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 Catherine Fitzpatrick (John Holland)Fitzpatrick is developing strategies, programs and initiatives that underpin John Holland’s strategic objectives and engage key internal and external stakeholder groups. Prior to joining John Holland, Catherine worked for Leighton Holdings Limited as Group Manager, Sustainability and previously in government relations, external affairs and as a crisis management consultant. A key focus during that period was developing an integrated environmental, social and governance strategy for the Leighton Group, establishing a group-wide workforce diversity policy and preparing the business for an Australian carbon price. Previously, Fitzpatrick held positions as a communications consultant to UNICEF Australia, media adviser to two Commonwealth Cabinet Ministers and as a journalist at the West Australian Newspaper. She is on the Board of the Diversity Council Australia and is a member of the New South Wales advisory council of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. |
 Nick Fleming (Sinclair Knight Merz)Fleming is the chief sustainability officer for consultancy Sinclair Knight Merz. With more than 15 years experience in consulting and applied research, he is known for leading projects that aspire to sustainability outcomes. His track record includes projects across the water, mining, infrastructure, defence, natural resource sectors, and all levels of government. Fleming principally operates as a strategist and integrator of technical disciplines dealing with aspects of change processes, capacity building, decision support and institutional reform. He routinely works at the Board and executive level, helping to develop pragmatic sustainability strategies for private and public organisations. He holds a doctorate in sustainable urban water systems, and his PhD thesis was awarded one of the highest accolades ever received for a PhD at Adelaide University. |
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 Amanda Keogh (Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific)As the environment and sustainability manager of Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific, Keogh is leading the way or sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement. She has contributed to turning the firm into an acknowledged leader in third party certified sustainability reporting and extended producer responsibility, and is pushing reporting and stakeholder engagement through social media. Having spent a number of years in research on corporate sustainability, Keogh has a well-informed view of best practice in this area, which she has applied in her current role. This has involved developing strategy, designing programs to improve the organisation’s sustainability performance and communicating the Fuji Xerox approach to sustainability to both internal and external stakeholders. Keogh sits on the Board of the Forest Stewardship Council and is a member of the AIIA e-SIG responsible for working with government on emerging e-waste regulation. |
 Rosemary Kirkby (GPT Group)As head of sustainability, Kirkby is responsible for ensuring GPT property group continues its international leadership in the application of sustainability principles into its business. She renewed the industry by focusing on people and communities instead of system and processes, with the introduction of the open-plan office in Australia as an example of this. Kirkby has more than 30 years experience in the property and financial services sectors, including more than twenty years at Lend Lease, MLC and National Australia Bank. Over the past ten years she has combined her experience in cultural change, leadership development and organisational behaviour with design to lead the development of multi-award winning workplaces. These developments include Campus MLC, Challenger's head office in Sydney and the National Australia Bank headquarters in the Melbourne Docklands. Kirkby uses the design process to cultivate the right conditions for developing strong communities. |
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 Janette O’Neill (NAB)O’Neill is the head of sustainability for National Australia Bank. Her team manages CSR strategy, performance management, reporting and engagement. She also liaises with other key parts of the business to ensure CSR is truly integrated into the organisation’s business objectives, operations and the enterprise narrative. Prior to joining NAB, O’Neill worked as a sustainability consultant with companies including Enviros, PwC UK and Shaper Group. Clients have included Whitbread, Accenture, British Telecom, Capita, BAE Systems, Amcor, Cadbury and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Services. During her time with PwC she also worked on an internal secondment to assist the UK Board to review CR performance, develop their first CR Report and develop an internal CR strategy to support their business service priorities. Before moving into the sustainability field, O’Neill was a strategy consultant for Accenture in both Australia and Ireland. She completed an honours degree in Economics at Monash University, Melbourne. |
 Louise Rhodes (Metcash)Rhodes is an innovator with a strong commitment to mentoring others, collaborative leadership, and sustainability as opportunity not just risk. She is the first sustainability manager at Metcash, driving change through a platform of executive engagement, policies, procedures and projects. Such projects include improving product packaging for IGA Signature & Black & Gold products and installation of a 16.3kWh solar PV system in Alice Springs reducing energy consumption there by nearly 60 per cent. A strong believer in passing on knowledge, Rhodes has offered mentoring to other young women starting their careers in sustainability. A holder of several award, she received the Tor Hundloe Young Environmental Professional of the Year Award in 2009 for her commitment to integrity and ethics in her profession, awarded by the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand. |
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 Craig Roussac (Investa)Since being appointed as Investa Property Group’s general manager of sustainability, safety and environment in 2004, Roussac has steered it towards impressive reductions in environmental impacts. The intensity of CO2 emissions from the group’s office portfolio is now 31 per cent below its 2003/04 benchmark, water is down 43 per cent, natural gas is down 49 per cent and electricity down 30 per cent. Roussac is the first to direct the Investa Sustainability Institute’s (ISI) action research for sustainability in the built environment. ISI was founded in 2009 to address the knowledge gap of measured data on the environmentally friendly attributes of buildings. He is engaged in a variety of other environmental organisations, including the Property Council of Australia’s National Sustainability Roundtable and the University of Sydney’s Low Energy High Rise project. He is also chair of the PCA’s New South Wales Sustainable Development Committee. |
