Careers: Sustainability in Sport

Many thanks to Ben Hardy-Jones (OKS 2019) for returning to King’s to speak to our A level Geography students about his career in Sustainability. 

After leaving King’s in 2019, Ben studied Geography at Durham University before going on to a Master’s in Environmental Change and Management at the University of Oxford. Since October 2023, Ben has been putting his studies to good use in his role as Business Sustainability Lead for the Desert Vipers cricket franchise team in Dubai. 

Based in London, Ben’s work centres on making sustainability commercially viable for the organisation, and he spoke passionately about the projects and initiatives he has been involved in. These include switching the team’s kit to recycled fabric, and reducing plastic bottle waste by introducing reusable bottles for all team members. In one season, Ben calculated that they saved more than 14,000 plastic bottles without any financial detriment through loss of sponsorship. 

Students were interested to hear that sustainability roles are on the increase in British and international organisations as businesses move to prioritse sustainability. 

Ben also spoke about how making the most of the opportunities he had at King’s has helped him in his early career, and he thanked Mr Prestshaw and Mrs Aldridge for their support. 

Mr Prestshaw thanked Ben for taking the time to speak to the Lower Sixth students. He said: “It’s amazing to think that, just seven years ago, Ben was sitting in this classroom in his A level Geography lessons. Since then, he has pursued his passion for sustainability, had work published, and is making a real difference in an industry where profit is often more important that anything else. 

“Our current students really value it when alumni take time to speak to them about their experiences after King’s, and I know that Ben will have given them real food for thought about where a Geogrpahy degree can take them.”