Public appointment: appointment of members of the Board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency

The Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Màiri McAllan MSP, today announced the appointment of Nicky Chambers and Dr Vinay Mulgundmath as members of the Board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Appointments

Nicky Chambers obtained an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College and has worked in many areas of sustainability, from policy roles at the CBI and the World Travel and Tourism Council, through technical roles and management consultancy. In the 1990’s, she founded award winning consultancy and software provider Best Foot Forward which was acquired in 2013 by Anthesis. She helped globalise Anthesis before roles as CEO of a negative emissions technology business and recently as Director of Impact with 'Data for Nature' NGO Global Canopy. She recently served as Co-Chair of the technical experts group supporting development of a taskforce on nature related financial disclosures.

Dr Vinay Mulgundmath qualified in Chemical engineering from the University of Ottawa, Canada and has provided consulting services in the power generation, O and G and wider energy sectors. He is currently the Chief Technologist at The Net Zero Technology Centre in Aberdeen. Dr Mulgundmath served as a Board member of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board, chaired by the First Minister. He is a Non-Executive Advisor to Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage, Scotland’s Hydrogen Accelerator and an Honorary Administrator at University of Aberdeen’s Directorate of Research and Innovation. Dr Mulgundmath is a guest lecturer at various universities.

The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Length of term, remuneration and time commitment

The appointments are for four years and run from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025. Members of the Board receive £293.29 per day for a time commitment of between a minimum of 24 days and a maximum of 30 days per year.

Other ministerial appointments

Ms Chambers and Dr Mulgundmath do not hold any other ministerial appointments.

Political activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.

Ms Chambers and Dr Mulgundmath have had no political activity within the last five years.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Every day the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) works to protect and enhance Scotland’s environment, helping communities and businesses thrive within the resources of our planet. This is called One Planet Prosperity.

SEPA has been given a unique and visionary Statutory Purpose: to protect and improve the environment in ways that, as far as possible, also create health and well-being benefits and sustainable economic growth. It’s a very powerful purpose for an environment protection agency and delivering this successfully requires new ways of thinking and new ways of acting. With 1250 staff, a national remit and local presence and a budget of over £80 million, SEPA is responsible for delivering two core services - regulation and flood risk management.

Led by One Planet Prosperity – Regulatory Strategy, environmental compliance is non-negotiable and SEPA work with as many businesses as possible to go even further by encouraging innovation and through partnerships like Sustainable Growth Agreements.

SEPA helps Scotland to prepare more powerfully for future increased flooding and are the national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority. Working in partnership, SEPA develops flood risk management strategies that set the national direction of flood risk management, helping to target investment and co-ordinate action across public bodies. Through nationally important flood forecasting and warning work, SEPA has developed over 60 targeted local flood warning schemes and provides free advance notice of flooding through a 24/7 service, Floodline, helping people and businesses protect themselves and their property from the impacts of flooding.

As an organisation, SEPA has adapted to operating in a completely new set of circumstances and will continue to make changes to set themselves up to deliver their role in the most powerful and effective way. Following from the global health pandemic and a criminal cyber-attack, SEPA is focused on building for the long term and in a stronger way.