Joao Paulo Cavalcanti

Why not work for the global leader? I was impressed with everyone I met during my interview, and joined ERM in 2017 as a junior consultant, focused on social performance. One year later, I was promoted to consultant.

The variety and volume of clients and projects at ERM provides me the opportunity to work throughout Brazil, from the Amazon region to Rio de Janeiro. Although I am primarily involved in stakeholder engagement, social impact assessments and human rights projects, I also participate in teams helping our clients with due diligence and corporate sustainability indexes.

All my projects are challenging and interesting, but some of my favorites are focused on client engagement procedures and socio-environmental impacts, especially when I engage directly with the client’s stakeholders from traditional communities. Because ERM hires the best professionals and specialist, I get to meet and work side-by-side with the all-stars of sustainability.

I am working towards becoming a project manager by learning about all aspects of project management at ERM. Our company excels at professional development. Career progression here reflects your professional skills and objectives, and is not constrained by static organizational models.

I am especially proud to be a member of ERM’s global Inclusive Culture Advisory Group, which includes 12 employees from different backgrounds, geographies and career levels. We support policies and practices to promote diversity and inclusion within the company. As an openly gay man, it is very important that I am able to express my true self. We spend 8 hours a day in the workplace, so I need to feel safe and welcome being who I am. Building an inclusive culture ensures that our colleagues can be who they are without any fear of discrimination. The advisory group also promotes events and activities in ERM offices around the world to observe the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, International Women’s Day, Disability Awareness Month, Pride and Global Inclusion Week. Inclusion really matters at ERM.

Our focus on a strong health and safety culture is another strength of our company. ERM has procedures and training in place to ensure that everyone stays safe. We often work in the field, so it is important for us and our families that we are protected from harm.

An important part of our company is the ERM Foundation. I participated in an ERM Foundation project to help provide clean water in poor communities in Brazil. We worked in areas of extreme poverty in partnership with Waves for Water to provide donated water filters. Members of the community were actively involved in the project, learning how the filters operated and discussing the impact of clean water to future development. The experience truly grounded me in a reality that I had not fully appreciated before.

ERM has an engaging and welcoming work environment. It provides not only strong professional relationships with people who you can look up to and learn from, but also an opportunity to build friendships. This is important to me as a social person. Whenever someone asks me about my job, I let them know that I love working here.