My Unipart Journey - Romana Stanova

Romana Stanova, Environmental Manager, started her Unipart journey in 2010 as an operations colleague on the Sky contract at the Baginton B site in Coventry.

Romana said: “Since early days, I have been passionate about learning how to use The Unipart Way to bring improvements to the team. This helped me improve my technical skills which soon allowed me to become one of the few female repair technicians on site.”

After a few years Romana joined the logistics team and began to work on the waste disposal processes on site, gaining a stronger understanding of The Unipart Way in practice.

Romana completed the Environmental Level 3 Gate to Great training in 2017, and used the skills she learned to work with operations teams on process improvements.

In 2018, Romana successfully applied for the role of SUP (single-use plastic) Demand Planner for the Sky contract. This provided the chance for Romana to combine her extensive knowledge of Sky products with her growing passion for the environment.

In this role Romana was nominated by the customer for a Mark in Action in 2021 after the UL Sky team managed to remove nearly 128 tonnes of single-use plastic from Sky’s supply chain.

Romana said: “As the Sky Ocean Rescue project came to the end, I found another opportunity to join the environment team as Environmental Compliance Coordinator in Nuneaton. My role was very varied, with every day being a different challenge.

“My main job objectives included providing support and guidance to ensure environmental legal compliance for all contracts on the Nuneaton site, delivering environmental and sustainability projects, completing ISO audits, and much more.

“I have also very much enjoyed creating and promoting environmental sustainability initiatives. Organising litter picking and other environmental events and seeing huge attendance is always very rewarding.”

As a part of the wider environmental team, Romana has also taken ownership of delivering environmental communication for Unipart. This work has included developing monthly environmental pauses, a variety of graphics, posters and guides, and supporting the creation of the eLMS Environmental Sustainability module.

Last year, Romana represented Unipart’s Nuneaton site in the British Safety Council environmental five star audit, which resulted in Unipart winning an 11th consecutive Globe of Honour for sustainability.

Romana said: “With the beginning of 2024, yet another opportunity came my way and I joined the VWG Dordon site as Environmental Manager. Unipart has always been great at providing opportunities for colleagues who show their commitment to delivering our customer promise.

“Environment is a topic close to my heart and I could not be more grateful for the support and opportunities that have been offered to me, and also for all my colleagues for helping me grow. I look forward to seeing all of the ‘acts of green’ colleagues will get involved with on Earth Day.”

In recognition of Unipart’s 50th anniversary we asked Romana to share a specific standout memory. She said: “My favourite memory of Unipart is planting trees in the Honeybourne site. It was a sunny spell only on that day. All people from various roles and positions got to the ground level, stuck their fingers in the mud, and with smiles on their faces planted those little trees knowing that they do something good not only at the present but for the future generations as well. We might all be different and come from different backgrounds but nature is something we do have in common.”

Watch out for an upcoming Carbon Literacy module developed to help colleagues understand our Race to Zero commitment even better.