Donya Yavari

Current Employer/Organisation Name

Nature Positive/RSK Group

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

I initially was in the Financial sector working at a Fintech. I realised I love the technical aspect of accounting, and analysing numbers, however my passion wasn’t within something as intangible as the payments sector.

I’ve always had a passion for the environment, and realised that I can use my quantitative skills in carbon accounting. My degree was extremely useful for this, as I use all the same skills and techniques you’d use for financial accounting, but in carbon instead. (Decarbonisation modelling, carbon accounting, reconciliation etc, and some other fun bits!)

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

I chose this career as it combines what I’m good at with what I’m passionate about.

I enjoy all the numbers and Excel spreadsheets, and how my decisions can make such a positive impact (sustainability is a relatively new industry, my team is especially new in RSK Group, so a lot of what we’re doing is the first iteration. I love how much say and impact I have on a Group of over 200 business units). 

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

All of it was pretty useful, especially the modules on modelling.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

It’s okay to appreciate Finance and enjoy studying it, but it’s okay to not want to apply it to a Financial career. There are other jobs out there where your Finance degree can be extremely useful in.

What are your plans for the future?

I would like to stay in my current role. With new legislation (e.g. CSRD), I aim to liaise more with the Finance teams, as I would like to leverage my Finance degrees slightly more than what I currently do, and typically people in my industry don’t have a financial background, so I would say that’s my ‘USP’.