SPAN NEWS

support, vocational guidance and network opportunities

We are thrilled to bring you 2023’s first edition of SPAN News! This issue features four women from the SCEGGS community who have made a conscientious effort to make sustainability and the environment key in their career choices . From accounting to engineering, readers will gain fascinating insights about how concentrating on these issues can have a significant impact and influence on people’s daily life and choices

Our program of events is an important pillar of our SPAN program and we can not wait to continue the momentum gained in 2022 when in person events returned following two-years of COVID restrictions Another pillar is our work experience program which has been instrumental at offering current students a “real-life” understanding of their desired career path Turn to page 10 to find out how you can help!

We love hearing from the SCEGGS community who are keen to share their career story, learn more about SPAN News or the SPAN Program . Please contact Tina Mavritsakis at span@sceggs nsw .edu au or on 02 9332 1133

We love hearing from the SCEGGS community who are keen to share their career story, learn more about SPAN News or the SPAN Program Please contact Tina Mavritsakis at span@sceggs.nsw.edu.au or on 02 9332 1133

(2009)

Jane is an award-winning global executive. She is Australia’s ‘Young Woman to Watch in International Affairs’ and in the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Business School’s ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2022.

Jane has worked in the corporate and international relations fields for more than a decade Her career spans New York and Rome United Nations (UN) postings, where she is recognised for her work as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate with the UN World Food Programme In London, Jane worked at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as senior manager delivering global programs for leading foundations and institutions and worked directly with high-profile leaders She is recognised for her work as co-designer of The Earthshot Prize spearheaded by Prince William . Jane has also been a board member (GAICD) and continues to advise and work with select new and experienced private and corporate clients, continuing her in-depth knowledge of strategy, facilitation and external relations

More recently, Jane was selected as a Max Thabiso Edkins (MTE) Climate Ambassador Here, Jane gives SPAN News readers fascinating insights into this role and how sustainability has been pivotal to her career .

You were selected from 2,700+ applications across 140+ countries as a MTE Climate Ambassador in 2023 by the World Bank Group Global Youth Climate Network (GYCN) and Connect4Climate. What does your ambassadorship entail?

Thank you for asking me back to share an update on my career journey since leaving SCEGGS Reading this piece, you may recall my interview in Light Works 2020 As a proud Old Girl, I am happy to contribute and connect with Old Girls in Sydney and across the globe Please do be in touch!

Being a MTE Climate Ambassador is a global opportunity and responsibility that I am honoured to be undertaking this year I am contributing to meaningful climate action, stepping up our collective ambitions in pursuit of a vision of a sustainable future by 2030

I’ve committed my ambassadorship to be a listening role, learning in partnership with other people in my community to co-design solutions, innovations and actions together My focus is to lead global and local ideas into investible action so that I can continue to serve my community and explore issues that have meaning and impact on many people and cultures across the globe

When pursuing a vision of a sustainable future, it is not what happens tomorrow - it starts with right now

Was a career involving sustainability something you always aspired to?

I think growing up in Australia gives you a unique appreciation of nature and its powerful force – from the ocean to the rainforest, reefs, the desert and more Australia has it all

From a young age, my favourite pastimes have been swimming and surfing at the beach, followed closely by hiking through national parks . However, I also remember the first feelings of disgust at the mountains of litter collected at my first beach clean up, witnessing hundreds of trees cut down and concrete poured in their place and speaking with local farmers with tears pouring down their faces, devastated that imported produce is being sold at a fraction of the price, driving them out of business: small personal experiences that began to shape my worldviews

At SCEGGS, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award contributed to turning this inner drive and appreciation for the natural world into action As I started my career, I quickly learnt that to make real progress in climate action and sustainability, you have to advocate that the environment and the economy are two sides of the same coin

Early in my career, profit-driven leaders I came across were quick to discourage me from pursuing climate action, advising me that there were more profitable endeavours than taking care of the rock we live on While this sort of talk was and still is tough to hear, I have come to recognise that a business case can and should be made when changing the nature of the conversation Investing in our climate and conservation of the natural world leads to game-changing innovations that firm up national security, create resilient homes and supply chains, and improve the quality of our air, oceans and land This is where I dedicate my energy, drive and passion when working in Australia and the international arena

What does climate action mean in the context of the work you do with global organisations like the United Nations and World Bank Group?

This matters to each and every one of us and in a historic move in July 2022, the UN General Assembly declared that access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a universal human right .

Definitions from the UN can be helpful to hone in on climate action:

• Climate action means taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• Climate is the average of weather patterns in a specific area over a longer period of time, usually 30 or more years

• Climate change refers to the long-term changes in the Earth’s climate, beyond the increase in average surface temperature .

• Climate change causes weather patterns to be less predictable, affecting the balance of ecosystems that support life and biodiversity It also causes more extreme weather events, such as more intense floods, heat waves and droughts, and leads to sea level rise and coastal erosion by accelerating the melting of glaciers

Combining the crisis of climate change with the challenges of nature and biodiversity loss, pollution and waste can cause anxiety about the state of our planet and it is important to acknowledge the antidote to anxiety is being grounded in the present

For me, the climate actions and solutions that exist right now give reason to be optimistic I have worked with startups, organisations, cities, countries, academics, youth leaders and high profile leaders – what unites them is that they all have one goal – to restore and repair our planet, taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts This work is happening in co-ordination with sustainable development goal targets including:

• Strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climaterelated hazards and natural disasters in all countries .

• Integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning

• Improving education, awarenessraising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

• Implementing capital and support to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions

• Promoting mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and Small Island Developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalised communities

You have had some incredible career successes in creating positive change for humanity and the environment, including winning a Nobel Peace Prize with the UN World Food Programme and co-designing the Earthshot Prize. What personal career highlights stand out to you?

