Opergy Group was delighted to welcome UTCN sixth form student, Teo Cojoc, on a six-week internship, during which he undertook a carbon baseline assessment for the company, which is now set to be showcased by the SME Climate Hub.
Teo sat down with Cory Varney to reflect on the experience, the work carried out and what the future holds.
“The Ogden Trust was offering internships in the offshore energy sector and Opergy Group was one of those on the website,” Teo begins, when asked how the link-up came about. “I read many different project plans from lots of different companies, but Opergy had this real project with some real purpose.”
Teo was tasked with carrying out a carbon baseline assessment of the group offices, meaning that he had to uncover all the scope one, two and three emissions out of Opergy, and then work out what can be done to reduce them.
“From the start of the internship, I was told it’s going to be a very useful piece of work which is going to go towards lots of real-life projects and tender applications and things like that. The thing that was made evident was that I would struggle with time.”
With very little data to begin with, save for a few bills from electricity companies, Teo was faced with having to do lots of hunting around, surfing through different modes of transport, hotel stays and more. “There’s lots of travelling around, especially on the management side of things, so that was really the heavy hitter.”
Armed with this data, Teo then had to tie it in with government figures to actually work out the specifics, doing a raft of calculations, overcoming a buggy emissions calculator, before winding up with all the figures and values needed for an accurate assessment. “And now they’ve actually been put to use, so that’s always good to see – knowing your time has gone on something useful,” Teo says.
The experience working at Opergy Group itself was also a positive one. “It was absolutely brilliant,” says Teo. “Everyone is lovely. Everyone was very welcoming and kind and easy to get along with, especially after the first day.”
The internship has also proven instrumental in helping Teo decide on the next steps for his future. “It was a very helpful experience,” he explains. “I’ve chosen to go to university, which I wasn’t sure of before I started the internship, but most of the people working at Opergy had been to university and the specialists working there day-to-day were able to give lots of advice and useful help.”
Teo’s plan is now to go and study aerospace engineering, noting how it ties in “very well” with the offshore sector and should prove a very useful subject to learn and study.
Reflecting more on the internship, Teo says, “I’d just like to stress how useful this experience was, you know? It is really good to be in a working office and have a semi vital role in working towards a project. It was extremely useful in helping me work out what I wanted to do after education and settle into the big journey I have ahead of me.”
Opergy Net Zero Managing Director, Andy Holyland, added: “It was an absolute pleasure to have Teo work with the Opergy Net Zero team over the summer. Following a recent office move and sizeable growth across the Opergy Group, it was essential for us to re-run our carbon emissions profile.
“Having supported the Ogden Trust in the past, we saw this as the perfect opportunity to host an intern and support delivery of a real time project. Hopefully by doing so, raising awareness and developing a story advocate of the Carbon Foot Printing process and associated benefits, which we undoubtedly achieved.
“Teo did an incredible job, a steep learning curve that he was dedicated to with enthusiasm, professionalism and humour.”
