Karen Dingley

Karen is the regional director of environment and sustainability based in our London, UK office. She is responsible for the Europe, Africa, India, and Middle East regions.

Since joining the team in early 2023, Karen has taken on her role with energy and enthusiasm, providing strong direction and guidance for business development, technical delivery, and team dynamics.

Karen was one of the recipients of the 2024 Positive Change Awards, a program to recognize employees who contribute to building Hatch’s inclusive organization, who exemplify the values of our Manifesto, and who actively work towards strengthening our diverse teams. 

Why do you believe in diversity and inclusion? 

Two minds are greater than one and five minds are greater than two. From my experience, you learn so much more when working with a diverse team, delivering much better products to our clients and making the team experience much richer.

I have had the honor of working globally for much of my career, and the diversity of people that I have worked with (from every continent) has been incredible. I can honestly say that there is not one person that I have worked with during my career that I have not learned from. 

What do you think we need to do as individuals to improve inclusivity? 

As always, there are traits that I feel strongly about upholding, both as people in our day-do-day lives and as professionals. This includes openness, honesty, and integrity, along with a willingness to listen generously and collaborate. When a corporate culture is built around these values, inclusivity for all will naturally follow. 

What does positive change mean to you?

Everyone has their own definition of success. For me at this stage in my career, it is about enjoying what I do. I have been fortunate to have both experienced effective and supportive mentorship during the early years of my career. In the last 15 years or so, I have also had the honor of mentoring others, both within my teams and internationally through professional industry networks such as International Women in Mining. I certainly get the most job satisfaction out of watching good people do great things and feeling proud of their achievements.

What do you think are the toughest challenges facing our clients?

We are very fortunate to work internationally on a day-to-day basis, and much of our work is in the developing world. The primary challenge facing many of our clients is the growing level of global uncertainty. This is driven by geopolitical forces, changing social expectations, and increasing pressure on environmental protection. All of these are outside of our client’s control and are creating market forces that are difficult to navigate.

What are you most proud of?

Within a relatively short period of time, less than 12 months, our Environment and Sustainability team in Europe, Africa, India, and the Middle East have made considerable in-roads. They have transitioned from an internal service provider focused primarily on permitting, to establishing a rapidly growing external client portfolio that delivers diverse environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and environmental health, and safety (EHS) services. 

This has allowed for us to become masters of our own destiny and provide a wide variety of work with improved profitability. Our team has put in a lot of hard work to get us here and move us on this trajectory. I could not be prouder of them. 

What do you like most about working at Hatch? How do you think the Hatch culture is different from other companies? 

When a company talks about its corporate values, it is imperative that the business “walks the talk.” Having been in a business that fails to do so, the impact that this can have on both employees and clients is tangible. Since joining Hatch 11 months ago, I have seen how the Manifesto is not only talked about but is integral to how employees operate every day. This is often seen in an employee-owned company and is something to value and be proud of.