Judging panel chairs
Luke Menzel
Chief Executive Officer, Energy Efficiency Council
Luke leads the Council's work to build the market for energy efficiency, demand management and demand response in Australia. He is also Vice President of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), and sits on the Steering Committee of the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).
Previously, Luke managed the Energy Efficiency Council’s program on certification, training and standards.
His postgraduate research focused on financing options for investment in energy efficiency.
Kate Harris
Chief Executive Officer, Good Environmental Choice Australia
Kate is passionate about leadership, capacity building and education aimed at finding sustainable solutions for the future.
Kate is also Vice Chair of the Living Future Institute of Australia (LIFA), Non-Executive Director of ALCAS – Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society, an Executive member for ASBEC – the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council and a Director of the Global Ecolabelling Network.
With a Masters in Social Ecology and graduate of the Asialink Leaders Program, Kate also draws on her diverse experience in the performing arts, executive coaching, cultural change and organisational development, helping individuals, organisations and communities to create systems change for a better future.
Robin Mellon
Principal, Better Sydney
Robin Mellon is one of Australia's acknowledged experts on sustainability in the built environment. He has broad experience working in the private and public sectors, with years as first the Chief Operating Officer of the Green Building Council of Australia and then the Chief Executive Officer of the Supply Chain Sustainability School. Robin is a talented presenter, educator, awards judge and media commentator, and has been a Green Globe Awards champion for many years.
Judges
Colin Barker
Chair, Australian Industrial Ecology Network
Colin has helped hundreds of organisations improve their economic and environmental performance through cleaner production, resource efficiency and sustainability initiatives.
In addition to his role at the Australian Industrial Ecology Network, he is an Executive Director of PlasTech Recycling Limited, a Director of Newtecpoly Pty Ltd, a Director of LCRT Pty Ltd and a Senior Consultant – Process Engineering and Sustainability at Advitech Pty Ltd.
Debbie Barwick
Chairperson and Executive Officer, NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce
Debbie, a Kamilaroi Woman from Bora Crossing NSW, is an award-winning Aboriginal entrepreneur and business owner who has spent the past 17 years working to support the establishment and growth of viable Aboriginal businesses and enterprising communities. She understands the barriers faced by Aboriginal people in business and has an unwavering passion to see Aboriginal people participating equally in the Australian and global economies.
Among her many achievements, she has established Australia’s first Indigenous Chamber of Commerce. She is working with government and industry to ensure Aboriginal business informs the development of Aboriginal purchasing policies.
Adam Carrel
Partner, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, Ernst & Young
Adam is a Partner in EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Team, the Asia Pacific’s largest sustainability advisory team. Adam is a strong believer in sustainability and is working across all aspects of the business. His current focus is on human rights, ethics and climate risk.
Geoff Frost
Associate Professor, University of Sydney Business School
Geoff’s current research on the role of accounting and accountants in sustainable management has a particular focus on the development of integrated sustainable management systems and measuring and reporting non-financial performance.
His research interests also include corporate social responsibility and ethical investment.
Wendy Goldstein
Lecturer in Sustainable Development, Department of Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University
Wendy has been teaching in the Master of Sustainable Development program since 2005 and is the Director of the program. She was previously head of the education and communication program at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Switzerland, and subsequently involved in leadership roles with the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication and the Australian Association of Environmental Education.
Laura Hamilton-O'Hara
CEO, Living Future Institute of Australia (LFIA)
Laura joined the LFIA in April 2019 from her most recent position as a Sustainability Officer, Partnerships & Engagement at Macquarie University. Her career spans education and community conservation work with Taronga Zoo to facilitating the Centre for Sustainability Leadership's Future Makers Fellowship in Sydney. She has worked as a freelance consultant for several years, with a focus on building capability in leadership and sustainability. Laura has developed a profound care for all lands and the people and animals inhabiting them. She is a social ecologist, devoted life-long-learner, community builder and committed to growing the future makers of today and tomorrow.
Megan Jones
Principal and Practice Director, Tanner Kibble Denton Architects
Megan is passionate about the conservation and adaptive re-use of existing buildings to fit them for a sustainable future. She provides industry guidance based on her considerable experience.
