I've just done some brief reading up on this. It's actually really interesting and something I would like to pursue (if possible). Do you think it might be worth writing to/calling some local companies to learn how they are working towards being ISO 14001 compliant?
Possibly, on one hand you may be competing with people with environmental science degrees or similar. OTOH, ISO14001 may be something that more companies will become willing to invest in. It's a voluntary standard, so when the economic climate gets tough, and companies look to save costs, guess who gets the bullet. In my last job, my company was ISO 9001 compliant, which meant that they had to prove their quality procedures were up to scratch. This was a tedious pain in the arse, but necessary because the customers expected it. If ISO14001 became similarly widespread, I expect many companies would be glad to have someone who is actually interested in taking care of it.
Likewise, the Carbon Reduction Commitment is giving companies headaches. It's a new scheme and they're supposed to have the first bit done by July, I think. The majority of Britain's biggest companies are required to be part of it. They will be fined according to how far down the league they appear. Originally, the best companies were going to be awarded money confiscated from the worst, but the new government saw an opportunity for a new tax. The companies' positions will be publicly listed in a league, and I doubt many companies will be happy about appearing last.
There are some organisations, e.g. councils, universities, big corporations, that employ energy officers. Their job seems largely to look at energy bills and to persuade the various departments to use less.
There seems to be an increasing amount of energy efficiency regulation being introduced. In construction, there is the dreaded Standard Assessment Procedure. You can get caught out though. The HIPS scheme, which house sellers had to comply with, seemed pretty useless, but I don't suppose those people who were trained to perform those HIPS surveys were too happy when the scheme was cancelled.
Writing to some local companies can't hurt. Mark and Spencers springs to mind. They're doing lots to bring down their energy use. I think they're using some consultancy though. They're quite proud of what they're doing so presumably would be happy to give you some information or tips, even if they don't have a job.