 Alison Rowe (Fujitsu)A passionate optimist, Rowe brought sustainability to the core of Fujitsu’s business practices by developing a sustainability service that generated revenue. As the executive director of sustainability for Fujitsu, she has been keen on finding solutions to combat climate change impacts. In an effort to do this, Rowe established the sustainability consulting practice for Fujitsu now operating globally, and leads the global community team across the entire organisation. It is based on the idea of engaging with customers by assessing more sustainable ICT options, thereby reducing their greenhouse emissions. Rowe has more than 20 years experience in a range of industries including technology, transport, telecommunications and government. She also has an MBA from Melbourne Business School and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Williamson Community Leadership fellow. |
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 Julia Seddon (Inghams Enterprises)Starting out as environment engineer for poultry provider Ingham, Seddon has managed to push the company into a strategic effort to becoming more sustainable. She is now the group environment manager and the driver for an integrated approach to sustainability in the company, which goes beyond mere compliance. Some of the accomplishments during her time as environment engineer and manager at Ingham are the formation of a cleaner production team and using contested waste for composting instead of sending it to landfills. Seddon pushed forward for Ingham to join the NSW Sustainability Advantage program and managed to bring attention to various aspects of sustainability, such as food safety, animal welfare, energy and water use, etc. These efforts led to the Australian Prime Minister’s Water Wise Award, which Ingham received in 2010 for water efficiency. |
 Sean Silvey (Spotless Group)Silvey is seen as a sustainability star of the future with an accomplished record already behind him. He managed ANZ’s environmental sustainability program before going to Spotless Group. The frameworks he put in place resulted in him being given health and safety responsibilities as well as helping Spotless win several large contracts on the back of its sustainability credentials. Regular quarterly reporting to the Board and monthly to the CEO and executive management team has ensured that the leadership team of Spotless is informed and strongly supportive of the process of improving energy efficiency. Much of its recent activity has been focused on evaluating and implementing energy efficiency initiatives as part of the Brisbane Composite Laundry - a $20 million project to design and build a new laundry incorporating solar panels, more efficient equipment rainwater capture, storage and recycling technologies. The company also continues to improve to the way it collects, analyses and reports energy data. |
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Government & NGOs
 Jeff Angel (Total Environment Centre)A veteran campaigner for environmental reform, Angel is behind the innovative Green Capital program, which has created a platform for debate about corporate social responsibility and development of the green economy in Australia. For more than a decade it has continued to engage governments, businesses, NGOs and members of the community – over 17,000 people have participated in Green Capital’s program of forums and roundtables in Sydney and Melbourne. In recent years TEC’s engagement and research contribution to the container deposit debate has provided a valuable alternative to industry-led proposals for sustainability in packaging. TEC has worked with industry to assist them in taking further responsibility around packaging and recycling, as well as government, recyclers and communities to advance the ‘conserver’ society. |
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 Anne Barker (City West Water)In her role as managing director, Barker has overseen a number of major asset renewal projects and is engaged in a collaborative project for a greener environment in the western suburbs of Melbourne. She also implemented a highly effective business resource efficiency program which has resulted in non-residential users’ consumption dropping by 18 billion litres over the last ten years. A number of major asset renewal and other capital investment projects began or continued over the last year, including the $20 million project to replace water mains along William Street in the CBD, as part of the organisation’s overall capital investment of $93.5 million. City West Water is collaborating with partners such as local councils, the Department of Health, industry and community groups on an initiative to reduce the impact of urban heat islands, improve air quality and provide a greener environment to improve public amenity and community health. |
 Rod Clare (NSW Government) Clare has been a passionate supporter of industrial symbiosis and its economic and environmental benefits for at least eight years. In his role with the NSW Office of Environment & Heritage he has consistently championed support for organisations seeking to reuse and recycle rather than dispose of used materials. While there is support and understanding of recycling options for businesses, there is less in regard to the industrial ecology/symbiosis approach which can be defined as sharing of services, utility, and by-product resources among diverse industrial operators in order to add value, reduce costs and improve the environment – an opportunity which could be worth around $1 billion annum to NSW. Clare has consistently exceeded the reasonable expectations of his role through facilitation, encouragement, capacity building and network building in working with hundreds of the major manufacturing organisations in NSW. |
 Fergus Green (Centre for Sustainability Leadership)Green volunteers his time to a range of NGOs that tackle the sustainability agenda, including the Centre for Sustainability Leadership where he is currently chairman. The centre builds the capacity of people across all sectors of society who care about sustainability, a program which Green himself graduated from in 2010. Green has shown great commitment to engaging and leading the climate change debate, frequently contributing articles on climate change policy in major publications, including The Australian Financial Review, The Age and ABC Unleashed. In 2009, Green volunteered for Project Survival Pacific to support the interests of small Pacific island states in the Copenhagen negotiations. His style of leadership and commitment helps raise awareness of the need to promote well-designed public policies and far-sighted private sector leadership in addressing sustainability challenges. |
