Mott MacDonald appoints James Hooper as principal sustainability consultant in Korea

Global engineering, management and development consultancy Mott MacDonald has appointed James Hooper to its Korean team as principal sustainability consultant. James will help to deliver a net-zero offering across the Asia Pacific region, supporting clients as they develop and implement bespoke decarbonisation strategies, both in capital expenditure and operations, leveraging Mott MacDonald’s state of the art proprietary tools. He will also work on projects in the renewable energy and hydrogen space.

James has worked with multi-billion-dollar companies and property portfolios to help them understand their carbon footprints and exposure to climate change risks, assisting them in setting ambitious and rigorous decarbonisation targets and improving operational resilience through adaptation strategies.

James received a BSc. in Geography from KyungHee University in Seoul in 2014, a PhD. in Earth & Environmental Science from The University of Wollongong, Australia in 2019. This was followed by a period as Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Biological & Environmental Science at Dongguk University in Seoul, where he taught Atmospheric Science.

A passionate climate activist, James summited Everest at the age of 19, before completing a world-first expedition from North to South Pole using only human and natural power in 2007-8. He was awarded the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award in 2008 and also became a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in London. James draws on these experiences as a science communicator, delivering talks and regularly appearing in a variety of media to illustrate and inspire action around climate and environmental issues.

Mott MacDonald’s team in Korea provides high quality technical capability to support their client’s ambitions in one of Asia’s most dynamic and important markets. A key focus is to support decarbonisation, advising clients on how to reduce their carbon footprint, and supporting energy projects for renewable energy, low carbon and hydrogen schemes as the country rapidly expands its renewables sector.

James Taylor, Mott MacDonald’s country manager for Korea: “James brings a diverse background and a unique skillset that builds upon the strength of our team. He joins us at an exciting time, and Korea will be pushing forward in the race to decarbonise and will be a key player in the hydrogen economy. There is an abundance of exciting projects in the pipeline that can benefit from Mott MacDonald’s deep expertise, local knowledge and global connectivity.”