Prizes are a great focal point to spotlight and scale solutions, create positive change and inspire us all to shoot for the moon and even if we miss, land among stars

I am happy to share that as I have progressed over the 12-years of my career to date and as I look ahead, there are many more advocates than detractors these days, from heads of state all the way through to the grassroots level

The personal career highlight is really in the incredible, kind people and motivated teams I’ve been privileged to work with to date

What advice would you share with current students seeking a career in sustainability and climate action?

Read widely and weirdly Challenge yourself to be open to new perspectives, ideas and solutions Whether you take a generalist or specialist career path, keep your horizons broad .

Be self-aware, not self-important

I am so proud and encouraged to see that young people are standing up for themselves and our collective future in real, authentic ways

Be kind to yourself . Failure and rejection are essential parts of the process; don’t forget that Look at your future with optimism, hope and empathy

Edie MATHER (2003)

Old Girl Edie MATHER is an engineer with 12 years’ experience in the renewable energy industry. Currently, Edie develops utility scale PV Solar Farms and battery energy storage projects across Australia and New Zealand: a role that includes technical design, environmental permitting and community engagement. As a multiple finalist and winner for the Clean Energy Council’s Awards for PV System Design, Edie highlights the benefits of renewable energy both for the environment and as a career.

What career path have you followed since graduating from SCEGGS?

I finished at SCEGGS in 2003 and completed a Bachelor of Engineering in Renewable Energy at UNSW Studying engineering was challenging but also incredibly rewarding

At first it was very heavy on the foundations in physics, maths, electrical and mechanical engineering Fortunately, by second and third year, the topics were more exciting: semiconductor physics, solar cell chemistry, wind turbines, biomass, renewable energy for developing countries, building integrated photovoltaics, energy efficient building design etc At that point I could really see the endless opportunities and applications for renewable energy

Importantly, I met lots of amazing people throughout the course who I am still friends with and still work with in the industry today My first job out of university was designing rooftop solar systems for homes and businesses Back then, there was no such thing as solar farms in Australia . Installations were small and rooftop solar was very expensive and (at the time) heavily subsidised by the Federal Government

After a few years, I moved into project management for the design and construction of solar systems and progressively worked on bigger projects, eventually specialising in ground mounted large scale solar systems connected to the national electricity network .

Today I develop Australia’s largest solar farms and battery energy storage systems (BESS) – these projects consist of millions of solar panels across sites that are hundreds of hectares in size . It is incredible to work on these projects and see solar farms as a mainstream source of grid power today

In the past year I have had two exciting additions to my role . The first is expanding into New Zealand Setting up projects and running my processes in a new country has given me a whole new set of interesting challenges to tackle The second and more recent has been starting work on green hydrogen projects to store and transport energy Green hydrogen is the renewable energy industry’s next big thing and it’s exciting to be working on the latest energy technology

What are your favourite aspects of your current role?

I really enjoy that my role has variety and is so much more than just the technical aspects of a project While my engineering knowledge provides a wonderful foundation, our projects are complex and require a broad range of skills My role exercises my brain constantly; no two days are ever the same! I need to consider everything from the company strategy, technical design details and project management of resources and my team, whilst also making sure the project stacks up commercially and keeping a wide range of public stakeholders informed and positive about the project

I also love visiting our projects once they are built and operational . It’s very rewarding to see the results of the whole team’s work and quite a sight to see so many panels silently generating power in the sunshine, while sheep graze on the grass underneath them

Can you share a challenging problem you have overcome in your career?

Our industry used to be nicknamed the ‘solar coaster’, in reference to the steep ups and downs faced during the first decade of solar in Australia Swinging political support, changes in materials’ pricing, poorly allocated risk and Renewable Energy Certificate price crashes were all known to kill projects over night and even sent a few companies into receivership

Thankfully, the industry is now established, far less reliant on government support and has been stable for many years During COVID, renewable energy projects continued to be delivered with great success and the industry growth has been tremendous

Although Australia was slow to get started with large scale renewable energy, it feels like we have caught up with the world

Is there potential for renewable energy to create more jobs?

Absolutely! The renewable energy sector is booming I cannot hire enough people fast enough to keep up with our opportunities and project pipeline

There is huge appetite for sustainably sourced energy, largely driven by large corporates and energy retailers seeking power purchase agreements directly from renewable generators

Beyond solar farms and battery energy storage, there are new sectors of the renewable energy industry starting to take off Recently we have seen offshore wind farms being proposed around Australia Hydrogen energy hubs have been declared in South Australia, across New South Wales and in Queensland Renewable Energy Zones continue to be expanded and new ones declared by state governments

What steps should current students take if they wish to follow a similar career path?

While engineering and science are the typical entries to this industry, they are not the only pathway We need lawyers, financiers, planners, project managers, accountants, environmental experts, analysists, health and safety advisors, communications specialists and so much more All these professions can specialise in renewable energy

Apply for graduate programs where you are exposed to different company departments and can get a well-rounded taste of working life Even better, don’t wait until graduation; take full advantage of student memberships to industry groups and line up an internship during your student years The earlier you can start being involved in the industry, the sooner you will make connections, understand the opportunities available and see where you fit in and can make a difference

Connect with people who are doing interesting or unconventional things to advance your industry Their stories and advice can be insightful Most haven’t got to where they are via a ‘traditional’ route! Always be on the lookout for mentors, no matter your age or career stage

In general, make sure you follow your interests and passions so you enjoy the work you do and your career continues to drive and inspire you I would encourage students to have fun, be curious, take opportunities, keep an open mind to trying new things and make sure to push yourself outside the comfort zone every now and then You never know where it may take you or the doors that can open .