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Discover Filipe's journey through the business and humanitarian sectors, the Environment and Sustainable Development MSc, and to a career advancing environmental sustainability.
About Filipe
With nearly 10 years' work experience across four continents in the business and humanitarian sectors, Filipe came to study as a Portuguese student on the Environment and Sustainable Development MSc at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit. Filipe is now leading a multi-stakeholder project with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to lead a multi-stakeholder project aimed at creating the go-to framework for companies to assess, measure, and set science-based targets that advance environmental sustainability in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme.
Q&A with Filipe
What were your academic and professional interests and experiences before coming to the course?
Before joining the Environment and Sustainable Development MSc, I worked for nearly 10 years across four continents in the business and humanitarian sectors. My career began at an international trading company in the Food and FMCG industry, where I was quickly exposed to the complexities of global and interconnected supply chains and regularly experienced the direct impacts that our business decisions in one part of the world had on local markets elsewhere in the world. One of the most rewarding aspects of that job was the opportunity to interact with small business owners and traders during my travels, often in the vibrant markets of West and East Africa.
In 2015, I decided to change career and joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), where I was privileged to live and work in missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Myanmar, India, Nigeria, and Venezuela. During those five years, where I managed supply chain and procurement activities, I developed a keen interest in the direct and indirect impacts of current unsustainable ("linear") economic models on the environment and public health, particularly for vulnerable populations.
One context that I found particularly captivating is the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan, historically a powerhouse of the Silk Road and once the fourth-largest lake in the world. During a visit to one of MSF's Tuberculosis treatment clinics near the Aral Sea, I learned and witnessed the Aral Sea nearly dried up, a result of decades of human engineering and agriculture projects, namely the diverting of rivers feeding the lake to irrigate monocultures of cotton fields to supply the fashion industry. With a drying sea, sandstorms spread dust, fine sands and toxic heavy metals to nearby villages and local populations, causing respiratory and infectious diseases. This has resulted in this being one of the world's most prevalent areas for Tuberculosis. No wonder this is often considered one of the world's worst environmental disasters, yet a very well-kept secret.
Why did you join the Environment and Sustainable Development MSc?
I was motivated by a desire to understand the underlying causes of environmental degradation and the critical importance of sustainable development towards reaching an equilibrium between humans and the environment and thus staying within planetary boundaries. I was also particularly interested in learning more about the political, technological, behavioural, and economic drivers behind the triple planetary crisis (pollution, climate crisis, biodiversity loss) as the complexity and opportunity to change the current linear and extractivist system (take, make, waste) offer.
What aspects of your studies did you enjoy the most, and why?
I particularly enjoyed its multidisciplinary nature and the fact that we had a high level of flexibility to deep-dive into topics of preference, whether through optional modules, the dissertation, or workshops, thus allowing students to set their own trajectory and topic specialisation. Despite its extensive theoretical component, I also highly appreciated the diversity and how practical the assignments were. That ranged from drafting a policy brief for a Mayor on a particular environmental problem or a city development strategy to a collaborative study with global and local stakeholders in West Africa to develop pathways towards environmental justice and sustainable development, which included studying how the restoration and rehabilitation of mangroves as critical ecosystems have higher chances of success when communities are involved in all parts of the process.
My studies on the Environment and Sustainable Development MSc provided me with a wide range of frameworks and tools to guide a (urban) sustainable development practitioner, some of which I still consult today. Yet, the most essential instrument it equipped me with was the unique ability to dissect complex and interconnected global environmental and sustainable development challenges through many perspectives and lenses while acknowledging that my own perspective is naturally influenced by my experiences and privilege. Over time homo sapiens have ruled over other species, not because they are spiritually higher animals than others, but because they are the only animals that can cooperate both flexibly and in large numbers – bees cannot reinvent a social system overnight. On the other hand, the instinct to simplify our understanding of nature's complexity may well be the very source of the current system's entropy.
Finally, the fact that the staff are regularly engaged in projects as practitioners and provide critical contributions to global reports and institutions, such as the annual IPCC report, UNEP's Global Environmental Outlook, UN-Habitat, World Bank and other development bank, and so many others, made the studies and the content generated particularly fit for today's world.
How did you experience life as a student in London whilst studying on the course?
I loved every second of my time in London. The best decision I made was to bring my racing bike (yes, one of those hipster bikes). I found myself more often than not racing from Hackney to UCL's gorgeous campus and library, rolling through London canals and dodging London buses during rush hour. I still regularly meet with peers in London to whom I am grateful for sharing their experiences and knowledge through lengthy discussions in the beautiful parks and canals that this majestic city has to offer.
How soon after completing the course did you progress in your career?
Soon after completing my master's degree, I started a job in Germany (based in beautiful Hamburg) where I led a newly founded development consulting firm. There we implemented development projects, mostly funded by development banks or government agencies (eg USAID, GIZ, Global Center on Adaptation, KfW). In one of our most impactful projects, I assisted the Angola Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment in reducing the environmental and social risks of medical waste. That involved, among other things: i) reviewing national environmental legislation, national climate adaptation plans, reviewing of health facilities and contractors waste management practices; ii) key stakeholders' mapping and consultations; iii) training of senior health government officials; iv) the development of circular economy and reverse logistics SOPs; v) development of a costing implementation plan for improved circular economy practices in the health sector
Right after my studies, I stood for election and was elected by the association of Médecins Sans Frontières to become one of its youngest standing board members. I served the board and the the council of the MSF operational centre of Amsterdam, responsible for over 10,000 employees and a yearly operational budget of over 300 million Euros, for over one year and during one of its most profound organisational crises. Certainly one of the steepest career learning experiences.
Tell us about your current role:
Realising that you need Businesses, particularly CEOs and other board-level decision makers, if we are really to have a systemic transformation, I joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to lead a multi-stakeholder project aimed at creating the Global Circularity Protocol for Business (GCP), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme based in Geneva, Switzerland. Similar to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the GCP will be the go-to framework for companies to assess, measure, set science-based targets, report, and disclose progress on resource efficiency and circularity information consistently and enabling comparison. The GCP will also support policymakers and regulators by providing a comprehensive policy framework for circularity to create a level playing field for the business community.
This year, I participated in my very first United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA), where I had the daunting task of presenting the project to the International Resource Panel, a panel of world-class scientists, many of whom I had heard of from their best-selling books, tv or articles which I had read in the masters. After that highly intellectual exchange, I felt nearly ready for a PhD.! Aside from that, an important lesson learned from the UNEA process is that we need more effective solution-finding and multilateral governance mechanisms between the public sector and private sector to tackle shared challenges in a pluralist sustainable development spirit
What advice would you give to a student considering the course or looking to get into a career in your sector?
I would particularly encourage those with work experience and interest in a global career to consider studying on the Environment and Sustainable Development MSc. Your experience will help you relate to and dissect some of the more complex topics and may also inspire other students. And finally, be sure to connect with alumni across The Bartlett Development Planning Unit's fantastic network!
Discover more about Filipe and what he's currently working on via LinkedIn.
Are you interested in studying the Environment and Sustainable Development MSc at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit?
Discover more about the course and the career opportunities it could unlock by visiting the UCL Graduate prospectus.
