Rob Stokes joins Macquarie Law school
Macquarie Law School has appointed Dr Rob Stokes as Industry Professor of Environment and Sustainability.
Stokes was the former New South Wales Minister for Infrastructure, Cities, and Active Transport under the Perrottet government and remains involved in decision making as a member of the Australian government’s Urban Policy Forum.
Stokes also remains the interim chair of the Net Zero Cities CRC as well as chair of the Faith Housing Alliance, which aims secure affordable housing for vulnerable communities.
Stokes had been involved both as a politician and as a committee member at the Parliament of NSW for more than 16 years and had been an honorary fellow at Macquarie University for more than 5 years.
Stokes will be helping government and industry partners deliver change by fostering net-zero cities, advancing social justice, and promoting sustainable urban environments in his new role.
Edge Impact
After eight years at the helm of global impact consultancy, Edge Impact’s chief executive Jonas Bengtsson will be transitioning to global director of impact, while Alison Rowe will become the company’s new global chief executive.
In addition to sitting on the Edge Environment board as non-executive director for the past two years, Rowe is also the managing director at The Nature Conservancy and has served as the board chair at the Infrastructure Sustainability Council for the past five years.
In a profile by The Fifth Estate in 2016, Rowe had just finished serving as the global executive director of sustainability for the giant Japanese global tech company Fujitsu for nine years. Since then, Rowe has become the chief executive of the Australian Energy Foundation, where she served for four years.
Edge Impact’s new appointment will be planned to be effective from 17 April, following a collaboration period between Bengtsson and Rowe to ensure a smooth transition. Rowe’s more than 20 years career in sustainability is expected to bring a fresh perspective into the business while ensuring the company remains at the forefront of sustainability.
Napier and Blakeley
Property and sustainability consultancy Napier and Blakeley has promoted Michael Ross to director of the company. After a brief stint with N&B between 2000 and 2002, Ross officially returned to the company as its head of national tax depreciation and insurance advisory business in 2021, where he served until his promotion.
The organisation stated that Ross was a highly regarded advisor and was the first port of call for clients requiring fixed asset registers and tax depreciation advice for construction, property transactions and capital expenditure projects – and reinstatement cost assessments for insurance purposes.
Ross has also worked closely with quantity surveying, building consulting, sustainability, climate, and ESG teams to help investors get the best returns from their property, and he will continue to do so in his new role.
Commonwealth Bank has appointed Erik Moore as its new head of ESG within its group corporate services team.
Prior to his new role, Moore was the head of development, transactions, and infrastructure sustainability at the real estate group Dexus for just under a year. Before that, he served as the group’s senior sustainability manager and reporting lead for national ESG operations.
His previous roles also include serving as an associate director for Cundall in NSW and a national manager and associate director at Atelier Ten.
TNFD announces leadership changes and senior advisory group
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has announced that co-chair Elizabeth Maruma Mrema will be stepping down from her role due to her demanding roles as the United Nations’s assistant secretary-general and UN Environmental Program’s deputy executive director.
Mrema has held the role since TNFD’s inception in June 2021 and, together with co-chair David Craig, steered the taskforce through the design and development of its TNFD Framework. The search for a new co-chair continues.
She will now join eight other industry leaders appointed to the newly created board of senior advisors, who advise the co-chairs on matters relating to the organisation.
The other newly appointed senior advisers are:
- Andre Hoffmann, vice-chair, Roche and board member, WEF, Capitals Coalition and B-Team
- Andrew Mitchell, founder of Global Canopy
- Hiro Mizuno, CEO of Good Stewards Partners and former CIO of the Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan
- Lucy Mulenkei, co-chair of the International Indigenous Forum for Biodiversity (IIFB)
- Paul Polman, business leader and co-author of ‘Net Positive’
- Curtis Ravenel, senior adviser GFANZ, TCFD and NZDPU
- Rhian-Mari Thomas, CEO, Green Finance Institute
- Simon Zadek, Co-CEO, NatureFinance
BioPak CEO wins accolade
Sustainable packaging company BioPak’s chief executive, Gary Smith, has been named the 2024 EY Australian Entrepreneur of the Year from a field of 16 finalists. The award said Smith had pioneered a movement in the sustainable packaging industry – showcasing unwavering dedication, innovative spirit, and commitment to driving positive change. He will travel to Monaco in June to compete against national winners from more than 60 countries for the chance to be named 2024 EY World Entrepreneur of the Year in June.