Her most recent major projects include the restoration of City Hall and Anzac Square in Brisbane and the extensive re-working and additions to 5 Martin Place in Sydney. She is currently working on the conservation and activation of a historic sites in Western Sydney and on several commercial adaptive re-use projects in Sydney and Brisbane.
Garth Lamb
National President and Chair of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) and Chief Development Officer, Re.Group
Garth entered the waste game as editor of Inside Waste magazine, before joining Hyder Consulting (now Arcadis) to lead Australia’s leading team of strategic waste advisors. Having worked with all levels of government, and private sector operators, he understands the complexities and challenges around sustainable waste management. Now as Chief Development Officer for Re.Group, he helps clients deliver sustainable solutions for their communities across all urban waste streams.
In 2017, Garth was elected National President and Chair of WMRR, the peak body representing Australia’s $14bn waste and resource recovery industry.
Kirsty McIntyre
Senior Policy Officer, Local Government NSW
Kirsty is an experienced local government professional working with councils on a broad spectrum of natural resource management and local sustainability issues, both in an advocacy and project management context.
Managing statewide projects and contestable grant programs to deliver resources and capacity building opportunities to councils are key areas of focus. Kirsty is passionate about recognising innovation and achievement in the local government sector through the local government run environment awards events.
Andrew Petersen
Chief Executive Officer, Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia (BCSD Australia)
Since March 2011, Andrew has led BCSD Australia (formerly Sustainable Business Australia). He was previously a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Andrew is on the board of the Banksia Foundation, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation and the Board of Advice of the University of Sydney Business School.
Bruce Precious
Principal Consultant Six Capitals Consulting
Bruce is a sustainability professional well known in the commercial property sector for his sustainability leadership. He played a major role in bringing some of Australia's most iconic sustainability programs to life, including the NABERS program and GreenPower. Bruce has complemented his experience working within government on energy efficiency and renewable energy programs with a successful career in business development for an energy services company, as the National Sustainability Manager at GPT and now as a consultant working with organisations to find the smartest path to zero emissions. Bruce understands the challenges and opportunities that sustainability brings to business and the broader community.
Parrys Raines
Consultant - EY, Non-Executive Director - Future Business Generation and Founder – Climate Girl
Parrys is a consultant, entrepreneur, director, international public speaker and four-time Australian representative to the United Nations Environment Programme.
She founded her first business, Climate Girl, at the age of 14 and since then has educated thousands of citizens from the classroom to the boardroom about the importance of sustainability and social entrepreneurship.
Will Rayward-Smith
General Manager, SunSHIFT
Will is a multi-disciplinary expert in renewable energy generation. He has a PhD from Cambridge University and has worked for Arup, the UK Government’s Department of Energy & Climate Change, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the start-up firm Azuri Technologies.
SunSHIFT, where he is general manager, was the proud winner of the Green Globe Award for Environment Innovation in 2015.
Tennant Reed
Principal National Adviser, Public Policy, The Australian Industry Group
Tennant has worked heavily on climate and energy issues, advising Ai Group’s Leaders’ Group on Energy and Climate Policy and developing reports on natural gas supply, energy prices and energy efficiency.
He also works on issues related to manufacturing and innovation. Previously he was an adviser in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Chris Riedy
Professor, Sustainability Governance, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Chris is a transdisciplinary academic who focuses on governance and social change for sustainable futures. He is Lead Steward of the Meta-Narrative Working Group for the SDG Transformations Forum and a senior research fellow of the Earth System Governance Project.
Chris is also a member of the editorial boards for two journals – Futures and Journal of Futures Studies.
David Rowlinson
Make It Wood Campaign Manager, Planet Ark Environmental Foundation
David studied Architecture and Building Engineering in the UK and also has an MBA and a Master of Marketing. He manages the Make It Wood campaign for Planet Ark, which aims to increase the use of responsibly sourced wood as a building material.
Prior to joining Planet Ark, David was CEO of a major Australian-based building products manufacturer. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of the Living Future Institute of Australia.
Erandi Samarakoon
Senior Manager, Social and Environmental Risk
Erandi is a sustainability strategy and governance expert with a career spanning government, consulting and publicly listed corporations. As Macquarie Group's global lead for Social and Environmental Risk in Corporate Operations, her role adresses pressing social issues such as human rights, climate change, and ethical sourcing. Building on education and an early career in design, she helps organisations find creative solutions to deliver a positive impact on society.
