Interview: Tamar Roitman, Executive Manager at ABiogás, Brazil

Tamar Roitman #SheLeadsTheChange  

• What is your organisation about and what do you love about it? 

ABiogás is a sectoral association that represents the biogas industry in Brazil. I love that we are literally building the sector, since biogas is in early stage of development in the country. Therefore, I can participate in its growth in an active way by helping in the creation of regulation and public policies, in the promotion of investments, and in the production of market data and information, amongst other activities. I feel that I am contributing for the future of renewable energy. 

• How does it contribute to improve the environment?  

Biogas is a renewable source of energy that can be used to generate renewable power, heat, and fuel. In Brazil, biogas is only produced using residues, which can be from the agroindustry and sanitizing sectors. All these residues can cause serious impacts if not treated correctly and biogas production not only solves environmental problems by treating the residues but generates renewable energy which can have negative carbon footprint, contributing for the energy matrix and industries decarbonization.  

• What other women have inspired you in your career? 

I have been inspired by a lot of women that work in the energy sector, which is an extremely masculine industry.  

• What challenges have you faced in your professional journey that could help others?  

The main challenge was to discover my professional interests and what I wanted to work with. As a chemical engineer there is a great field in which I can act, but it is a complex journey until we know what we are passionate about. I would say that it is important to have as many experiences as an intern during graduation and during all professional life to help with that.  

Another big challenge was when I realized that I needed to make a change in my career and leave a job that wasn’t making me happy anymore. When talking to other professionals, we see that it is something natural and that we should not be afraid of making changes. I would say that it is really important to take risks and embrace new opportunities.  

• What kind of support have you found helpful in advancing your career? 

It makes a total difference to work with people that want everyone to grow, to become a better professional, to develop their best skills. I have found really helpful to work with people that pointed to me the skills that I needed to develop and helped me in doing that, making me improve as a professional.