Kirsten Leggatt

Kirsten is a Carbon & Sustainability Consultant for Sweco and a tutor on the online Carbon Management Masters at the University of Edinburgh. Her academic background has equipped her with a broad range of interdisciplinary knowledge on carbon management and sustainability, including technical, political, scientific, and business-related aspects of the field. She volunteers with the 2050 Climate Group and UK Youth Climate Coalition in her spare time and is heavily involved as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Ambassador in schools teaching students and young people about the causes and consequences of climate change. In January 2020, she presented evidence to the UK Climate Assembly on the solutions to reaching the UK Government's net-zero emissions target by 2050 and has since represented young people on the Stewarding Group for the Scottish Climate Assembly.
As a Carbon & Sustainability Consultant at Sweco, Kirsten specialises in carbon management and climate change resilience in the built environment. She is experienced in the application of carbon management tools and methodologies for the built environment and has helped achieve whole life carbon reduction on a variety of internationally significant infrastructure projects. Engaging directly with design teams to support the integration of opportunities for carbon reduction where possible, including optioneering, identification of appropriate carbon targets and supply chain engagement, she ensures that opportunities for carbon and cost reduction are understood and pursued wherever possible. Kirsten regularly contributes to Environmental Impact Assessments on matters of climate change mitigation and adaptation through her role as Climate Change Coordinator, which involves carbon quantification and the integration of climate change projections within the design process to ensure resilience.