Sometimes a cataclysmic event is required to open your eyes to reality.
For me, that event happened while I was growing up in a small town in Ireland. It happened the day I heard that the local power station was being shut down – for good. It was a fixture of my adolescence – something constant at a time when so much in my life was changing. A fixed landmark that everyone knew and recognised as a part of our community.
And then we got the news – it was being shut down.
My young mind couldn’t quite comprehend it. As a teenager, you notice changes around you and try to make sense of reality. Putting the puzzle pieces together to see the whole picture. But this change stood out from all the rest. I was shocked that this place, which seemed to be a permanent source of productivity and power – was having its switch flipped OFF for the final time.
I was curious as to why things had to be this way. Isn’t there another solution? How can we make this situation better?
As it turned out, the station generated power from “peat” – a fuel-rich soil used for centuries to power homes and businesses throughout the area. It had been extracted from the land across generations, leaving a vast and barren landscape in its wake. And eventually there was simply none left to harvest.
My mind kept thinking how can this be? A non-renewable form of energy that had been harvested so much that it had run out.
I tried to make sense of what would happen to the workers – good, hard-working people facing the bleak prospect of unemployment. Forcing them to find a new way to provide for their families. I worried what they would tell their children when they came home with the news. Then I got angry, how was it possible that peat could have been extracted to the point where there was none left.
Anger then turned to optimism and hope as Ireland’s first commercial wind farm was built not far from this power plant. As a teenager I got to visit these huge wind turbines and studied them in depth. I was in awe by their size, their presence and the possibilities that renewable energy held for the future.
These pivotal moments over 20 years ago taught me a valuable lesson: Sustainability (or lack thereof) affects all of us. That our individual and collective well-being is inextricably bound to the well-being of our planet. And that ignoring this fact leads to grave consequences.
Seeing the power plant shut down and wind farm established set me off on a course to find the answers to some of our biggest questions: How do we create long-term success while having a positive environmental impact? How can we build businesses that will stand the test of time?
These questions set me out on a path to provoke change – from creating the role at Staples’ Australia’s (now Winc) first Sustainability Manager, chairing innovative NGO’s, educating and empowering future leaders as a lecturer, to directly influencing policy as Head of Australian Operations for Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
In 2015, I founded the Sustainability Roundtable of Perth (SRP), a forum for sharing sustainability ideas and discussing critical issues in a supportive environment. Now with over 100 leaders in Perth taking part, the SRP has become a hub for sustainability professionals in Western Australia.
My career has been varied, spanning 20 years where I have facilitated sessions with over 2500+ stakeholders, I’ve learned what it takes to build long-term, sustainable growth in a rapidly changing world. And it’s my mission to help forward-thinking individuals and companies become trusted and respected leaders with a positive global impact.
Long-term success requires a clear vision for the future. It requires a solid sustainability strategy that supports not only your environment, but your brand as well. And it requires a willingness to embrace change.
Sustainability isn’t just about doing what’s right for the environment. It’s doing what’s right for your employees, your investors and all your stakeholders. It means taking a proactive stance in building your company’s future, instead of reacting to emergencies as they arise.
If you’re serious about being a leader in your industry, the time for action is NOW.