Making the transition: How Leandro decarbonised his career with the help of his leaders

Transitioning from oil and gas to low-emissions energy alternatives is not easy. But Leandro managed to make the transition himself, encouraged and supported by his leaders and colleagues.

“I’m proud now to tell my nephews what I do for work. I try to help the world. That’s pretty awesome.”

Leandro was born and raised in Portugal and today works for Ramboll Energy in Copenhagen on carbon capture and utilization and storage and hydrogen infrastructure projects. Leandro helps clients understand how they can reduce carbon in their value chains; but that has not always been his area of expertise. Leandro used to work in the oil and gas industry and at Ramboll has been able to align his personal values with his work by transitioning into working on decarbonisation projects.

“I was immediately attracted to Ramboll’s international nature and to its clear and ambitious stance on sustainability.”

Making the transition to sustainability

Before starting at Ramboll, Leandro had worked primarily on oil and gas projects and had been very focused on often narrow aspects of pipeline construction.

“My work changed completely when I joined Ramboll,” Leandro explains. “Right from the beginning, my manager took an interest in my ambitions. I shared that I wanted to contribute to the green energy transition and that I was interested in decarbonisation projects in particular. Decarbonisation was a growing discipline at Ramboll so I was given the opportunity to dive into the subject – I studied the topic (even wrote a research paper that got published) and created an internal network that helps us deliver industry-leading solutions to this day.”

Leandro shares that he feels lucky to work at a company where employees are encouraged to share what they are most interested in with their manager; and that there is a leadership culture that implores leaders to distribute work so that people focus on what they also find most engaging.

“Because I was given the chance to learn more about decarbonisation and because my new skills were applicable across so many projects, I got to start working on a lot of different projects and was able to work at a more strategic, commercial level. That helped me move my career in the direction I wanted. I feel grateful for how much my colleagues supported me to start working on projects that aligned better with my interests and values.”

“And when it comes to sustainability-related work,” Leandro continues, “Ramboll is working on a lot of exciting projects so there’s big demand for greater competence in anything relating to decarbonisation. In some cases, Ramboll hires to meet skills demands but in many cases our leaders prefer to upskill and help existing employees learn to work with new approaches.”

“As a Sustainability Manager in Ramboll Energy, I’m responsible for advocating for sustainability-focused approaches across all our projects.”

The impact you can have is astounding

“When you start seeing the numbers and realise how much impact your work has on CO2 emissions it’s inspiring,” describes Leandro. “We’ve worked on a carbon capture project for a cement factory in Sweden that will reduce Sweden’s emissions by 4%. I’m also working on a project right now where we’re helping define the offshore hydrogen pipeline network for the Netherlands.”

As Leandro has gained expertise in decarbonisation, he has quickly progressed from being someone who is mostly focused on learning to someone who plays an important role in the learning of others.

“I have managed to advance from being a junior consultant to a senior engineer in just a few years – and I have been encouraged to learn and given responsibility and support from day one.”

“I’m also now a Sustainability Manager for Ramboll Energy which means I’m responsible for advocating for sustainability-focused approaches across all our projects. Ultimately, we’re trying to help our clients understand the choices they can make to redefine the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their activities. So it’s important that we ask ourselves those key critical questions first.”

“When you’re surrounded by people who want you to learn and grow it creates this open culture where you feel safe asking questions and sharing ideas.”

Balance and flexibility are high priority

The culture of openness and support at Ramboll, according to Leandro, plays an important role in helping colleagues find balance in their project work. So while the clock is ticking to implement the right solutions to combat climate change, Leandro explains that the quickest way to the best solutions is through a sustainable work environment.

For Leandro, having flexibility in terms of when, where, and how he works is essential. And with a proactive approach to managing project work, he feels supported to create balance in his work life.

“I believe that the quality of the work you produce is directly related to how rested and happy you are in your work environment. A healthy workplace starts with allyship between you and your manager and your colleagues to make sure you take care of each other."

“It’s a shared understanding and approach that we have. I care about my colleagues' work-life balance and know that they won’t be happy on projects if they have too much to do. And I want them to be happy! We have a lot at stake in our projects and I have ambitious colleagues so it’s something we highly prioritise.”

“In my team, we use a tool that tracks our workload and at weekly meetings look at our workload and the flow of our projects to make sure everyone is managing well. In those meetings, our manager asks if anyone needs help, if anyone is doing too much of one task, that kind of thing. In my experience, there’s usually an opportunity to delegate or help each other. That’s not always the case in our industry.”

“I think there’s a shared understanding that no one does their best work when they’re working too much or working on things they don’t enjoy.”

A supportive and stimulating workplace

When asked to describe Ramboll in one word, the first one that jumps to mind for Leandro is ‘dynamic’. The next one is ‘open’. And the next is ‘friendly’.

“There’s always an exciting new project, something new to learn about, someone interesting to meet,” he explains. “And part of making our projects work is the culture of openness that makes it easy to reach out to a colleague and ask for help or ask them to share their expertise. Ramboll is filled with people who are motivated by their work. We spend half of our waking hours at work. It’s important that it’s a friendly and fulfilling place to be.”

And when it comes to finding purpose and fulfillment at work, Leandro has a pretty simple stance.

“Human societies need to decarbonise,” he says. “And I’m here at Ramboll helping us do that. That makes me feel proud.”