People

Thirdwave has four Directors who offer a wealth of practical experience in the field of sustainable development and business. They have well-established combined professional backgrounds in project management, business development, company creation, research, education and consultancy.


Directors

Courtney Hyde Peyton, Managing Director

Qualifications

BA (Eng Lit w minor in Arch History), 1989
Dipl. Architectural Conservation, 1993
MSc Architectural Conservation and Sustainable Architecture, 1996

As a founding Director of Thirdwave, Courtney shaped much of the focus of the company's work around built environment issues and progressed that work into the financial services and tourism sectors.

Courtney has always promoted the business case for sustainability.

Through her academic research and MSc, Courtney examined the relationship between conservation and sustainability as approaches to the management of the built environment. ICOMOS supported her argument and encouraged the publication of her report that the conservation of existing buildings and the manner in which conservation as a discipline uses materials and evolves its methodologies are at the heart of the argument for sustainable development.

A former principal of the Edinburgh Sustainable Architecture Unit, University of Edinburgh, she also taught part-time on a series of sustainable planning and design courses over several years. Prior to co-founding Thirdwave, Courtney advised forward looking developers on delivering a balance between conservation and sustainability on large scale regeneration and tourism developments in Italy and the Czech Republic.

Courtney is a regular presenter to Euromoney Seminars, Common Purpose, Royal Town and Planning Institute, RICS, architectural conservation courses and organisations and local authority groups addressing the qualitative, commercial and financial opportunities which can realised by imbedding sustainability thinking into investment, planning, design and procurement strategies.


Memberships

Sustainability Advisor, Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, 1998 - ongoing
Convenor and Founding Member, Sustainable Development Working Group, Built Environment Forum Scotland, 2004 - ongoing
Fellow, Royal Geographical Society

 

 

Stuart Genet, Finance Director

Qualifications

B. Comm Accountancy & Marketing

 

New Zealand-born Stuart is an expert private company analyst, specialising in rapidly understanding the main drivers of any business. He has a particular skill in identifying the best business model for specific circumstances.

An experienced financial planner and organiser, he works with an entrepreneurial instinct and is excellent at motivating and supporting management and staff alike. He has extensive contacts in the legal and business angels markets.

After gaining a B. Comm in accountancy and marketing from Canterbury University, Stuart arrived in Britain in 1986 and spent 8 years in London as a finance director / controller for a variety of London advertising agencies. He moved to Scotland in 1993 and took a role as a Director at Scottish Business Insider until its sale to The Daily Record in 2001.

Since co-founding Company Creators in 2001 Stuart has led the successful creation and funding of 11 start-ups, the latest backed by private investors in a package of around £1m of debt and equity.

 

 

Malcolm McRobert, Director & Corporate Responsibility Specialist

Qualifications

BA (Communications) Psychology, Sociology 1984
CPC, 1998

 

Malcolm's role with Thirdwave is to both develop the company's range of services involved in the corporate responsibility (CR) arena and to support the delivery of Thirdwave's vision of being the agent for change in Scotland. Thirdwave's aim is to establish Scotland as a global leader in sustainable development and corporate responsibility.

Malcolm brings wide-ranging experience of corporate responsibility and expertise in business development gained over a 25-year career in sales & marketing within major commercial organisations. He helped a broad array of organisations address their approach towards CR through the development of CR strategy, communications, stakeholder engagement, programme design, measurement and reporting.

Malcolm recognised the importance of and identified the developing sophistication within the field of corporate responsibility whilst working with GE Capital. Seven years of business development with GE emphasised the importance of the consistency of organisational behaviour and activity.

Prior to joining Thirdwave, Malcolm spent four years with Scottish Business in the Community supporting organisational development of corporate responsibility.

Malcolm has been successful in helping organisations recognise the importance of empowering staff with the understanding of why CR is important and an appropriate area of activity for organisations interested in maximising productivity, competitiveness and profitability. He understands the importance of trust within the workforce, clients and other stakeholder groups and its role in commercial success. CR strategy is a key tool in achieving and retaining this trust.

Malcolm has worked with a wide range of organisations across Scotland helping to develop commercially robust CR strategies and behaviours that deliver consistent organisational advantage.

 

 

David Somervell, Chair & Energy Specialist

Qualifications

BA (Arch)

 

As a founding Director of Thirdwave, David has an active involvement in strategic direction with specific input on key projects addressing energy efficiency, climate change, sustainable construction and strategic change management in large organisations.

David trained as an architect and has gone on to specialise in energy and sustainable services provision. He was Technical Services Manager for Heatwise Glasgow 1984 - 89 during which time over 100,000 Glasgow tenants had energy conservation measures installed in a multi-funded, multi agency programme providing training and employment for long-term unemployed.

His role as a change agent as much as a technical solutions provider has evolved during the subsequent years with Edinburgh University which is now recognised as having a sector-leading role in implementing best practice in strategic energy and environmental management techniques.

As the University's Energy & Sustainability Manager, David has been central in developing the business case and funding package for three major combined heat and power projects and other energy efficiency projects at the University in which £12million has been invested over 2003-2005. These projects have contributed to a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the University.

He has set up an innovative partnership with Scottish Water to introduce water efficiency measures while modifying the campus infrastructure. He is also professional advisor to the University on environmental legislation compliance and its effective costs / benefits planning, including waste management, environmental management and travel planning.

He has served as a Director of Business and Environment Network (Scotland) and Edinburgh Environmental Partnership Grants Scheme Ltd and represents the University of Edinburgh on the Edinburgh Sustainable Development Partnership (ESDP).

