Today is International Women’s Day and Enviromena is celebrating the women who are driving the business forward every day.

Chrissie Allen is the Chief Legal Officer, Company Secretary, and Director at Enviromena, and today she is sharing what it’s like – not just making her own mark on the world of business – but how she wants to be able to show her eight-month-old daughter that she will be able to achieve anything she wants. It’s about ability not gender.

As well as reflecting on her career and how her industry has changed. She says it is far less male-dominated now than it was when she first started out.

Although a lawyer, Chrissie has had an association with energy businesses for her entire working life. Her dad, who Chrissie hails as one of her role models, worked his way up from being “on the tools” to being a senior director at SSE. Chrissie’s career to date has followed a similar path which has been achieved through hard work, commitment and dedication.

She started at SSE herself aged 16 in a call centre and worked in several different departments. Chrissie said: “I eventually moved into legal, working full-time five days a week and going to university at the weekend for seven years. It was intense but I am and always have been career-motivated – it’s important to push yourself.”

Having initially been drawn to criminal law, Chrissie found corporate law fascinating. She says that some of the lure of this field is the ability to make things happen; to enable deals, projects and ultimately add value. Having worked for several energy firms, she has extensive expertise in the industry, which is a huge asset. She says she is also “extremely commercially focused and minded whilst remaining risk averse like a normal lawyer!”

Image: Chrissie Allen, Chief Legal Officer, Company Secretary, and Director at Enviromena

After jobs with several energy firms she moved to Reading-based Enviromena, which plans to submit 400MWs of solar projects into the planning process over the next few months. As part of helping to drive the net zero agenda, next week Enviromena will mark the energisation of its Horsey Levels solar farm in Somerset, which alone will provide enough electricity to power more than 10,000 homes.

Chrissie is keen to show women entering the workplace that anything is possible, and says progress continues to be made, both in law and in the energy industry. She said: “The times are changing. That’s really key for the up-and-coming generation. They don’t need to be a certain sex in a certain industry. Everything is starting to equal out, which is great. It’s really good to showcase that the energy industry is more open to women.”

Chrissie, who was 31 when she became a company director, says that women can often bring a different way of thinking, which benefits business. Praising the culture at Enviromena, she said: “Women bring a different style and approach to the boardroom to what men do. The two (men and women) work well together.”

Whilst Chrissie is proud of her achievements thus far and continues to develop her skillset, she is also proud to work alongside the other women at Enviromena. She said: “We have a well-balanced team at Enviromena, and we all lean on each other for help and support. I am really proud to work alongside such committed, intelligent and hardworking female colleagues which really bring a different outlook and approach to the day-to-day business.”

And as well as her career, Chrissie is now focused on her daughter. She said: “She is growing up in a world that’s changing daily. It’s gone from traditional male-female roles to hybrid living – different ways of working and living. One thing I want her to know is she can be whatever she wants. If she wants to be a mechanic she can be a mechanic. If she wants to be an astronaut she can be an astronaut. I don’t want her to ever think ‘I am not a boy so I can’t do that’.

Image: Chrissie Allen and colleagues at Enviromena