Meet the Consultant - Seamus Murphy

I am a Senior Carbon and Sustainability Consultant in SAC Consulting’s Environment team. I am originally from County Wexford in the Southeast corner of Ireland but have lived in Scotland for the past eight years. Working in food and agriculture was not an obvious path for me, I am not from a farming background, although I did grow up in a rural area surrounded by prime arable land and spent many memorable summers on my uncles dairy farm, so it was always something, that interested me.  

I studied Environmental Science at the University of Limerick and before taking up a role with Teagasc as a Soil Surveyor helping to complete Irelands soil maps, similar to Scotland’s soil maps completed by the Macauley Institute in the 1980s. I then emigrated to Canada for several years but always wanted to return to Scotland to complete a masters, which I did in 2016 in Environmental Protection and Management at the University of Edinburgh.  

I started as a Technician within SAC Consulting in 2017 based at Auchincruive.. My role was to support projects such as Farming for a Better Climate, Farming and Water Scotland and many bespoke soils projects. My work for the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) allowed me to travel the length and breadth of the country and truly get an understanding of Scotland’s agricultural landscape. Outside of work I was involved in playing and coaching Gaelic football in Glasgow for the Glasgow Gaels, the high point was managing the ladies football team to a British semi-final. 

In those first couple of years finding my feet in the organisation and the country I began to garner a real interest in food production and climate change and the impact of agriculture which required a deep understanding of science and practice. When I became a consultant, my work began to focus less on knowledge transfer projects, and more on soil carbon and sustainability work for farm businesses, companies and supporting Agrecalc. As climate change climbed the agenda for government, companies, and farmers the work increased and evolved. Our work shifted from usually small on farm projects to large projects for retailers, food and drink companies, industry bodies and The Scottish Government. A standout project from this period was the Farm Carbon Storage Network where we sought to use technology to accurately baseline carbon stocks on different farms across the country. I felt that this sector was changing so quickly that I needed to upskill to keep on top of the developments and so SAC Consulting supported my return to education to complete a second masters part time. It was an incredible challenge those two years juggling work, study and moving house with my then pregnant wife Anna but I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to do so. The most challenging time over those two years was easily when my dissertation and our son were both due in the same month, Jack arrived before the dissertation was completed so it was a steep learning curve navigating nappies and bottles as well as payments for ecosystem services and natural capital markets! Despite the bleary-eyed completion of my dissertation, I graduated from the University of Edinburgh Carbon Management MSc in November 2023 with renewed knowledge to provide quality consultancy to clients. 

I have since hung up my football boots and now whenever I get the chance you will find me running the roads of Glasgow. I have run five marathons and completed a half ironman in the past 5 years and hope to maintain the annual marathon for as long as I can.  

I have recently taken on the role of Knowledge Lead on Carbon Dynamics, this is to upskill internally on important areas where carbon and climate change intersect with agricultural production to make sure that every consultant in SAC Consulting has the knowledge and ability to provide support to our farmer clients in the ever-changing world of carbon and climate change. The work that we do in the Environment Team has continued to evolve helping corporates better understand the environmental impacts of the agricultural raw materials that they use. Some highlights have been helping to run the Scotch Regen Pilot for Diageo alongside Scottish Agronomy, carrying out an analysis of multiple beef finishers for ABPs Gamechanger range and getting involved in the National LENS coordination group looking at a means of linking farmers and corporates so farms can get rewarded for delivering outcomes that companies need.  

Seamus Murphy, Senior Carbon and Sustainability Consultant, Seamus.Murphy@sac.co.uk

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Posted by Unearthed News on 13/02/2025