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 Scott Millington (Work Ventures)Non-profit organisation Work Ventures, in partnership with Westpac and Microsoft, established the Connect IT program as a pathway to supply redundant business computers to those in need. More than 30 years after IBM released the personal computer, almost 1,500,000 Australian households (17 per cent) still don t have access to a computer or internet access in their home. The numbers are disproportionately high in households with incomes below $40,000. As head of the program, Millington has helped almost 40,000 low income Australian families gain access to functional and affordable computers. His program is able to provide a truly practical service which takes unwanted computer equipment out of landfill and provides a viable alternative which has significant social benefits which could lead to greater access to education and employment. |
 Christine Milne (Australian Greens)Newly elected leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Christine Milne has been a key figure in climate change policy over recent years. She was a key member of the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee - as co-deputy chair – which explored options for implementing a carbon price and building consensus on how Australia will tackle the challenge of climate change. On 10 July 2011 the Committee released a Clean Energy Agreement to reduce carbon pollution, provide opportunities for innovation and investment in clean technologies and reward improved land use management. Notably, the plan includes the introduction of a broad based carbon price in Australia, commencing from 1 July 2012. With the resignation of long-serving Greens leader Bob Brown, Christine has now ascended to the top position in a party in which she has been actively involved, and represented both as a Senator and member of the Tasmanian parliament, since 1989. |
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 Clover Moore (City of Sydney)A champion of sustainability, Moore has led the council to undertake the most extensive public consultation in its history and develop Sustainable Sydney 2030, a strategy to secure Sydney’s future as one of the world’s leading green liveable cities. Sustainable Sydney 2030 implementation is now underway, with ambitious projects underway to create a safe, usable cycling network; and introduce local energy, heating and cooling systems (trigeneration) to combat global warming. The council’s waste strategy also provides leadership in the management waste and resources by diverting putrescible waste being sent to landfill and looking at options for automated waste collection and generating energy from waste. The political will and leadership shown at the City of Sydney is crucial to sustainable development and sets a benchmark and role model to governments and the business community alike. |
 Mike Rayner (ex Tweed Shire Council)While it might be the General Manager’s role to ensure the effective day-to-day management of a local council, some would say Rayner exceeded that in his former role through the leadership, mentoring and service he provided to the water industry. In 1997 he proposed a technical advisory association of NSW local water utilities to counter industry fragmentation caused by the abolition of the Public Works Department. Rayner and supporters lobbied 100+ local water utilities to form the NSW Water Directorate in December 1998. He was elected inaugural Chair for three years and served on the Committee for 13 years, during which time he was responsible for introducing more than 30+ guidelines and establishing a NSW water network. In 2005 Rayer co-proposed a state-wide water loss management program to measure/fix leaks using detection equipment, which resulted in an award-winning five year program saving 5.5 GL annually. |
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 Tom Roper (Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council)Roper has been described as ‘one of those people who stands out’ in leadership and innovation. With more than 21 years in the Victorian parliament he is able to clearly articulate both what is possible and what’s needed in making our built infrastructure more sustainable. Roper is a respected advisor to government, business and NGO’s on sustainability issues and has a well-developed ability to speak in a language which both government and industry can understand. After many years in Australian politics, he took up board positions at the Washington DC based Climate Institute, Global Urban Development and Greenfleet (Australia). He provides briefings on climate change developments and green building issues for the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Building Commission, and is the Project Director of the Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative which provides assistance to Small Island States seeking to introduce renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. |
 Matthew Wright (Beyond Zero Emissions)Beyond Zero Emissions is a not-for-profit research and education organisation developing blueprints for the implementation of climate change solutions. Its goal is to transform Australia from a 19th century fossil fuel based economy to a 21st century renewable powered clean tech economy. As its co-founder and executive director, BZE’s Matthew Wright is a busy advocate of renewable energy who has been able to attract a small part-time staff and hundreds of volunteers to join the effort. He provides research, corporate education, network building and solutions development to business, government at the community at large, and has the ear of leaders in all sectors. In partnership with the University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute, BZE is undertaking the award-winning Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Project, which is putting together fully costed transition plans for getting Australia to zero emissions in ten years using commercially available technology. |
