Our Company

Day in the life: Michelle Carvell, Director and COO at Lorax Compliance

Describe a typical day in the Lorax office

The office days start early at Lorax, as some staff visit the gym or commute in from a distance. We support flexible working arrangements to accommodate long commutes and childcare or family situations, in turn, we have a fabulous team.

We hold a Lorax scrum meeting each morning at 9am. Following the lines of an Agile Scrum methodology keeps everyone up to date and plans the day ahead. It typically lasts 30 minutes and is preceded by an active debate about what radio station we will play today. After this, the different departments move onto their own tasks, reviewing legislation, supporting clients or developing our software.

Our day is punctuated with coffee and chat about the latest Amazon technology, news stories which will affect us – and our terrible music tastes! At the end of the day, I review what I’ve completed and plan in the day ahead.

What did you do before you worked in environmental compliance?

After university, I had a few short-term roles, but my first long-term position was training to manage customers’ environmental compliance. I started working with clients almost straight away. It was a learning curve to get my head around the legislation, which at the beginning was very UK focussed.

The company I worked for was quickly expanding outside of the UK and I became more involved in supporting international customers and their environmental compliance within the first year. At the same time, I was inspired by how the technology under development could simplify environmental reporting - especially when there are so many differences and requirements across the world.

While I’m no software developer (as I am frequently reminded by our CTO), I relish the challenge of developing innovative ways to devise simpler methods for companies affected by environmental legislation. At Lorax, we’ve been able to develop this to another level. Our scalable cloud servers and scheme reporting modules cover the whole of the world and products outside the scope of the typical Europe-focused Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) topics of packaging, WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) and batteries.

What’s the best part of working in environmental reporting?

It’s always changing! EPR principles were once only found in the EU, but now they are spreading globally and are continuing to grow at a rapid rate. We also find that one of the most common misconceptions is that the regulations are mature and static in the EU. However, this is far from the case.

The legislation is regularly reworked and as these are directives, they are implemented differently in each Member State. Major changes have been seen to customer requirements in the last couple of years in Italy and France, as the burden of data detail required by producers has increased.

Trend predictions in environmental compliance for the next decade?

Bringing more products into scope, changing the way EPR is handled and increased requirements for data.

A number of schemes include non-electronic products in their scope of reporting (such as textiles). The EU’s growing Circular Economy package is strongly influencing legislation across the world now and also being seen elsewhere in the world, such as Ontario’s Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, which will change the way different provinces, states and countries handle EPR. I also hope this will start to raise more awareness amongst consumers as well as producers, such as the plastics campaigns run by The Ellen McArthur Foundation.

Finally, the requirement for accurate and transparent data will be key to business decisions. Ensuring both data and compliance transparency can have a vital impact on a business’s product cost. Our software, with its integrated business intelligence, provides companies an exceptional insight into this key data and helps them make better decisions.

Interests outside of work?

I have two young children, so I think I have forgotten what hobbies are! I love cooking, and although I’m no expert, I always make sure I’m home for dinner, homework and bedtime with the kids. Although I leave the spelling test practise to my husband as he’s much better than I am! I like to practice yoga and, on occasion, I join in the running club at work (where I am mostly ridiculed about how out of pace I am!).

In 10 years’ time, what do you think a typical day will look like at Lorax?

In 10 years’ time, we will still hold our 9am daily meetings. It’s a great way to start the day and to get everyone together. We are a small and very specialised team, and many of us have worked together for years, but I expect we will always have debates over the best coffee and the worst radio stations!

To find out more about Lorax Compliance, its software and its team, please visit: www.loraxcompliance.com.