“Every single time I learned something new, I’d go into work thinking, ‘Okay, we can do this’.“
Rachel Raymond
Purchasing Assistant & Sustainability Coordinator, BPR Medical
Diploma in Business Sustainability Graduate
Why did you decide to take the Diploma course?
I work for BPR Medical, who manufacture gas control products primarily for the NHS. As part of the NHS’s net-zero drive, we have to meet certain sustainability criteria in order to continue supplying them.
Around two years ago, I took on the role of Sustainability Coordinator alongside my full-time role as a Purchasing Assistant. I had previously completed an environmental science degree, so sustainability was already something I knew a little bit about, but I needed more knowledge from the business side of things. I browsed other courses, but the Diploma in Business Sustainability stood out as being the most beneficial.
Why did you choose this course over others?
What really stood out to me was how in-depth the Diploma was. There are a lot of courses out there, but if you actually want to learn what you need to learn, then you need something that fully covers everything rather than just one small area.
I didn’t want to do one course that covered one topic and then another course that covered something else. Time and money aren’t infinite resources, so it made sense to choose a course that was comprehensive and practical.
How was your experience with the content and learning format?
I really liked the structure of the course and the interactive learning experience.
I like having something physical to read, but I also really liked all of the interactive elements throughout the course because they helped keep me engaged. The flexibility was also extremely important because I was balancing the Diploma alongside my full-time role and my sustainability responsibilities within the business.
Being able to learn at my own pace made a huge difference. I also found the glossary sections really helpful because sustainability can involve so many acronyms and technical terms. Overall, the course felt very accessible. It never felt like I’d been thrown in at the deep end or didn’t understand what was happening.
Did the course have an impact on your work?
Yes, definitely. One of the biggest things the Diploma helped me do was turn sustainability from something that felt overwhelming into something practical and actionable. Every single time I learned something new, I’d go into work thinking, ‘Okay, we can do this’.
One of the first major things we implemented was a sustainability plan. Before the course, we knew sustainability was something we needed to do, but we didn’t really know where to start.
Working through the sustainability planning modules helped immensely because I could bring that directly back into the business. That then progressed into additional initiatives, including a modern slavery plan and other compliance-related activities.
The tools and templates were also extremely helpful because they allowed me to improve and adapt processes and documents we already had internally. The Diploma also helped me engage more confidently with stakeholders across the organisation.
I delivered a large presentation internally and although I went into the meeting absolutely terrified, the feedback afterwards was incredibly positive. People told me, “You were great, you know what you’re talking about, we can learn from this and implement it.”
How has this impacted you as a professional?
The Diploma has definitely helped me become more confident professionally. Before the course, sustainability was something I cared about personally, but I didn’t always know how to communicate it within a business context.
Now, I understand much more clearly what businesses need to focus on and how sustainability connects to business targets and operational priorities. The course also helped me communicate sustainability more confidently across the business.
I know now how to talk to other people about sustainability rather than just talking to myself about it. I also feel much more competitive professionally now because it’s knowledge and experience that I can bring into any organisation in the future.
Would you recommend the course to others?
Yes, absolutely. The course was really well presented, practical, and easy to follow, even when covering more technical topics.
The flexibility made it manageable alongside work and other responsibilities, and the learning felt directly applicable to real business situations. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to build practical sustainability knowledge and confidently apply it within their organisation.
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Dedicated to harnessing the power of storytelling to raise awareness, demystify, and drive behavioural change, Bronagh works as the Communications & Content Manager at the Institute of Sustainability Studies. Alongside her work with ISS, Bronagh contributes articles to several news media publications on sustainability and mental health.