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 Paul Bannister (Exergy)As MD of the country’s leading specialist consultancy on energy efficiency in commercial buildings, Bannister has played a central role in the development of most of the key Commonwealth initiatives around buildings’ energy use. He helped develop the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating scheme, NABERS and more recently the innovative Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) scheme that requires the owners of large offices to disclose the building’s energy efficiency when selling or leasing. Bannister has experience in over 400 building projects, from design right through to energy auditing and building information systems. His leadership in energy efficient design is demonstrated through operation as an independent design reviewer for ABGR on nearly 100 projects. Finally, Bannister is also a prolific contributor to lifting industry skills through conference presentations and articles in more than 60 publications globally, including for WME and the Warren Centre's landmark ‘Low Energy High Rise’ report. |
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 Sam Burke (Victorian Government)The senior manager of property & accommodation in the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance’s government services division, Burke has been pivotal in driving the Greener Government Buildings program. The scheme, which won the 2011 Premier’s Sustainability Award, adopts an energy performance contracting model that could act as a guide for other public and private building portfolio holders. It requires energy services providers to identify and install energy and water efficiency solutions that deliver a return on investment within seven years – and guarantee the project savings. As of April 2012 there were 21 projects under implementation. Early results indicate the potential to deliver savings (energy, greenhouse and water) of over 30 per cent. The Victorian Government estimates over $1 billion will be saved through reduced utility and maintenance costs. The scheme has potential to facilitate development of the energy efficiency industry and is being closely followed by the NSW and SA Governments. |
 Peter Burn (Ai Group)The Australian Industry (Ai) Group has been a constructive player in the debate around energy and carbon pricing, under the auspices of its director for national public policy, Peter Burn. Where most mainstream business groups have argued against any carbon price – and the Ai Group has latterly urged a delay in introducing the mechanism – it has stood out for its mature and integrated response to the issues. Burn has led the influential association's team that includes specialists on carbon policy, energy efficiency policy and an energy management help desk that has assisted many companies find to ways to ramp up their efficiency. Critically, it sees the issues as related. A market mechanism is the most efficient way to address greenhouse emissions. Energy efficiency is not going to solve every challenge around energy and carbon, but it is an important part of the mix. |
Tym Duncanson (Elementree Group) The CEO of Elementree Group has parlayed 25 years experience in the role of trees in providing environmental services into pioneering work around carbon forestry in WA and NSW. Duncanson entered into the first tree plantation and carbon right in WA and planted the first tree for CO2 Group in NSW. While CEO of the Oil Mallee Company he delivered the first mallee biomass to the integrated mallee processing centre, which turned out energy, eucalyptus oil and activated charcoal. Most recently at Elementree Group, the second largest reforestation company in WA in the 2012 planting season, he pioneered the sale of the WA Government's plantation residues for the export of renewable fuel pellets to Europe for baseload energy. Duncanson is also director of a company leading development of Australia's first dedicated plantation residue power plant, to be built near Manjimup WA. |
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 Joel Fleming (Climate Friendly)In 2003 Fleming founded Climate Friendly, an early mover in the voluntary carbon retail space that has gone on to become a leader in the field. In the last three years Climate Friendly has tripled its sales volumes, with business and household clients globally. Under Fleming’s guidance, Climate Friendly has taken a principled stand in the development of the global carbon market with a strong commitment to transparency and quality. Embodying the principle that climate action takes both emissions reductions and offsetting, he has helped to build the business case for tangible action. The company offers a range of solutions including carbon offsets, renewable energy certificates, carbon project development, carbon advisory services and carbon IT solutions. Swiss company South Pole Carbon recently became a major shareholder in Climate Friendly, increasing its reach to 10 offices worldwide. |
 Ross Fraser (Energy Response)Fraser was the project leader in the implementation of the National Electricity Market; he is now one of the most persuasive proponents of major reform to the NEM to allow demand side response measures. Fraser has been chair of Australia's only national electricity demand aggregator, Energy Response, since its foundation in 2004. Now owned by EnerNOC, it signs up major companies willing to temporarily turn down their electricity demand in response to a spike in network demand. By flattening the peak demand management promises to avoid the need for expensive new peaking power plants that cost around $1 million per MW. Fraser is one of two senior advisors to EnerNOC worldwide. Locally it operates in WA and NZ, but it is hampered by regulations in the east coast NEM. The Australian Energy Markets Commission has just begun stage 3 of its inquiry into the regulations, which looms as one of the key energy issues of the year. EnerNOC is on an advisory panel to the review. |
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 Simon Holmes à Court (Hepburn Wind)Simon Holmes à Court is the founding chair of Hepburn Wind, a co-operative established in 2007 to establish and operate Australia’s first community owned wind farm. It is on his farm just south of Daylesford, Victoria, but it is his stewardship of the community ownership process that has sparked interest across the country. After extensive consultation, a community share offer in 2008 raised just under $10 million from almost 2,000 people. The 4.1 MW two-turbine wind farm began generating in June 2011 and is estimated to produce 12,200 MWh in an average year, more than enough for Daylesford's 2000 homes. It also has the most generous community sustainability fund of any wind farm (on a per turbine basis) of 2.5 per cent of its revenue. In 2011 Hepburn Wind won the community category in the Victorian Premiers Sustainability Awards and Simon has set up the non-profit Embark Australia to extend Hepburn’s learnings to other communities. |
