A Nottinghamshire firm that helps clients decarbonise their buildings and operations is laying claim to being the most diverse employer in the Midlands.
Viridis Building Services Limited, based in Collingham, near Newark, is not only bucking, but smashing the trend of traditionally male-dominated companies operating in the construction sector.
With its small team of highly qualified scientists, engineers, architectural and environmental designers, Viridis was one of the UK’s first net zero firms to exist when it launched back in 2011.
But it particularly stands out compared with the rest of the construction industry because 75 per cent of its employees are women.
Additionally impressive is the fact that half of its staff were born overseas, representing four continents across the globe. And despite their outstanding haul of degrees and Masters qualifications, four employees are still in their twenties.
Founder and managing director Lee Marshall, who hails from Northern Ireland, said: “We are extremely proud of our truly diverse workforce.
“While it wasn’t necessarily arrived at by design, we have always sought the very best candidates at Viridis – and if that means scouring all corners of the globe, so be it.
“We have always been totally blind to gender, race or nationality – as every employer should be. Yet many organisations have been slow to embrace 21st Century ideals.
“It’s actually a huge benefit for our business because we have learned a great deal from the progress and learning in other nations and cultures, in fields such as architectural sustainability and environmental design and engineering.”
Mexican environmental design engineer Yessenia Loya-Martinez is one example of the wide cultural net cast by Viridis. Although achieving a distinction in her Masters degree in Renewable Energy & Architecture at the University of Nottingham, she originally graduated with a degree in Architecture from the Chihuahua Institute of Technology in Mexico.
Fellow environmental design engineer Aneeta Ann Varghese gained a Masters degree in Renewable Energy Engineering at Coventry University. But, prior to that, she gained top honours with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics followed by a Masters degree in Physics – both in her home country of India.
Their colleague, Nasia Apostolopoulou, currently employed as a design engineer intern, studied her BSc and Masters in Civil Engineering at the University of Patras, near to her home in Greece. She has since earned an incredible list of additional qualifications from the University of Nottingham – including a Masters in Renewable Energy & Architecture, a Master of Research in Geospatial Data Science and she has just completed her doctorate with a PhD in Geospatial Systems.
One of the few former Viridis employees also hailed from Mexico, while Georgette Sebastiao, who has a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering and is currently on maternity leave, comes from the African nation of Angola.
Architecture and design specialist Sophie Sleight, assistant bid manager for Viridis, is in the minority, having originally attended secondary school just 16 miles from the Viridis offices in Collingham.
Sophie said: “The obvious diversity at Viridis is not something that we all tend to notice on a day-to-day basis. All organisations should operate a similar policy of employing people on their merit rather than anything else.
“But it is amazing to think we represent such a broad range of nations – and the fact that six of our eight staff are women is something you just never see in the construction industry.”