Meet the Team: George Savvopoulos – Marine Decarbonisation Consultant

Across LOC, Longitude, Innosea and JLA, our teams are united by a shared commitment to support clients globally with practical and pragmatic solutions, de-risking operations across energy and oceans, and driving energy transition in shipping, renewables and oil and gas markets. You know our teams, but do you know our people?

This week, meet George Savvopoulos – Civil Engineer and Marine Decarbonisation Consultant, LOC London.

Hi George – tell us a bit about what you do at LOC?

I joined LOC in November 2018, having spent the best part of 15 years in the design and construction of ports and terminals, to provide advice to insurers on the latter. Just over 2 years later, this is just a part of what I do.

Starting in 2019, I had the chance to pursue my interest in decarbonisation and data analytics, driving the relevant initiatives at LOC. A good example of this is TRITΩN, a portal application to calculate the carbon efficiency of ships as part of their assessment for the Poseidon Principles. The winnowed experience from this venture, in combination with the pool of technical skillset at LOC, allowed me to provide advice on emissions strategies, measuring and reporting, and integration of this performance to organisations’ ESG plans.  My ambition now is to transfer part of this experience to the ports and terminals environment, through services that support their decarbonisation ventures.

Also, I am part of the team that revived LOC’s offering of probabilistic navigational risk assessments, primarily aimed in supporting offshore wind developers in the permitting and operations planning stages of their projects.

With the pandemic being the catalyst to embracing technology and changing the ways in which we work, I look forward to pursuing more opportunities to adjust to the new normal and enrich our service offering.

What excites you the most about our industry?

Well, shipping makes the world go round, and it is an industry that tries very hard to better itself. As a fairly recent inductee, I am inspired by how the industry draws on talent from other industries, how receptive it is of innovation and new ideas, and most importantly how it embraces its people.

I have to admit I very much miss the corporate gatherings, seeing old and meeting new faces, and the fun and interesting conversations it all comes with.

What made you join LOC?

I always enjoyed change and taking on new challenges, and after having spent more than a decade engineering ports to accommodate the shipping industry, I found the prospect of looking at things from the other side of the cope-line very interesting.

This, alongside the prospect of working again with an esteemed colleague, is what tipped the scales for me in terms of joining.

What do you do when you are not working?

I like the outdoors, enjoy hiking, so I am always up for trying a new trail, time and weather permitting.

I am also a bit of an epicure. I love attending wine tasting events and taking advantage of the diverse culinary scene of London. I also do a lot of cooking and baking at home, more so over the last year, as we have inevitably been spending much more time at home.

Over the last few months, I am also working on a small-scale DIY project at home, making good on the promise I made to my fiancé, that I would renovate the old dollhouse she found at the local charity shop after lockdown 1.