 Jon Jutsen (Energetics)As founder of Energetics, Jon Jutsen has been at the forefront of energy efficiency delivery in Australia – and internationally – for almost 30 years. In recent years he has also stepped into an industry leadership role, including as chairman of the Australian Alliance to Save Energy and a board member at the Energy Efficiency Council. Founded in 1984 to provide energy audits, Energetics has evolved into a management consultancy offering energy, carbon and sustainability advisory services and products. Now with 120 employees and a national footprint, it has achieved considerable scale in a difficult environment. Among its projects are Woolworths 10 year sustainability journey and Sydney Water’s innovative Renewable Energy Generation Program generating power from sewage outflow. Energetics' highly accessible energy efficiency management tools, such as the One-2-Five family, underpin the practices of many businesses and programs of many government agencies. Jutsen has been named one of the ‘100 Most Influential Engineers in Australia’. |
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 Anna Skarbek (ClimateWorks)ClimateWorks Australia is a non-profit that in 2009 filled a gap in the Australian scene by eschewing a straight advocacy role in favour of developing solutions that deliver major greenhouse cuts in the fastest and most cost effective way. Its executive director is Anna Skarbek, who joined ClimateWorks as its first full-time staff member after a stint in London’s carbon markets as VP of a specialist investment manager dedicated to raising and deploying capital for low carbon activities. ClimateWorks' seminal contribution has been the 2010 'Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia', which identified 54 opportunities across the economy that together can deliver emissions cuts at an annual average cost in 2020 equivalent to $4 per household per week. It won the Eureka Prize for Innovative Solutions to Climate Change. Among other things, Skarbek is a member of the Federal Government's NGO Roundtable on Climate Change and a director of the Carbon Market Institute and Sustainable Melbourne Fund. |
 Evan Thornley (Better Place Australia)Australia is one of three countries at the vanguard of an electric vehicle (EV) revolution planned by Better Place. Thornley is at the helm of Better Place Australia from its launch in January 2009. The former technology entrepreneur and rising Victorian MP has cut through vested interests and policy inertia to position the company as the leading local player in EV infrastructure. Powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, it also promises to underpin growth in the sector through long term purchase agreements with the likes of ACTEW AGL. EVs are ideal renewables customers on several levels: the intended scale of demand; the fact they compete with pricey petrol rather than coal-fired electricity; and that unlike nearly every other electrical appliance, EVs store energy for later use, so charging can be matched to the intermittent supply of renewable energy. Under Thornley, the firm took the Transportation Award at the 2011 Banksia Environmental Awards. |
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 Steven Beaman (NSW Government)As director of waste strategy and program delivery, Beaman has emerged in recent years as a leader in the government sector who is able to strip away barriers between government and industry and garner support for policies in the waste and recycling sectors. He has been able to bring together the regulatory and policy and program areas of waste and unite them for the first time in NSW. This kind of strategic approach is likely to set a path of success for NSW in years to come in relation to diverting more waste from landfill and developing critical infrastructure in regard to moving forward with the waste agenda which aims to recover more resources from commercial and industrial waste streams, recycle more putrescible waste and open up greater markets for recycled materials. |
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 Paul Howlett (Wright Corporate Strategy)Howlett has driven improvements in the methods of technology procurement within the waste and resource recovery sector in Australia, particularly in relation to complex engineered systems such as alternative waste treatment facilities. The evaluation techniques and contract specifications he developed have assisted local government in particular to make better decisions in relation to waste and resource technologies. With a background in project engineering, contract management and construction estimating, Howlett has led projects involving construction, mine rehabilitation, urban infrastructure and waste management. He works extensively across the environment management industry in Australia building comprehensive networks and a deep understanding of the markets for the various sectors of the industry. Specialising in analysis of markets in the industry, the drivers for those markets and positioning strategies, Howlett assists companies seeking to increase their national and international competitiveness. |
 Vaughan Levitzke (Zero Waste SA)Levitzke is known not only in South Australia, but internationally and has been invited to contribute his expertise in other countries including most recently Japan, to advise on waste management in the wake of the devastating tsunamis. Being a leader of one of the foremost waste agencies in Australia, Vaughan is due for recognition but it’s also his experience and ingenuity which has led to innovative partnership being formed like that between Zero Waste and the Uni of SA, forming the Zero Waste SA Research Centre for Sustainable Design and Behaviour (sd+b). The centre has a series of major projects currently underway, concerning low carbon construction, work-life balance and sustainable living, food waste and sustainable building and design. Through Levitzke’s leadership, South Australia is staying at the forefront of waste recycling and resource management in Australia, having reduced waste to landfill by 16.1 per cent in six years. |
 Helen Lewis (Helen Lewis Research)Lewis’ commitment to sustainable packaging and product stewardship spans more than 20 years. As a consultant she brings her personal experience and skills to assist manufacturers in designing more sustainable packaging and considering end-of-life options for products. She also heads up the Australian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI), a not-for-profit association established in 2008 to promote responsible environmental management of batteries at end of life, in order to recovery valuable metals and remove potential hazard in landfills and alternative waste facilities. ABRI’s objectives for automotive batteries include recovery of the approximately135,000 batteries disposed to landfill each year. For handheld batteries it plans to expand the infrastructure for collection and reprocessing, building on existing programs that operate on a relatively small scale. The current membership includes battery manufacturers, consumer electronics suppliers, recyclers, government agencies and environmental organisations, sure to expand as the federal government moves forward with its product stewardship agenda. |
