Sustainability should work for the business, not against it.

I believe the best sustainability work is built into the business, not bolted onto it. Working in close collaboration with leadership and sustainability teams, I draw on years of first hand experience to deliver outcomes that are good for sustainability and good for business.

Services

  • I help leadership and sustainability teams work out what matters most, set the right priorities and build a practical plan to deliver them - grounded in commercial reality, and built to last. Outcomes include:

    • Sustainability strategy development and execution plan

    • Climate transition strategy

    • Review of existing commitments or roadmaps to diagnose what’s not working

  • I help organisations embed sustainability into their operating model, governance, decisions and ways of working - so it becomes part of how things get done, not a separate workstream sitting alongside. Outcomes include:

    • Sustainability operating model designed to fit the business

    • Clear governance and accountability structure

    • Stronger sustainability capability across the business: training, upskilling, and filling gaps within the sustainability team and across leadership and broader functions

    • Maturity baseline and capability plan across markets or business units

    • Practical plan for embedding sustainability into core business processes

  • I work as a senior, independent sounding board for leaders building or reshaping their sustainability function. Pragmatic support on function design, hiring, board prep, and prioritisation. Outcomes include:

    • A trusted, independent thinking partner for challenging situations

    • Periodic stress-testing of strategy and priorities from a knowledgeable, neutral third party

    • Function design, hiring and team decisions that fit where the business is going

    • Sharper board and ExCo papers, narratives and conversations

    • A sustainability function set up to deliver, without growing for its own sake

  • I help businesses navigate a fast-changing disclosure landscape - writing and reviewing climate disclosures, transition plans and sustainability reports to meet the necessary standards without just being a compliance exercise.

    Outcomes include:

    • Sustainability and climate-related financial disclosures aligned to TCFD, IFRS S2, UK SRS or CSRD

    • Climate transition plans (TPT-aligned)

    • Investor and regulator communications that respond credibly to scrutiny

    • Strategic review and overhaul of existing reporting to enhance impact and efficiency

Sophie Overington, independent sustainability advisor, portrait

Project-based

A defined piece of work with clear outputs and a timeline. Strategy diagnostics, disclosure writing or reviews, audits and gap analyses. Best for: a specific deliverable or a known scope, where the value is in the output itself.

Work with me

Embedded

Working alongside your team for a sustained period. For work that requires deep understanding of the business. Best for: periods of intensity or transition where you need senior strategic capacity in the business, not just advice from outside it.

Advisory retainer

Ongoing access for a fixed monthly or quarterly fee. Quarterly reviews, ad hoc calls, board and ExCo prep, sounding board for the things that come up between. Best for: CSOs and leaders who want a senior resource on call, without a permanent project running.