Employee Spotlight: Sarah Mitchell

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Sarah Mitchell and I’m the Business Development Lead here at EfficiencyOne. I’ve been an employee with EfficiencyOne for 10 years.

What is your educational background?

After completing a university degree in International Development, with an environmental focus, I traveled abroad for a few years before coming back to Halifax to further my education at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC).

I completed a year in the Construction Management program–a program I had chosen somewhat randomly– and applied for a one-year co-op position with EfficiencyOne’s Custom Team.

I’ve been with the organization since.

How has working for EfficiencyOne shaped your career?

I didn’t have a technical background, so working on the Custom Team was a learn-by-doing approach.

When I was handed a pilot program for compressed air leak management, it was a great opportunity to learn about industrial facilities and the types of efficiency opportunities present.

During compressed air leak surveys, I worked on-site to scan air lines and tag leaks. I also worked closely with equipment operators to identify any issues they noticed or ideas for improvement.

These leak surveys provided a unique opportunity to gain insight into a facility’s operations. This helped me understand some of the challenges they faced in making improvements or implementing energy efficient upgrades.

Tell us about your current role.

Starting as a co-op student and then getting hands-on experience helped me move into my role as Business Development Manager (BDM)–a role I’ve been in for six years now.

In this role, I have gained more appreciation for the barriers that industrials face in trying to reduce their energy consumption and how EfficiencyOne can help them overcome these challenges.

As a Lead BDM working with the large industrials in Nova Scotia, it’s been exciting to develop a program that supports this sector in achieving their energy reduction targets.

Since starting with EfficiencyOne, I have seen changes in how industrials approach energy management and increasing concern around greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A key change is that the majority of these organizations now have GHG emission reduction targets to meet in the next few years.

We can help them both on a strategic and project management level.

What has your experience been like as an EfficiencyOne employee?

As an EfficiencyOne employee, I have the opportunity to be challenged and learn something new almost daily. This has been key to enjoying my work.

I remember in my co-op interview being asked about the difference between voltage and current and I couldn’t answer it! I had a lot to learn and patient engineers have been essential to my learning.

When it comes to the companies and industries I work across Nova Scotia, it’s been so varied and interesting. The theme song to the show “How It’s Made” runs through my head–only occasionally being hummed out loud.