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 Tamara O’Shea (Queensland Government) Arguably the woman charged with the most difficult job of 2011, Tamara was able to draw on her distinct personal style and formidable negotiating ability, to bring Queensland’s first state waste policy to fruition. She was integral to the formulation, management and delivery of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011. Her role required the formation of a sizeable team and devising innovative policy settings that involved challenging negotiation with some industry groups and local government. O’Shea’s personal style and determination were key elements to the success of the waste strategy to date, which some consider to have been above the call of duty, especially when placed in the context of assisting Queensland in making a significant step forward in waste management and resource recovery putting it on a par with other states and setting a path for a more sustainable future. |
 Joe Pickin (Blue Environment)An environmental specialist with a 15-year track record as a consultant, researcher, policy analyst, strategist and auditor, Pickin is well-known in the area of waste, resource efficiency and greenhouse emissions. He has a strong knowledge of environmental decision tools, policy instruments and strategic planning. Joe has a flair for modelling, high level writing ability and excellent presentation and communication skills. This has seen his work commissioned by government at all levels and has informed critical debates in the waste and resources sector. Projects by Blue Environment, of which Pickin is a Director, include best practice at resource recovery centres, national waste data methodology, code of practice for end-of-life televisions, state waste strategies and the greenhouse implications of waste management choices, considering recycling, energy recovery and landfill disposal for a range of materials. |
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 Max Spedding
(Australian Landfill Owners Association)Max Spedding is secretary of the Australian Landfill Owners Association (ALOA) and the chair of the WMAA National Landfill Division. In these roles, Spedding has been involved in government policy at the highest level, most notably in the past two years with the introduction of carbon pricing legislation and carbon farming. He has demonstrated a commitment to his constituents beyond the call of duty and has lobbied hard to have industry voices heard. Although something of a quiet achiever, Spedding is known as the ‘go-to’ man in the landfill and waste management sector. He has a deep knowledge of his constituents and the needs and opportunities of the sector in Australia and is meaningfully engaged in critical debate both at the industry and public level. He was CEO of BFI/SITA from1994-2001 and currently assists Veolia Environmental Services as a Project Director. |
 Peter Wadewitz
(Peats Soils & BiobiN Technologies)Wadewitz has been a driver of the composting sector in South Australia and beyond for many years. He is the inaugural chair of Compost Australia and a leading figure in the development of the Australian Compost Road Map. His commitment and common sense have been instrumental in improving composting processes and product quality around the country . Wadewitz has also been responsible for making composting technology accessible and available through the development of the BiobiN product, an on-site in-vessel composting system that can utilise putrescible waste from a range of waste streams – making a cost-effective solution available for waste that would otherwise go to landfill. Simple to manage, the BiobiN assists companies of all sizes to become more socially and environmentally responsible for their waste management. |
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Ron Wainberg (Waste Management Association of Australia) |
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 Doug Brown (Fortescue Metals Group)The group manager of water at FMG leads a team of hydrogeologists and engineers addressing significant groundwater management and ecosystem protection challenges. Last year Brown step into an expanded role reflecting the company's commitment to leading edge water management across operations, developments and projects. The most ambitious scheme is the dewatering/injection scheme at FMG's Cloudbreak operation in the Pilbara WA, one of the most complex managed aquifer recharge schemes in Australia. The project, with a capacity for 25 GL a year, won the AWA's 2011 National Infrastructure Innovation Award. Brown is also committed to training and skills development, including the formulation and delivery of FMG's well-regarded Groundwater Management Course, which targets the engagement and retention of professionals and contractors across operations and projects. Before joining FMG, Brown was with global engineering group MWH, where he sat on its Global Mining Sector leadership group reporting to board level with responsibility for Asia Pacific region. |
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 Jurg Keller (University of Queensland)Keller has been director of the world-leading Advanced Water Management Centre since its inception in 1996. His specialties include biological wastewater treatment, environmental biotechnology, microbial fuel cells and water recycling. Among his long list of research success stories is a suite of technologies that recover the chemicals, nutrients and the energy (organics) in wastewater, including the Bilexys microbial fuel cells and the Anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) process. Bilexys, which won the 2012 Water Innovation Prize from the non-profit Imagine H2O, is a start-up company that aims to use microorganisms to convert organic compounds in wastewater into useful chemicals such as s hydrogen peroxide and food-grade sodium hydroxide. Another success is SewEx, a powerful model that characterises the in-sewer biological, chemical and physical processes to predict the pipe sections most vulnerable to corrosion or odour problems, and identify the most cost-effective mitigation strategies. |
