Sarah Davies

Director of Corporate Services
@ Lancaster City Council

Sarah Davies
  • Bio

From Walney Island via Panasonic to Co-operative Financial Service, Greater Manchester Combined Authority to Lancaster City Council, and the school gate to the village hall, Sarah seeks to create a culture where evidence, fairness and ethics inform decisions, and where people are rewarded for doing the right thing.

Ground-breaking firsts in international corporate reporting, shaping strategies from energy and sustainable investment to devolution, Sarah seeks to shine a light on the damage caused to wellbeing and prosperity by perverse policies, inefficient processes and inertia, by challenging perceptions and inspiring positive steps to achieve change which puts people, prosperity and the environment at the heart of decision-making.

Decades of working in the cross over between industry, science, technology and government have necessitated becoming a vocal advocate for challenging gender bias and promoting social inclusion along the way, and enjoys using the skills she’s been lucky enough to acquire to make a difference in her local community too, believing that change starts with the people you meet in life, not just in work.

One of the 2019 Powerlist top 50 female influencers in the North, and the Planner’s Women of influence 2019, Sarah leads the Environment Agency’s work on the Northern Powerhouse, seeking opportunities to better connect the millions of investment in environmental protection and flood resilience with the billions of investment made in improving infrastructure and places across the North, to make better places for happier, healthier people.

Ranging from the Great North Plan Steering Group to DEFRA’s 25 Year Environment Plan and the Urban Pioneer Sarah uses partnership at all scales to deliver on her values, whether strengthening the frameworks used to make key policy, process and project decisions or using her professional skills to help socially excluded families access opportunities. Building on lessons learned from Corporate Reporting and City metrics, Sarah will explore the relationship between the economy and the environment, and how tools such as Big Data, Six Capitals and the Sustainable Development Goals can strengthen decision-making.