JOBS NEWS: It looks like business leaders are turning their minds to recognising that good leadership means more than just turning a profit. Testament to the growing social value of environmental sustainability, leaders are embedding climate action into their business practices, and joining our climate-conscious fold.
Universities get with the program
In the most recent proof that the business world recognises the value of good climate leadership, Australia’s business schools have appointed a climate action fellow to help coordinate the Australian Business Deans Council’s (ABDC’s) action nationally.
The new fellow will strengthen the relationship with industry, the not-for-profit sector and government, says ABDC president Professor Keryn Chalmers.
The ABDC is a peak representative body for Australian business education and research with members across the country including the Australian National University, Macquarie University, Charles Darwin University, Curtin University and Bond University.
University business schools are responsible for 17 per cent of domestic graduates in Australia and 46 per cent of international students, so the responsibility of these schools to sharpen the focus on climate has international implications.
The inaugural climate action fellow, Associate Professor Melissa Edwards of the University of Technology Sydney Business School, says in her new role she wants to encourage a change in the way business students are educated to put climate at the centre: to “reset our standards for educating future business leaders to transform industries, their supply and distribution systems, and the economy within the limits of 1.5-degree warming this century”.
As executive director of the Master of Business Administration at UTS Business School Associate Professor Edwards says that effective business leadership is the only way that policy mechanisms can actualise change.
“Even beyond the new technical skills needed for managing new technologies, we need leadership capabilities to ensure a just transition.
“Policy mechanisms are important, but they are only going to be effective if people have the skills and capabilities to be able to create change in workplaces.”
Professor Chalmers said the role was created to support the body’s recent Declaration on Climate Action which lays out a strategy towards cross-sectoral collaboration on climate action, including the development of business school curriculum to embed carbon literacy in the Australian context.
“The role will support the ABDC’s intent to coordinate and pursue a strategic approach to climate action. This involves identifying opportunities to collaborate on educating the next generation of business leaders about the importance of a net zero future and research that assists and informs policy and business responses to ensure sustainable development,” Professor Chalmers explains.
ESG still buzzing
It looks like there’s plenty of roles going in the ESG and sustainability space at the moment, with hundreds of jobs on offer around the nation, particularly in fund managers and private equity.
It’s no wonder that we’re seeing an explosion in the sector. A recent poll by Hays showed that 81 per cent of 25,825 respondents are interested in working in a role that focuses on combating climate change.
Most sustainability work, the recruitment giant points out, isn’t necessarily being a sustainability specialist. Most sustainability work is in the wider green economy and can including things like product circularity, building retrofits, or procurement specialists.
An example of this is Adam Jones who has moved on as technical manager at cross laminated timber (CLT) structural building panel manufacturer XLam to start his own business, after more than a year at the company.
He says that while his career goal is to accelerate the adoption of mass timber in lieu of traditional materials, he’s decided that the best way to pursue his goals is by starting his own business.
He says while XLam is “forward thinking” in sustainability, he wanted to start his new company CLP Concepts to focus more on assisting in early design phases of projects. He says its an exciting time to be in the timber industry.
“Recent focus on embodied carbon has really ticked up due to [energy ratings tool] NABERS and MECLA [Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders Alliances]. It’s a really exciting time for sustainable materials at the moment.”
While there has been some controversy around Eastern European “conflict timber” this year, he says that the CLT XLam has been using radiated pine from the plantations grown in Australia. So ethical materials are on the uptick.
“With the net zero carbon future, the writing is on the wall with structural materials,” Jones says.
“Today, only massive timber products have supply chains set up to meaningfully deliver buildings that are looking to go net-zero carbon in lieu of traditional materials. The opportunities available due to the new delivery models required by this building product are immense.”
Jones expects he may well be in expansion next year. And he tips that XLam in Australia and New Zealand may also be open for some opportunities.
His background includes hosting the What You Will Learn podcast with over 6 million downloads, and he also co-authored the international best selling book The Sh*t They Never Taught You.
And at professional services company in the infrastructure space Hatch, Andrew Aitken has just started as a principal sustainability consultant in Brisbane after working at Losee Consulting helping clients advance sustainability, climate change and environmental challenges.
Hatch recently joined forces with ThoughtLab, a leading global research firm, to launch its fourth urban research program, Building a Future-Ready City, alongside a broad coalition of business, government, and academic leaders.
The study to be released in November 2022 will examine how cities around the world plan to reinvent their urban environments to meet the post-pandemic expectations of citizens and other stakeholders, and to address their growing needs for resiliency, sustainability, inclusiveness, and economic development.
In further jobs news, it looks like some jobs in the construction industry may soon be taken over by automation… Read our market pulse here.
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