 Stuart Khan (University of NSW)Being the leader of Trace Chemical Contaminants research at the UNSW Water Research Centre is not the typical background for a strong advocate of Direct Potable Reuse (DPR). Khan is the leader of the ‘Organic Chemical Contaminants’ reference group of the Water Quality Advisory Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council. In this role he led the revision of the organic chemical contaminants aspects in the 2011 update to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. He is also a vocal supporter of DPR, which involves returning highly treated wastewater directly into the drinking water system. He has researched the broader merits of the concept, including minimising energy use, as an emergency water supply and flood mitigation by reducing required dam storage levels. His submission to the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland's 2011 floods argued the virtual storage of DPR would increase the volume reserved for flood mitigation in the region by 30 per cent. |
 Terry Leckie (Water Factory Company)Leckie is attempting a paradigm shift, advocating the rise of the private sector in providing water, recycled water and sewerage services. He is MD of the micro-utility that is pioneering the private sector push into water services under the NSW Water Industry Competition Act, a model for new SA laws and possibly in Victoria too. This year it will switch on its Smart Water Network in Pitt Town, a small community west of Sydney that will become the first in Australia serviced by a private utility. It will treat and recycle water for non-drinking uses and community facilities and parks. The company already recycles black water in the Discovery Point apartment block for use on a local park. And it will own and operate the water services at the $2 billion Central Park redevelopment in the Sydney CBD. It will be connected to the mains but Water Factory Company will harvest rainwater, stormwater, sewage and groundwater to provide all non-drinking uses. |
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 Ken Matthews (ex-National Water Commission)Chair and chief executive of the National Water Commission since its foundation in 2004 until late 2010, Matthews was for many years among the most influential water bureaucrats in the country. Though not fully recognised at the time, he was a key figure in laying the groundwork for urban and regional reform. He created a highly respected organisation – which has just had its mandate extended indefinitely – and fought to keep reform on the agenda through performance benchmarking and targeted research, among other things. A spate of reports in the last few years were started under Matthews' leadership and have been influential in kickstarting a new reform agenda for urban water. They include 'Securing Australia's water future' (12 major recommendations on how to fully deliver the economic, environmental and social benefits of reform) and 'Review of pricing reform in the Australian water sector', which argues for more rigour around economic regulation of the sector. |
 Sue Murphy (WA Water Corp)In 2004 Murphy joined the Water Corporation of WA with responsibility for delivery of capital projects and long and short term planning. Four years later she was promoted to CEO and continued the hallmark of her tenure – integrated planning. In particular, Murphy has positioned the Water Corp as Australia's leading water utility in responding to climate change, which is particularly acute in the south-west. It has been active in diversifying water sources, including opening Australia's first large-scale desalination plant in 2006, and was an early mover on community engagement on water conservation. In 2009, the Water Corp released its 50-year 'Water Forever' strategy. Just two years later, as the climate dynamics worsened, it released 'Water Forever - Whatever the Weather', a 10-year action plan to drought-proof Perth. It includes $500 million to boost and protect the city's stressed groundwater sources, principally injecting treated wastewater into aquifers. Murphy is globally recognised and chairs the Water Services Association of Australia. |
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 Rob SkinnerThe recently retired MD of Melbourne Water spearheaded the utility's journey towards sustainability, creating a dedicated team in 2005, and in his final years there drove a globally recognised study for the International Water Association on cities of the future. He has stepped up his involvement in the area since retiring from Melbourne Water, mentoring emerging leaders in the water industry and becoming a professorial fellow at the new Centre for Water Sensitive Cities at Monash University. Skinner also co-authored the cornerstone chapter in the high profile report, 'Crisis and opportunity: Lessons of Australian water reform'. The section highlighted the lack of resilience in urban water supplies and examined the preconditions for successfully integrating water cycle planning with urban planning. It is a blueprint for reform, from cultural issues and governance arrangements to pricing, diversification and greater customer choice. |
 Erik van Driel (Aquatec Maxcon)Few in Australia have the depth of van Driel's experience with anaerobic digestion systems. In a world looking to biomass to generate energy, anaerobic systems are expected to become an increasingly important part of the treatment equation given they create a clean energy by-product through the digestion process. In the last 12 months van Driel has been driving the technology out into the industrial sector, with some success. This includes a pilot project treating dairy wastewater in one step, without first removing the fat, reducing the potential operating and capital costs. He has also been a strong proponent of Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology, which has been around in Australia since Aquatec Maxcon installed the commercial scale plant on Magnetic Island, Queensland in 2002. Van Driel was involved in many of the company's 25 MBR projects around the country since then. |
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Rob Vertessy (Bureau of Meteorology) |
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 Leeora Black (Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility)Black is a leading Australian consultant, educator and thought leader in corporate social responsibility. She is founder and managing director of the centre and an honorary visitor to the La Trobe University Graduate School of Management. Black's PhD from Monash University (2004) developed a framework for benchmarking and measuring organisational social responsiveness capabilities, which she has taken to the next level by running Australia’s largest ongoing CSR research program, The State of CSR in Australia. She also runs Australia's most popular executive development programs in CSR and is a certified GRI Trainer through the ACCSR. Black works with senior managers and executive teams to analyse and solve complex CSR issues, create effective corporate and stakeholder strategies and build management capabilities. A widely published author and speaker, she is also is an experienced and highly sought-after facilitator of workshops and seminars. |
