Ray Carpenter joined the Scientific Branch of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1969 and has been a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry since 1971, a Member of the Institute of Energy since 1973 and a Member of the Institute of Waste Management since 1977. He was the Head of the Land Pollution Group of the GLC from 1980 until 1989 when he and George Lowe (the Deputy Head of the Land Pollution Group) set up Carpenter and Lowe Limited.

In the late 1970s the GLC was at the forefront of the redevelopment of contaminated land in the UK as it began to redevelop many sites contaminated by past industrial use. Such sites included Thamesmead Town (over 400 hectares of land contaminated by the activities of the Woolwich Arsenal), Wandsworth Gas Works and London Docklands. In the absence of any national guidelines the Greater London Council's Scientific Branch produced its own guideline values for safe levels of various contaminants in soils and these were used extensively throughout the UK until national guidelines were issued in the mid 1980s. In addition the GLC Scientific Branch led the way in designing methods to prevent the ingress of methane gas (which was being generated from landfilled biodegradable wastes and from river silts, peats and organic clays) into buildings. Much of the work on methane gas originated from the GLC's responsibility to dispose of London's waste (landfill being the main means of disposal) and the development of large areas of London's derelict docklands where methane was often generated within the silts in the former docks.

Because of their background within the Scientific Branch of the GLC, Ray Carpenter and the other scientific staff of Carpenter and Lowe Limited had gained extensive experience in site investigation and successful remediation of contaminated sites and this has been enhanced by the work they have carried out for a wide range of clients since the company was formed in 1989. Ray Carpenter has more than 30 years of experience in the investigation of contaminated land and has frequently provided expert opinion at planning inquiries. Both written and verbal evidence has also been provided to the House of Commons Environment Committee. The company is a Corporate Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment(IEMA).