Steve Laking, a former executive in two of the world’s largest environmental/sustainability consultancies, has been appointed as the new Chair of Trustees at the South East Rivers Trust.

He is one of five new Board members at the environmental charity, part of the national Rivers Trust movement working to champion and improve rivers.

Steve Laking has worked in the environment and water consulting space for 35 years and conducted projects in groundwater resources and quality in the UK and abroad.

He has held a number of executive roles as a senior partner at ERM, the world’s largest pureplay sustainability consultancy and, more recently, at Ramboll Environment and Health, where he served as the Divisional President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Commenting on his appointment, Steve Laking said:

“I am honoured and delighted to have been appointed as the Chair of the South East Rivers Trust. I recognise the amazing work that the Trust does across the region in addressing the crisis that our river ecosystems are currently facing. The scale of the responsibility is significant globally; with 82% of the world’s chalk river ecosystems lying within our footprint, we have a major responsibility to restore and sustain the vibrancy and diversity of our rivers.”

The South East Rivers Trust is an environmental charity bringing rivers and their catchments back to life. Working in 12 river catchments across the South East, the Trust connects communities and mobilises citizen scientists to educate and engage people on the importance of rivers, and supports and challenges stakeholders, businesses and individuals to protect them. The Trust uses data and evidence to target positive action and works with nature to make rivers healthy again. This includes tackling water pollution, addressing water scarcity, reconnecting rivers and restoring habitats.

Four other new Trustees are also joining the Board : Jennifer Collins, Jeff Andrews, Michael Parker and Victoria Finney. The group bring a wealth of knowledge and experience including scientific, technical, financial, legal and governance expertise. The new appointments bring the number of SERT Trustees to 10.

Co-CEOs Dr Bella Davies and Hester Liakos said:

“We are delighted to be welcoming five new and highly engaged Trustees. SERT has been protecting and restoring rivers for more than 20 years and the fresh perspectives and skills brought by our new Trustees will help bring even more focus and ambition to our plans at a time when the south east’s rivers need us more than ever.”