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 David HoodHood has inspired a generation or two of engineering professionals and influenced thousands to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and engineer a better world. Through lifelong, passionate and voluntary commitment to professional societies and industry associations he has driven a change in the international engineering community. He has been responsible for making green engineering "sexy" and affordable. Through his business undertakings, teaching and his own consulting company, Hood has facilitated the uptake of sustainability as an imperative for (commercial) survival. As consultant he is engineering practice specialising in the areas of sustainability in the built environment, “green projects”, energy efficiency policy, engineering education and global engineering infrastructure. Hood is actively involved with industry and professional associations promoting the improved energy performance of buildings. As an investor, Chairman, and Board member he led the successful turnaround of CBD Energy Limited, a small public company involved in energy saving technology and solutions for the property industry. |
 Paul GildingGilding has spent 35 years trying to change the world, doing almost everything. He’s served in the Australian military, chased nuclear armed aircraft carriers, plugged up industrial waste discharge pipes, been global CEO of Greenpeace, taught at Cambridge University, run two ground-breaking sustainability focused companies and been a close advisor to the CEOs of some the world’s largest companies. Despite the clear lack of progress in climate change mitigation, the unstoppable and flexible optimist is now an author and advocate, having written a widely acclaimed book “The Great Disruption” which prompted Tom Freidman to warn readers of the New York Times to “Ignore Gilding at your peril”. He now travels the world alerting people – in business, community groups, government and even the military – to the global economic and ecological crisis now unfolding around us, as the world economy reaches and passes the limits to growth. |
 Garbis Simonian (Weston Aluminium) Simonian is both an environmental visionary and a successful entrepreneur with a continued passion and investment in improved resource use and environmental education. Among his corporate roles is managing director of both Weston Aluminium and Weston Matrix. The former is a zero waste site and the latter has plans to recover over three million tonnes of problematic C&I wastes (coal wash reject fines, fly ash, foundry sands, drilling mud inter alia) for reuse as value-added materials and products in the building and construction, roads and infrastructure sectors. Simonian is the current President of ACOR and is Chair of the Australasian Industrial Ecology Network. He has personally been guarantor for the first three annual Australasian Industrial Ecology Conferences; has sponsored international speakers on industrial ecology lecture tours; and has invested heavily in resource recovery technologies and opportunities. He is also currently investing in his vision for a Kurri Kurri based eco-industrial park. |
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 John ThwaitesFormer minister and deputy premier, consultant, professorial fellow, advisor – Thwaites is the man with a thousand titles. He also chairs a project with the Brotherhood of St Laurence to develop policies to assist low-income Australians cope with the impact of climate change. He is a Professorial Fellow at Monash University and Chair of ClimateWorks Australia and the Monash Sustainability Institute. He is a consultant at Maddocks Solicitors providing advice to the firm and its clients on climate change, water, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Thwaites also chairs the Climate Group Ltd in Australia, the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Australia's only cultural centre dedicated to film, TV, games and the moving image. He is also a director of the Australian Green Building Council. While deputy premier of Victoria from 1999 to 2007, Thwaites was responsible for major reforms in social policy, health, environment and water. |
 Jonathon Thwaites (Perth Sun Fair)Thwaites is the innovator of the Perth Sun Fair, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually. Using tremendous foresight and initiative, he was able to get this event up and running back in 2003, with the vision of taking the messages of sustainable living and renewable energy to the wider community. Thwaites is exceptionally driven in his quest to share a vision of a ‘greener’ way of living and how each individual can lessen their impact on the planet. He has managed to encapsulate much of his vision in the Sun Fair event which combines fun activities with education and information. Held on Oak Lawn at the University of Western Australia, the annual event continues to grow in popularity. Thwaites’ environmental achievements made him a finalist in the 2007 and 2009 Western Australian Environment Awards. |
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 Arron Wood (Firestarter)Arron Wood has mobilised more than 55,000 school students through his acclaimed Kids Teaching Kids program and builds links between the corporate world and the community sector. He is the weekly environment reporter on radio 3AW and was appointed to the Enterprise Melbourne Advisory Board to attract sustainable investment to Melbourne. Named in the top ten education leaders nationally in 2009 as part a feature in The Weekend Australian Magazine, Wood received The Centenary Medal for outstanding contribution to conservation and the environment. He also won the prestigious Melbourne Award for Contribution to the Environment and was selected to complete Al Gore’s Climate Change Leadership Program. Winner of the 2006 United Nations Individual Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment Wood was also awarded Young Australian of the Year (Environment) in 2001. He holds a degree in Forest Science and is currently Board Member of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority. |
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Now its your choice! - CLICK HERE to vote
Please note: Voting closes May 22. One vote only per category.
| WME Leaders Judging Panel | |
Corporate Sustainability |
Waste & Resources |
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