St Andrews alumni in green careers

Has COP26 inspired you to work in an environmental or sustainability related field after you graduate? Come along to our panel discussion and meet some St Andrews graduates who have done just that! Find out more about how they approached their careers and discover what it takes to work for a better future.

Keynote speaker and Moderator: Sofie Bøgger

Sofie is currently a second-year student at St. Andrews, pursuing a joint degree in International Relations & Sustainable Development. Alongside her studies Sofie manages her start-up ‘Concept Zero.’ Co-founded in 2018, the Scandinavian retail brand is dedicated to providing zero waste alternatives to single use products. Sofie is also working remotely as a part-time Sustainability Associate with OnePointFive; a new-age sustainability consultancy with a mission to limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C. Locally in St. Andrews, she is a part of the Environment Subcommittee and is an Advisor to the Environmental Sustainability Board. She has also recently joined a team of undergraduate research assistants to explore and support ESG implementation. In her gap years before joining the University, Sofie has been involved with various environmental and social-impact projects centred around regenerative design, food systems, green architecture and sustainability education.

Our furthers speakers are:

Hanna Plant

Hanna is from Edinburgh and plays an active role in driving the circular economy in Scotland as a Senior Consultant for waste and resources consultancy Resource Futures. She graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA Honours in Sustainable Development and has over 10 years’ experience in behaviour change and sustainability projects. Hanna was previously Waste Team Manager at Scotland’s largest environmental charity, Changeworks. She has also trained and supported hundreds of sustainability graduates to develop ‘the skills of a change agent’ during her time as Education Projects Manager with Change Agents UK. She was recognised in the late Sustainable Development Commission’s Young Scottish Greens list for her community mobilisation for social justice and sustainability campaigns during her time at St Andrews, and was a founding member of Scotland’s 2050 Climate Group.

Sam Bruce

Sam Bruce is the co-founder of Much Better Adventures, a multi-award winning travel company focused on benefiting local communities, reducing carbon emissions and backing important conservation work. He also co-produced ‘Adventures Not Dams’, a documentary film and campaign to save the last wild river in Europe. Sam graduated from the University of St Andrews with a Bachelors in Sustainable Development and Management in 2010 and was recognised as the ‘Young Travel Entrepreneur of the Year’ by the Travel and Hospitality Hall of Fame in 2017.

Much Better Adventures also spearheaded the ‘Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency’ movement to accelerate climate action across the entire tourism industry. In collaboration with the UNEP, UNWTO, The Travel Foundation and Visit Scotland, Tourism Declares’ original climate emergency declaration has now been adopted as the central tourism industry framework for climate action, and will be launched at COP26 in November as the ‘Glasgow Declaration’ – a much needed co-ordinated plan for practical climate action in the tourism industry.

Léa Weimann

Léa Weimann is a passionate eco-activist who has organised environmental campaigns in South Africa, Germany, and the UK. She runs her own blog and podcast “Eco-Activist Journeys”. Léa co-organised and led four global climate marches in St Andrews, including the Line in the Sand event, and was the Students’ Association Environment Officer 2020-21. Furthermore, Léa was Advisor to the Environmental Sustainability Board that set up the new Environmental Sustainability Strategy for the University. Léa graduated from the University of St Andrews with a first class degree in International Relations and Sustainable Development in June 2021 and received the Principal’s Medal for her community service, climate activism, and academic achievements. She has published a non-for-profit poetry book called DEAR EARTH which was launched in St Andrews in March 2020. Currently she is studying for an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law at the University of Edinburgh.