Since 2008, sustainability consultants NettZero has been busy shaping the sustainability and ESG agenda behind the built environment industry, with a consistent 30 per cent yearly growth, and it expects the growth to continue.
In an interview with The Fifth Estate, director of ESG Marita Mewett and founder and principal director Matthew Greening says that market signals for sustainability have been stronger now than they have seen in the past 15 years.
Greening explains that keeping a human touch has been key in the rapidly digitising industry, with the team’s biggest clients including Lendlease, Centuria, Cromwell, Investa and Stockland.
“To keep up with the changing market, the consultancy offers a broader range of additional sustainability services, including indoor environment testing, waste rating, carbon neutral certifications for buildings, climate active certifications for organisations and ESG reporting, Greening says.
“My founding principle when I started NettZero was that we can’t manage what we can’t measure, and that was my whole thought process 18 years ago – ‘How do organisations measure their greenhouse gas emission?’”
“We are not only trying to help to build owners now but also businesses and manufacturers to the people make coffee and cordial to benchmark their emissions and the first step is always to reduce them and certify them in some way, shape or form.”
The industry is changing
According to Greening, evaluations and ratings have also become more complex over the years, spurring the need for more specialised services from the industry.
“Building is very dynamic and continues to grow, and the whole area of doing things like NABERS has become much more complex over the last four years with changes to rules and platform but also with the introduction of renewable energy and on-site solar systems. It has become a much more specialised service – where dedicated teams and organisations are doing the ratings.”
Another change is the company’s current work on digitising services. Mewett says that the need for data has become prominent, with the industry now more proactively focused on improvement.
“We are digitising our business so we can put data in our customers’ hands when they need it – so they can know their emissions moving forward – and more customers are expecting data to be available so they can make better decisions managing their assets.” Mewett.
So, does the supply meet demand?
Despite a growing sustainability market, Mewett claims that very few local organisations can provide local expertise in Australia.
“The interesting thing is that I see many more companies outside of Australia with that capability, so we see competitors – particularly technology-based ones, predominantly from the US. But with the uniqueness of this massive country, it helps to have local expertise and most customers we talk to prefer to deal with someone that understands local council structures.”
The urgency of climate change during COVID
Despite starting the business solo, staff has grown to a team of 21, with most of the growth occurring over the past two years.
“It’s been a monster two years, but strangely enough, COVID has been quite good for us – we were one of the lucky sectors that just kept going. We stopped for a bit when COVID first hit, but from 1 July onwards, everything just went back to normal – it created a sense of urgency and focus, not just on sustainability but a whole climate change aspect of what’s going on in the broader world,” Greening says.
The best advice is to keep a human focus
When asked what advice he would give others venturing into sustainability, Greening emphasises the importance of human focus and interactions.
“There’s a big trend with going digital, but we try to keep a human focus on personal interactions. At the end of the day, we are still human beings, and we like to talk to somebody and ask questions, particularly in our carbon business and carbon accounting.
“We generally do an hour discovery call with new clients to explain to them terminology, how it works, how we calculate their emissions, what are their emissions, what is an ESG report, what are their goals and ambitions.”
Mewett adds that when working in a sector that requires a lot of education, it’s valuable to have experienced consultants answer questions rather than having the customers attempt to educate themselves – even if it is a time cost.
Inspiration for change and curiosity
Despite being from a human resources background, Mewett says what drew her to sustainability was her safe work environment as a mother of young children.
“I want to make sure my child grows up in a fun and challenging environment where it’s safe to work in, and with younger people coming into the workforce, organisations are now expected to provide a transparent, safe, and healthy work environment.
Greening added that his curious mind was his key driving factor as he dived into net zero and how people could measure net zero emissions.
“What got me there initially was my curiosity, so ‘how do we do this, how can this be done, why is this important’ and what’s how the awakening happened for me around this planet, that the world is not going to change unless we change it,” Greening says.
To encourage young minds to join the sustainability industry, the consultancy has introduced a structured graduate program into the workplace to help train the next generation in sustainable technology.
Avenue for change
“Growing isn’t easy, but growth is good,” Greening says. “There is sector still has a long way to go, and the demand for sustainability services is only in its infancy – a lot more needs to happen to make serious changes to how we live, run our businesses, and operate.
“While various programs are set up between different state and federal governments, the challenge now is to ensure they are appropriately resourced.
“They may have a program, but it just frustrates everyone when the program isn’t streamlined, and you don’t get any responses.”
Mewett adds that she expects federal legislation to push through higher growth for the industry next year as supply chains become impacted.