Becca Johansen
Biography
With a background in environmental science, Becca has been working in chemicals policy since 2015. Experienced in working with the European Commission, European Agencies and National Governments on all aspects of chemicals policy analysis including impact assessments, socio-economic analysis and feasibility studies. Becca’s experience with industry includes socio-economic analysis, impact assessments for consortia or trade associations, derogation justifications under the Biocidal Products Regulation, and Applications for Authorisation under REACH.
Story
What is your role at Ricardo?
I lead the Chemicals Policy team within the Environmental Policy team, responsible for all areas of business development, strategy and technical leadership.
What does your average day at Ricardo look like?
My day at Ricardo is relatively varied. I have a number of projects that I am working on at one time so may day will often include calls with team members and with clients, reviewing work that has been done by others in the team, evidence review or writing of deliverables. I also spend time writing proposals for new work or actively seeking areas of expansion.
What do you look forward to at work?
I look forward to learning new things. My team focuses on chemicals policy but as the legislative landscape is always changing, there is always something new to learn.
What do you find most rewarding at work? / Are you proud to work at Ricardo?
I am very proud of the quality and transparency of our work and our ability to maintain independence in our assessments. It is rewarding to see how we are helping our clients to reach their goals and make changes that will further the policy debate and in turn lead to increasing protection of human health and the environment.
What was your team’s latest achievement and how was it celebrated?
I can’t really answer this one. We have not really celebrated anything officially.
How have you developed your career at Ricardo?
I started my career at Ricardo as a senior consultant, brought in to start the chemicals policy team. I have since worked my way up to Associate Director. I have been given the freedom to develop the skillsets needed in my team and have been given support in my leadership through the LDL training scheme.
How do you support career development opportunities for your team?
My team is encouraged to consider the career path that they want and are supported in reaching their individual goals as no one is exactly the same. We work together to identify areas of growth and I encourage the use of mentors. We encourage participation in training sessions for professional development but also the participation in workshops, webinars etc that are on an topic that they are really interested in. We give time to team members who are seeking membership or chartership of organisations such as RSC.
What do you most enjoy about working with your team?
My team are all enthusiastic, knowledgeable people who have a real drive to ensure that we do the best work possible and make a positive impact on the world. They support and motivate each other and we all enjoy spending social time together when possible.
What opportunities do you have at Ricardo to share your knowledge or expertise?
I do a lot of cross-practice work, lending my skills and knowledge to other teams in their projects.
What advice would you give to anyone considering a career like yours?
Try to follow policy developments as closely as possible. It is not possible to know everything but it is useful to be up to date.