Jenny Russon

MCS Charitable Foundation

Give us a brief description of your background

I studied French for my undergraduate degree at the University of Leeds, as I had always been interested in learning about people, language, and cultures. I focused my degree on the study of French decolonisation and the French second wave feminism, with a dissertation looking into the participation of French women from France’s colonies in WWII; a group that had received little to no recognition, due to being discriminated both on gender and race. I would consider myself fairly politically engaged and have always enjoyed tailoring my work around the things I am passionate about. Whilst I absolutely loved my undergraduate degree, I realised that the thing I wanted to focus my life around was fighting to create a sustainable society. I also missed the more scientific subjects, having studied both maths and biology at A-level. After extensively travelling and working abroad, I decided to study an MSc at UEA in Environmental Sciences.

I had a unique opportunity of combining these disciplines when carrying out a qualitative study for my MSc dissertation. In this, I compared heat pump diffusion in France and the UK since 2008 and interviewed both French and English stakeholders. The study aimed to identify lessons that could be learnt from France’s heat pump success, as the UK strives to reach its ambitious target of 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028. This experience, learning the complexities and challenges of home efficiency and decarbonisation, sparked a deeper interest in this subject area and so decided to apply for an internship at MCS Charitable Foundation to try and bring about positive change in this ever-important sector.

Who/what inspires you?

I am constantly inspired by people who are trying to make a difference or who just passionate about what they do, however niche it may be, or however boring it may seem to others. I am always interested to know more about things and find that I learn best from talking to others. I am also inspired by people to are resilient and who do not fear failure, as this is something that I want to improve about myself. I am continually inspired by the many incredible women in the sector that I work in and tend to look up to them as role models. I am inspired by the people in history who have stood up for what they believe in, despite how isolating it may have been or the scrutiny they received.

What does the word leadership make you think of?

When I think about a world leader, no matter who it is, they always need to inspire people, but they cannot achieve this without alienating others. For this, you have to brave and not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. A world leader cannot be great without the support of a wide range of people. For this, I believe you must be exceptionally good at spotting talent and empowering others to be their best selves. You must be engaging and be able to communicate with wide range of people.

How do you feel about taking part in the Future Leaders programme?

I’m really excited and grateful to be given this opportunity early on in my career to think about the skills I need to be a leader, as well as my strengths and weaknesses. I have the tendency to have a lot of self-doubt and for me I hope to gain the confidence and assurance that I am capable of being a leader. I’m looking forward to carrying out the project and working with a group of talented and like-minded people and learn about the different ways people approach tasks.

What do you think are the keys to a sustainable future?

Achieving a sustainable future is such a complex task that I would suggest it requires a complete rethinking of how we approach things. Of course, this is in regard to the technologies we use, but also a change in our behaviour as a society. We need to move away from being a consumerist society and throwaway society, towards a more circular society that values the planet we exist on. We need to change the way we eat, travel, generate electricity, farm, and build homes. Essentially, it requires systematic change and strong government intervention to ensure that the transition is at the pace and scale needed for a sustainable future.