From Systems Thinking to Strategy: My Journey into Sustainability Consulting by Portia Davies
Our Senior Sustainability Consultant, Portia Davies, explores her journey into sustainability and delves into some of her specialist topics and areas of interest
When I tell people I’m a Sustainability Consultant, I get all sorts of reactions - ‘Climate change is a hoax’, ‘You must really like trees’, or ‘I’m enjoying my globally warmed summers’. But the most common response is: 'What is that?'
It’s a fair question. Sustainability is a broad and often misunderstood field. For me, it’s not just about carbon footprints or recycling bins, it’s about systems thinking. It’s about understanding how environmental and social dynamics interact and how we can design solutions that work for both people and planet.
From Theory to Practice
My academic background is a BSc and MSc in Sustainability, Environmental Management Systems, and Development. The foundations of this learning taught me that sustainability is inherently interdisciplinary and holistic. It’s not one thing. It’s a way of thinking that connects environmental and social systems, recognising their impacts and dependencies, and viewing them as part of a larger whole.
I’ve carried this principle throughout my career, applying it to real-world challenges and helping clients navigate the complexities of sustainability in practice.
Fieldwork in Tanzania: Linking Climate and Gender
While working with an NGO in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, I supported research into how climate change was affecting gender dynamics - specifically women’s agency, income, and employment. For example, prolonged droughts often led men to seek work in urban areas as tuk tuk drivers, leaving women at home. While some found this isolating, others saw it as an opportunity to explore income-generating activities, such as becoming tailors or farmers, to gain greater control over household finances such as investing in their children’s wellbeing.
I collaborated with stakeholders to design targeted initiatives that fostered gender equality, aligned CSR strategies with company values, and supported regional development goals. We also facilitated weekly women’s groups, empowering participants to voice challenges and advocate for change. This work underscored how deeply intertwined environmental and social systems are, and how understanding these links is essential for long-term, viable solutions.
Corporate Sustainability Assurance: From Reports to Strategy
As a sustainability assurer, I reviewed up to 20 corporate sustainability reports across various industries and geographies. These included frameworks like CSRD, CDP, GRI, and Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon assessments. I saw firsthand how companies approached emissions calculations, tackled data challenges and identified reduction opportunities.
One key insight: organisations that embedded sustainability into their core business strategy, and embraced whole-systems thinking, were able to develop tailored solutions that improved reporting accuracy and strengthened overall performance.
In contrast, companies that treated sustainability as a bolt-on were often the ones that struggled. Silos between procurement, climate risk, nature and social teams led to fragmented reporting and missed opportunities to reduce costs, improve efficiency and unlock commercial value.
Sustainability isn’t simply a checkbox or carbon counting, it’s a mindset. And when organisations embrace it holistically, they don’t just meet compliance expectations - they unlock innovation, resilience and growth.
My Approach
Whether I’m working with NGOs, corporates, or SMEs, my approach is grounded in:
Systems thinking: Connecting environmental and social dimensions
Stakeholder engagement: Designing inclusive, context-sensitive solutions
Strategic alignment: Embedding sustainability into core business functions
Data-driven insight: Enhancing reporting and performance through evidence
Sustainability isn’t simply a checkbox or carbon counting, it’s a mindset. And when organisations embrace it holistically, they don’t just meet compliance expectations - they unlock innovation, resilience and growth.
Now working as a Senior Sustainability and Decarbonisation Consultant at Accelar, I’m focused on driving the Sustainability Business Tracker – a holistic framework designed to embed sustainability into core of business strategy and operations. This is a tool that I really believe in and connects with my ethos on whole systems thinking.
It incorporates the principles of sustainability standards and reporting requirements (energy, transport and travel, scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon footprint values and ISO 14001) with nature- based metrics (water, materials and waste) – and organisational dimensions, such as leadership, training and sustainability related R&D expenditure.
It provides businesses with a standardised framework to assess current sustainability issues with visible proof points - such as electricity use per £100k turnover – to allow whole-system thinking, supporting business to move from compliance to competitive advantage and unlock new commercial opportunities.