IAgrE Members Recognised
New Prestigious Honorary Fellowships Presented to two IAgrE CEnv members
On the eve of World Environment Day (4th June), the Society for the Environment presented the prestigious Honorary Fellowship award to two Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) Chartered Environmentalist members, Alastair Taylor and Mark Kibblewhite.
Through the award of Honorary Fellow (HonFSE), the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) recognises exceptional contributions made to protect and enhance our environment.
Collectively Honorary Fellows represent a breadth of sectors and are all eminent and respected in their own right. Together they have a powerful voice and there is a significant opportunity for influencing together on policy at the highest levels.
Alastair Taylor and Mark Kibblewhite were presented with their HonFSE by SocEnv's Chief Executive, Dr Emma Wilcox CEnv during SocEnv’s annual Awards Event on Thursday 4th June 2026. Both Alastair Taylor and Mark Kibblewhite are deserving recipients of this honour due to their contributions to the environment and to the Society for the Environment.
Alastair said "I am delighted to be an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment. I've been involved with SocEnv for over 10 years in various ways - Licence Reviews, the Registration Authority and before that on the Council. I have seen the organisation transform over those years and it is with immense pride that I have been able to contribute in one way or another. All of this helps to keep a focus on the environment and to be recognised for my contribution to that is something very special. A big thanks to those who nominated me."
Mark said: “"It is great to be awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Society for the Environment and wonderful for this to have been presented alongside my friend and IAgrE colleague, Alastair Taylor. I recall with sincere thanks all the colleagues who have helped and advised me over many years and thank IAgrE for its kind nomination. The CEnv qualification is evermore valuable in a World of contested environmental evidence and expertise - I hope more IAgrE colleagues will seek to become CEnv’s and join a thriving and powerful community of environmental professionals."
Dr Emma Wilcox, Chief Executive of the Society for the Environment, said: “We are delighted to welcome Alastair Taylor, Carolyn Roberts, Claire Wansbury and Mark Kibblewhite as newly awarded recipients of our Honorary Fellowship. They have joined an esteemed list of professionals and public champions that have demonstrated true leadership when it comes to championing the environment and sustainability. We are proud to recognise them with this Fellowship and look forward to continuing our work to achieve our collective goals.”
Alastair Taylor HonFSE CEnv Citation
Alastair was raised in the countryside and so was firmly grounded in the relationship between the environment and the people who managed it. He began his career in agricultural engineering in 1980 and took up a lecturing post at Reaseheath Agricultural College in 1983 where he taught both agricultural mechanisation and management of machinery.
In 2000 he joined the Government Inspectorate responsible for monitoring the quality of education and training in colleges and apprenticeships. In 2006 he moved back into mainstream education, firstly working in a business development role for a consortium of five colleges and later as Vice Principal of Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. During this period, he was among the earliest individuals to register as a Chartered Environmentalist, achieving this distinction in 2005. Attaining his Chartered status strengthened his role in promoting environmental education and he championed the work of the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) actively promoting its mission and objectives.
He became the Chief Executive Officer of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) in 2013, having previously been a member for some 25 years. As the CEO of the IAgrE he was a prominent voice in promoting the Society. Within the Institution he took every opportunity to ensure that he drove not only the current members to consider registering with the SocEnv but also to widen the scope of the membership of the IAgrE so that it includes more people who were suitable to register as Chartered Environmentalists and Registered Environmental Practitioners. This included a strong drive to widen the industries, colleges and universities that the IAgrE interacted with. He also ensured that the Institution had sound procedures, paperwork and publicity to support registration with SocEnv.
Since retiring from the post of CEO Alastair has remained a member of the IAgrE membership committee where he continues to champion the role of the Society. He also continues to support SocEnv in a number of ways; he has developed several procedures for SocEnv and also serves on their Registration Authority, plus holds the role of Chief Licence Reviewer.
Whilst always having been a strong advocate for environmental education, from the earliest inception of the Society, Alastair has worked in many influential roles allowing him to support and encourage the advancement of the Society, and to ensure the recognition of the professionalism of those working in environmental disciplines. He is an outstanding example of the dedicated workers who have been instrumental in the development of the society.
Click here to watch Alastair’s acceptance video as unfortunately he could not attend the event.
Mark Kibblewhite HonFSE CEnv Citation
Mark’s professional career in industry, academia and the public sector has applied his skills and experience in environmental chemistry and agri-environmental engineering, covering many aspects of land, air and water resources. His current work focuses on understanding soil systems and the management of soil resources at local to global levels. As well as having a practical approach to environmental management, he is an expert in environmental policy, specialising in soil management and protection in rural and urban environments. He focuses on the implications of global change including climate change for land-based natural resources, and how the scientific and engineering communities can contribute to effective adaptation strategy development and delivery. His research is published widely in international, peer-reviewed publications, demonstrating his impacts within the environmental sector and to a wider audience.
Mark has more than 30 years’ experience of managing large environmental projects for both public and private clients, including at international level. He is an Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University and has held senior posts in Government (Head of Land Quality, Environment Agency), industry (Divisional Managing Director, Hyder Consulting) and academia (Director of the National Soil Resources Institute and Head of the Natural Resources Department at Cranfield University). Mark has extensive experience as an advisor to international and national institutions and is a former chair of the European Soil Bureau Network and continues as an active technical expert of the European Commission.
Mark was one of the very first cohort of professionals registered as a Chartered Environmentalist in 2004, via his membership of IAgrE, and he is a Chartered Chemist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He served as IAgrE President from 2014 - 2016, chairing the Institution’s Annual Conferences on ‘Re-Imagining agriculture - Engineering as the strategic enabler’ (2014) and ‘Engineering innovation for agricultural water management in a changing climate” (2015). He was a trustee of the Douglas Bomford Trust (2015–2020) which supports young agricultural and environmental engineers.
Mark is currently the Director of MK Soil Science Ltd and works as an independent soil scientist for industry and governments. He was a trustee of the Dorset Wildlife Trust from 2015 to 2025, its chair from 2020 to 2025 and continues to support the Trust as a volunteer.
They both join a revered group of individuals who have been recognised for their outstanding environmental work and/or their contributions to the Society and the Institution is proud to be a part of their journey.