David was instrumental in establishing the Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges - Scotland Branch and in attracting the Scottish Executive finding for the Campus Sustainability Programme (CaSPr) - organising the Launch Conference in November 2005.

He has advised a number of organisations on implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) along the lines of ISO14001 / the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the simpler system under Project Acorn now encoded under BS8555.

Awards

Green Energy Award for Best Environmental Project 2004 (3 cogeneration projects)
Commendation in Large Organisation Category of the Vision in Business and the Environment Scotland (VIBES) Awards 2004
Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme 2000 & 2003

Memberships

Associate Member of the Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA)
Member of Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA) and the Association for Environmentally Conscious Buildings (AECB)
Founding Member of Edinburgh Sustainable Development Partnership, and the ESDP Working Group on establishing Edinburgh Standards for Sustainable Buildings

David has served on several national committees including the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)'s Energy Management Value for Money Review in 2002 and the Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement (HEEPI) project's Energy Metering & Monitoring Group which reported in March 2005

Founder Member of the Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges (EAUC) and currently Convener of EAUC-Scotland Branch - responsible for overseeing the Campus Sustainability Programme to promote best practice among the 60 FHE institutions in Scotland. He also represents the EAUC on the Scottish Funding Council's Sustainable Estates Steering Group - established to provide advice on appropriate standards and guidance for the sector.



The Team

 

Colin Brown, Senior Consultant

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Arch

PgDip Eco.Des

 

Colin brings to Thirdwave his knowledge and experience of architecture and sustainability within the built environment. Current projects include work for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) as well as ongoing work with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

Since graduating Colin has gained relevant architectural, ecological and environmental experience in a number of fields. As an Assistant Architect he worked for several years on a variety of construction projects from design to final build. In his two years working for the Robert Gordon University Ecological Design Group, his primary area of research was in the area of the Built Environment and, in particular, ecologically/sustainable designed buildings and the establishment of a Green Buildings Casebook.

Colin started at Thirdwave as a Programme Officer with the Scottish Industrial Symbiosis Programme (SISP). He was actively involved in promoting, developing and implementing Industrial Symbiosis projects to the Scottish business community, allowing investigation of innovative solutions to resource problems and identifying credible financial savings.

Until joining Thirdwave he had been working for a not-for-profit environmental company developing a sustainable footprint for a recycled polystyrene research and development project, Building products for construction use from waste materials.

 

 

Kristy Swan, Sustainability Associate

Qualifications

Ba. Arch (Hons)

Ba. Soc Sci

Kristy is a proud Australian working as part of Thirdwave's team.

Kristy's major project was Transitional Housing for Refugees. She undertook an extensive social study into the housing conditions of refugees in specific circumstances and applied this knowledge to developing a possible solution entitled The Flexi-Home.

Internships which Kristy undertook during her studies involved working as a researcher for the Green Party NSW, land planning and policy researcher for the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) Australia and international programs researcher for the Credit Union Federation Australia (CUFA).

These experiences combined with her studies have equipped Kristy with a broad range of skills and interests related to the built environment, planning and sustainability.
Kristy represented Australia at the UNEP Asia-Pacific Youth Forum for Sustainability held in the Philippines in November 2005, where she presented ideas in regards to low cost housing.

 

 

Richard Atkins, Senior Associate

Qualifications

Dip Arch (S.Bank)
Dip Arch (Edin)
ARIAS
RIBA


Richard is a Chartered Architect with 20+ years experience within the construction industry.

For many years Richard has specialised in sustainability and conservation work and has been at the sharp end of setting new levels of best practice across a range of fields. Of particular note was Norton Park which is one of the best examples of sustainable re-use of an existing building in the UK (Norton Park 1996). The approach required particular sensitivity as it was a B Listed building which therefore had to balance sustainability issues, modern office needs and architectural conservation priorities.

Richard continues to lead his field through his work with Thirdwave, his representation on numerous committees and events, writing articles, presenting conference papers, and through on-going design with his own Architectural practice.

 

Awards


1986 Civic Trust (mention) and Oxford Preservation Trust Award (while working as Architectural Assistant for Dunthorne Parker) for the refurbishment of the Golden Cross, Oxford

1998 Innovation in Housing Award (while working for Burnett Pollock as Project Architect) for new housing at St Leonard's, Edinburgh

1999 Civic Trust (mention), Scottish Regeneration Award and the Sir Robert Grieve Award for Sustainability (while an Associate with Burnett Pollock) for the alteration and adaptation of Norton Park, Edinburgh


Memberships

Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Associate of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
Member of the RIAS National Council
Member of the RIAS Environment, Housing and Town Planning Committee
RIAS representative on the Built Environment Forum
Member of the Association of Environment Conscious Building
Vice Chair of the Scottish Ecological Design Association

Catriona Prebble, Project Manager

 

 

Sydny Brogan, Researcher

Sydny has worked in a wide range of sectors including voluntary community-based programmes, publicly run resources, charities and private businesses. Sydny was with Scottish Natural Heritage in a key research and organisational role for the maritime and freshwater teams where she learned much about promoting and preserving our natural heritage.


Her day to day work at Thirdwave varies greatly depending on the projects being undertaken by the company at any given time. She provides support to the rest of the team in terms of research, editing and administration. She is skilled and experienced in using appropriate as well as creative methodologies to plan, coordinate and manage projects, research and administrative processes.


Sydny recently researched and created an effective tool and protocol for Thirdwave for the measurement of organisational change and its effect on carbon dioxide emissions.

 

 

 

 

Courtney Hyde Peyton
Stuart Genet
Malcolm McRobert
David Somervell
Colin Brown
Kristy Swan
Richard Atkins
Catriona Prebble
Sydny Brogan
 
 
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