Environment and Sustainability journey.
Both projects were insightful to the team as they brought a fresh perspective from the students’ research and latest academic theory, and as well as their global experiences of sustainability. Although receiving the same brief, both teams took different routes in their research, analysis, and final recommendations.
One team focused on energy efficiency technologies providing investment opportunities and benefits to be achieved. The presentation highlighted the most important topics we should focus on, as well as analysis of our current position and areas for improvement.
The second team focused on the engagement of key stakeholders (suppliers, customers & employees) and how Dick Lovett could engage them with our “Net-Zero” journey. Trends in the automotive sector were considered and the teams highlighted pathways for integrating and communicating sustainability both internally and externally.
Our Sustainability team and Heads of Business from Ferrari and Porsche were extremely impressed by the effort and extent of the research undertaken. The students visited the Ferrari and Porsche showrooms on the day, for a tour of our impressive facilities.
Richard Ward and Olivia Fearon from the Dick Lovett Sustainability team, who organised and supported the project throughout the 8 weeks are thrilled with how the students gave full commitment to the project and relished the “Dick Lovett” experience. Both agree that the student’s enthusiasm to immerse themselves in the subject matter and learn about Dick Lovett was very commendable, and the excitement when visiting our Ferrari and Porsche was a pleasure for our team to see.
Richard; “The Practice Track Consultancy Project has been very enjoyable and rewarding for everyone concerned. The format of the project allowed the University of Bath to support their students to achieve their academic goals and gave enough freedom to ensure Dick Lovett benefited from the students’ project work. Both teams gave fantastic presentations to conclude the project, providing some new and useful ideas to explore as we continue our environment and sustainability journey.
As one of the teams concluded in their presentation: “A company should not do “Environment and Sustainability” to meet regulatory requirements, it should be part of the company’s culture and desire to make a difference!”
Olivia; “This was a great learning experience not just for the students but for myself also. The opportunity to receive completely different perspectives on our sustainability journey and where we could go from here is immeasurably helpful. The opportunity to get to know the teams and learn their different passions and point of views was fantastic, they are a great group of people.
Having been a student myself not so long ago, I really appreciated the academic effort that went into the project as well as the student’s commitment to learning all they could about our company. This ultimately led to some really well-rounded analysis and realistic suggestions.
Going forward, the students research will be used to propel us even further forward towards our sustainability goals.”
Follow us on social media to stay up to date with our Sustainability journey or find out more on our website.
